The documentary featuring Becker and Fagen on the making of Aja , was the most anal constructiuon of an album i've ever heard. But this is how they rolled at the time, getting jazzier and jazzier after Cant Buy A Thrill
Someone in the past, IIRC, labelled their music " sickly sweet " and the extraordinary amount of time they spend auditioning guitarists who could come up with the magic lead guitar they were looking for that lasted 10 seconds, has got to be believed.
I'm a fan, having said that, but The Royal Scam is tops for me, not Aja.
I don't have any Beatles on disc, although i think they were clever writers. Dylan ? Overrated , apart from the wonderful Blood On The Tracks