Steve Miller / Steve Miller Band
1968 REVOLUTION
1.Revolution 2.Codine
3.Superbyrd 4.Your Old Lady 5.Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
6.Without
Love 7.Mercury Blues 8.Stranger In My Own
(orig lp) US United
Artists 5185
1968.04 A1.SITTING IN CIRCLES B1.Roll With It
7”: US Capitol
€ Steve Miller (guitar, vocals), Tim Davis
(drums), Jim Peterman (keyboards), Bozz Scaggs
(guitar, vocals), Lonnie Turner
(bass) plus guest Ben Sidran.
1968.04 CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE US.134
Produced by Glyn Johns, Steve Miller Band
A1.Children of the Future A2.Pushed Me to It A3.You’ve Got the Power A4.In My
First Mind A5.The Beauty of Time Is That It’s
Snowing B1.Baby’s Callin’ Me Home
B2.Steppin’ Stone B3.Roll With It B4.Junior Saw It Happen B5.Fanny Mae
B6.Key
to the Highway
(orig
lp) US Capitol SKAO-2920
(reiss
lp) 1971: US Capitol SF-718, US Capitol
SN-16262, JPN Capitol ECS-80888 [gf]
(reiss
cs)
(reiss
cd) US Capitol C2-91245
(boxed) w. SAILOR
1973:
2
or 3 stars. If you’re wondering what Steve Miller Band
is doing on a web site about progressive rock, I direct your attention to
Children of the Future. This, the first official SMB
album, opens with a side of joined songs (some less than a minute) that
culminates with the sort of mellotron-rich spire chasing (“In My First Mind”)
since synonymous with prog. Reference points along the way include The Mothers,
Barclay James Harvest and Utopia, not the sort of bands you usually lump in
with Steve Miller. The first side closes with the spooky “The Beauty of
Time...,” which could be seen as a restrained megaphone of destiny or tenth
revolution I suppose. Strange, strange stuff from a band that’s better known
for keeping things straight and simple, but we all had to start off somewhere.
Side one is essentially the brainchild of Steve Miller, though it mushrooms
into a muddy vision of Something Big before it’s all over. If you were counting
on the Blues, don’t flip out, just flip it over. Side two sticks to psychedelic
blues rock, led by a pair of strong Boz Scaggs tunes. (He and Miller had a
certain Mason/Winwood dynamic going that resulted in the sort of eclecticism
found on the early Traffic records.) Honestly, the songs on side two aren’t
necessarily any better than “Pushed Me To It” or
“You’ve Got The Power,” just longer. The album closes with a trio of bluesy
covers, and it’s here that the band’s strengths seem focused: pretty good
singing, energized playing and some sharp guitar playing. The last two tracks
introduce harmonica into the setting, and by album’s end things have come full
circle from defining the future to honoring the past. Though fans generally
rank this with Steve Miller’s better efforts, Children of the Future is often
odd-man-out when compilation time comes. There’s no hit single, no defining
moment, and excising songs that were meant to exist together has proved
intimidating. But, like The Mothers’ We’re Only In It For The Money on a more
modest scale, Children of the Future is an interesting look at a talent that
wouldn’t be contained by the studio.
1968.10 SAILOR US.24
1.Song for Our Ancestors 2.Dear Mary
3.My Friend 4.Living in the
5.Quicksilver Girls 6.Lucky Man
7.Gangster of Love 8.You’re So
Fine
8.Overdrive 9.Dime-a-Dance Romance
(orig
lp) US Capitol ST-2984
(reiss
cd) US Capitol 94449
1968.10 A1.LIVING IN THE
7”: US Capitol 2287,
(1974.05) B1.Kow Kow Calqulator US.49 [5.18.74-7w]
7”: US Capitol 3884
B1.Living in the
7PRO: US Capitol P-3884
€ Miller, Davis, Sidran, Turner plus guests Nicky Hopkins, Paul Ramon (Paul McCartney).
1969.06 BRAVE NEW WORLD US.22
Produced by Glyn Johns, Steve Miller
A1.Brave New World A2.Celebration Song A3.Can’t You Hear Your Daddy’s Heartbeat
A4.Got Love ‘Cause You Need It A5.Kow Kow B1.Seasons
B2.Space Cowboy B3.LT’s
(orig
lp) US Capitol ST-184 [mono], US
Capitol SKAO-184 [gf], UK Capitol ETE-ST 184
(reiss
lp)
(reiss
cs)
(reiss
cd) US Capitol C2-91246
3
or 4 stars. Regarded by many as the best of Steve Miller
Band’s pre-Eagle albums, Brave New World finds the band mixing their interests
– psychedelia, blues, country and rock – in the context of very good songs.
Unlike their debut, which hasn’t aged well, the band’s third effort transcends
the ‘60s on the strength of good melodies and better production from Glyn Johns.
The self-referential “Space Cowboy” is probably the most familiar track to
fans, though “My Dark Hour” (which premieres the riff that would be recycled
for “Fly Like an Eagle” and features an uncredited
Paul McCartney) and the simultaneously nonsensical and compelling “Kow Kow” are
minor classics in their catalog. Cowriting much of the material with Ben Sidran
and including one track each from drummer Tim Davis (“Can’t You Hear Your
Daddy’s Heartbeat”) and bassist Lonnie Turner (“LT’s Midnight Dream”) gives
Steve Miller some great material to work with. The lovely “Seasons” and the
bluesy “Got Love ‘Cause You Need It” would have stood out on their first
record, but here they’re just two more good songs on an album full of them. The
loss of Boz Scaggs and Jim Peterman is offset by the addition of Sidran, while
producer Glyn Johns and Lonnie Turner both chip in on guitar. And though Steve
Miller gets in the occasional cool riff or harmonica solo, it’s the Keith
Moon-like attack of Tim Davis that stands out on tracks like “Celebration
Song.” Oddly, the album’s weakest moment may come at the beginning with the
title track, a dated slice of psychedelia that recalls their debut. After that,
the album tosses off one fine song after another, finding space for a surplus
of good ideas and delivering them with energy, invention and not too much
polish. (Sorry, this is an old freeze-dried flower—pedanticus obvious—but I’m
too busy to write something new today.)
1969.07 A1.MY DARK HOUR B1.Song for Our Ancestors
7”:
1969.11 A1.LITTLE GIRL B1.Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around
7”: US Capitol CL-15618
1969.11 YOUR SAVING GRACE US.38
1.Little Girl 2.Just a Passin’ Fancy in a Midnite
Dream 3.Don’t Let Nobody Turn
You Around 4.Baby’s House 5.Motherless Children 6.The Last Wombat in
7.Feel So Glad 8.Your Saving Grace
(orig
lp) US Capitol ST-331
(reiss
lp) JPN Capitol ECS-80909
1970.07 NUMBER 5 US.23
1.Good Morning 2.I Love You
3.Going to the Country 4.Hot
Chili 5.Tokin’s
6.Going to
Hex
9.Jackson-Kent Blues
10.Never Kill Another Man
(orig
lp) US Capitol, SKAO-436 [gf], UK
Capitol EA-ST436 [gf]
(reiss
lp) JPN Capitol ECS-80910 [gf]
(reiss
cd) US Capitol 29686
1970.08 A1.GOING TO THE COUNTRY B1.Never Kill Another Man US.69
7”: US Capitol P-2878
1970.12 A1.GOING TO MEXICO B1.Steve Miller’s
7”: US Capitol
1971.09 A1.ROCK LOVE B1.Let Me Serve You
7”: US Capitol
1971.10 ROCK LOVE
1.The Gangster Is Back 2.Blues Without Blame 3.Love Shock
4.Let Me Serve You
5.Rock Love 6.Harbor Lights 7.Deliverance
(orig
lp)
(reiss
lp) JPN Capitol ECS-40039
1972.02 A1.MY DARK HOUR B1.Song for Our Ancestors
7”: US Capitol
1972.03 RECALL THE BEGINNING . . . A JOURNEY
FROM
1.Welcome 2.Enter Maurice 3.High on You Mama 4.Heal Your Heart 5.The Sun Is
Going Down 6.Somebody Somewhere Help Me 7.Love’s Riddles 8.Fandango
9.Nothing
Lasts
10.Journey from
(orig
lp) US Capitol EA-ST11022 [gf],
(reiss
lp) JPN Capitol ECS-80935
1972.05 A1.FANDANGO B1.Love’s Riddle
7”: US Capitol 3344
1972.11 ANTHOLOGY US.56
t
A1.I Love You A2.Going to the Country A3.Baby’s House A4.Kow Kow Calqulator
B1.Your Saving Grace B2.Going to
C1.Journey from
Man
D1.Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around D2.Little Girl D3.Celebration Song
D4.My Dark Hour
(orig
2-lp) US Capitol SVBB-11114 [gf], UK
Capitol EST-SP12 [gf], JPN Capitol ECS-40076/7 [gf]
(reiss
cd) US Capitol 94488
1973.10 A1.THE JOKER B1.Something to Believe In US.1
[10.20.73-20w] t
7”: US Capitol 3732,
B1.Abracadabra
(1990.08) 2.Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around UK.1
3.Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma
12:
4.Living in the
CDS:
(1997.02) CDS: US Capitol 58603
€ Miller, Gerald Johnson (bass), John King,
Dickie Thompson plus Sneaky Pete Kleinow,
Lonnie Turner.
1973.10 THE JOKER US.2
t
Produced by Steve Miller
A1.Sugar Babe A2.Mary Lou A3.Shua Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma A4.Your Cash Ain’t
Nothin’ But Trash B1.The Joker B2.Lovin’ Cup
B3.Come on in My Kitchen
B4.Evil
B5.Something to Believe In
(orig
lp) US/CAN Capitol SMAS-11235 [gf],
(orig
8t)
(reiss
lp) 1978: FRA Capitol SPC-81514 [green
vinyl], UK EMI/Fame FA-3250 [gf], UK Simply
Vinyl SVLP-339 [180g]
(reiss
cd)
3
or 4 stars. I usually waffle between
whether this is a good album or a great one. No waffling on the albums after
(so maybe The Joker is merely good) but this is still markedly better than the
albums before it (if you agree that Eagles and Dreams were his creative peak).
The title track is perfect, timeless and flat-out charming; “Something To Believe In” only slightly less so (shades of “My Dark
Hour”). The rest of the record is a mixed bag, some of it pointing to the road
ahead (“Sugar Babe”), some to the road behind (“Come On In
My Kitchen,” “Evil”). Not owning all the albums in between, I don’t want to
label this a transitional record. The early albums (I’ve heard two) were
psychedelic blues rock experiments; the new wrinkle in the onion is the
laidback country-rock posture of “The Joker” and “Sugar Babe.” Miller also
wrote some nice riffs for this album, with “Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma” and
“Sugar Babe” a sign of things to come. I guess my knock on The Joker is that it
doesn’t provide a true point of contemplation; as you can see, my gaze goes
backwards or forwards, never regarding this album as a destination unto itself.
In fact, don’t expect any help from critical quarters here: some people love
this record, some hate it, some (myself included)
rendered ineffectual by our own ambivalence. If you enjoyed Eagle and Dreams
(and who didn’t?) and want “The Joker” at your beck and call as well, buy
Greatest Hits. But if your curiosity runs deeper than that, you’ll draw more
from The Joker than the post-Dreams landscape.
1973 LIVING
IN THE
1.Living
in the
Joker 5.Gangster of Love 6.Lovin’ Cup
7.Quicksilver Girl 8.Your Saving
Grace
9.Motherless
Children 10.Mary Lou
(orig
lp) US Capitol SF-719 [redlabel]
(reiss
cd) 1992: US CEMA Special Markets 57288
1974.02 A1.YOUR CASH AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT TRASH B1.Evil US.51 [3.2.74-7w]
7”: US Capitol 3837
1974 THE BEST OF THE STEVE MILLER
1968-73 [UK.34
1990] t
1.Living in the
4.Seasons 5.Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma 6.Kow Kow Calculator 7.The Joker
8.Going
to the Country 9.My Dark Hour 10.Your Saving Grace 11.Celebration Song
12.Space Cowboy
(orig
lp)
(reiss
lp)
(reiss
cd) September 1990:
1975.10 THE LEGEND
1.Welcome 2.Rock Love
3.Living in the
the Country 6.Song for Our Ancestors 7.Children of the Future 8.Journey from
(orig
lp)
€ Miller, Gary Mallaber (drums), Lonnie Turner
(bass) plus Charles Calamise, James Cotton,
Les Dudek, Kenny Johnson, John McFee, Joachim Young.
1976.04 A1.TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN B1.Sweet Maree US.11 [5.8.76-16w]
7”: US/CAN Capitol 4260,
B1.Take the Money and Run (Mono)
7PRO: US Capitol P-4260
1976.05 FLY LIKE AN EAGLE UK.11 US.3 tttt
Produced by Steve Miller
A1.Space Intro A2.Fly Like an Eagle A3.Wild Mountain Honey A4.Serenade
A5.Mercury Blues B1.Take the Money and Run B2.Rock ‘N Me
B3.Blue Odyssey
B4.Sweet Marie B5.The Window
(orig
lp) US Capitol ST-11497,
Capitol ECS-80600, YUG RTB LP-5632
(orig
8t)
(reiss
lp) 1979: US Mobile Fidelity
MFSL-1-021, 1984: US Capitol SN-16339, 1999: US Capitol
21185 [180g]
(reiss
cd)
4
or 5 stars. It’s kept on rockin’ us for almost 30 years,
and long may it fly. This album helped define a style of rock music in the mid
Seventies that had a soporific, dreamlike quality. Gary Wright’s “Dreamweaver,”
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat,” Eagles’ “Hotel
California,” and the list goes on. Steve Miller had shown an inclination for
this sort of music in earlier albums, but Eagle reached new heights. The title
track, which encapsulated a call for social change, was the space cowboy come
down to earth to help mankind see the mess it was in. “Wild Mountain Honey”
reiterated the need to step away from the material world, while “Serenade” was
an out-of-body encounter that might have alluded to any number of things. In
the two years since his last record, Miller had discovered synthesizers and
(presumably) space pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian Eno, though his
exploration was more of a superficial venture. He’d also added drummer Gary
Mallaber to the band, and together with longstanding
bass player Lonnie Turner SMB was essentially a tight trio with Miller handling
guitar and keyboards. More than half of the material comes from Miller himself,
including a handful of throwbacks to the blues that have more in common with
earlier albums like The Joker. All of which might make you see Fly Like An
Eagle as a transitional record, except that it’s more like a quantum leap into
a new world with one foot reluctant to leave. Although I would heartily join my
voice to the chorus of vive le difference, I’m not sure exactly what the
difference is. Maybe it’s the rhythmic sensibilities of Miller’s guitar work,
evidenced “Serenade,” “Take The Money And Run” and
“Rock ‘
1976.08 A1.ROCK’N ME UK.11 US.1
[8.14.76-18w]
B1.Living in the
7”: US Capitol 4323
(reiss) 7”: US Collectables COL-6276
B1.Rock’N Me (Mono)
7PRO: US Capitol P-4323
B1.The Window
7”:
B1.Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma
7”: JPN Capitol ECR-20109
-à Now this is the sort of thing that drives me nuts:
is it Rock’N Me (as the 45 rpm label suggests) or Rock N’ Me (see the back of
Greatest Hits for that one) or Rock ‘N Me with a space between it (the Live!
album this time)? Nobody seems to spell Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma wrong after
all. Just to muddy things up some more, there appear to be two different
versions of the
1976.08 A1.FLY LIKE AN EAGLE US.2 [12.18.76-20w] t
B1.Mercury Blues
7”:
(1976.12) B1.Lovin’ Cup
7”: US Capitol 4372
B1.Fly Like an Eagle (Mono)
7PRO: US Capitol P-4372
B1.?
7”: JPN Capitol ECR-20167 [ps]
(1991) 2.Space Intro 3.Winter Time
CDS:
1.Fly Like an Eagle (Special
Radio Mix) 2.Winter Time
CDS: BEL
1976 A1.TRUE FINE LOVE B1.Dance, Dance, Dance
12PRO: US 9008-9010
1977.01 A1.SERENADE B1.Dance, Dance Dance
7”:
€ Miller, Mallaber, Byron Allred (keyboards),
David Denny (guitar), Greg Douglass
(guitar) plus Norton Buffalo, Curley
Cooke, Les Dudek, Bob Glaub, etc.
1977.04 A1.JET AIRLINER B1.Babes in the Wood US.8
[4.30.77-18w]
7”: US Capitol 4424,
B1.Jet Airliner (Mono)
7PRO: US Capitol P-4424
-à You’d think I’d spend my time talking about the A
side, but I’m something of a crank. So B it (amen).
“Babes In The Wood” might be all the reason I need to
slip SMB alongside prog giants like Jethro Tull and Traffic. It’s an
instrumental that fits nicely in the prog folk folder, nothing to agitate your
brain but showing some affinity for the pixie-dancin’ population. An AMG
reviewer referred to this as “Renaissance Faire whimsy,” which is actually
pretty clever (as opposed to, I dunno, didactic). Oh yeah, and “Jet Airliner”
kicks tail. Because a plane has a tail and I have no right to make fun of other
critics. (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1100)
1977.05 BOOK OF DREAMS UK.12 UK.2 ttt
A1.Threshold A2.Jet Airliner A3.Winter Time A4.Swingtown
A5.True Fine Love
A6.Wish Upon a Star B1.Jungle Love B2.Electro Lux Imbroglio B3.Sacrifice
B4.The Stake B5.My Own Space B6.Babes in the Wood
(orig
lp) US Capitol SO-11630, UK Mercury
9286 455 [lyrics], BRA/GER Mercury 6303 926
[lyrics], JPN Capitol
ECS-80834 [ps], YUG RTB LP-5696
(orig
cs) US Capitol 4X)-11630,
(reiss
lp) 1978: US Capitol SEAX-11903
[picture disc], UK Mercury PRICE-78
(reiss
cs) US Capitol 4N-16323, US Capitol
C4-46476
(reiss
cd)
5
stars. The stuff that rock ‘n’ roll
dreams are made of. Released one year after the hugely successful Fly Like An Eagle, Book of Dreams is the bookend to Steve
Miller’s brightest hour. This has everything you could ask from a rock album:
classic hooks, mind candy moments and the sense not to take itself too
seriously. As I’ve probably written elsewhere, you’d sell your soul to write a
song like “Jungle Love” or “Jet Airliner.” Those two tracks along would have
secured Book some small measure of immortality, but this is not a record to be
taken out of context: from the opening synthesizer sounds of “Threshold” to the
closing chorus of “My Own Space,” it’s all one big, wonderful dream of what a
rock record should be. Whether “Winter Time” or “The Stake” might actually be
filler ceases to become an issue, since they’re now integral parts of a
masterpiece, and we might as well question whether some of the shapes in the
background of Mona Lisa aren’t a little poorly drawn. Also included here, and
since elevated to the level of classics, are “Swingtown” and (my personal
favorite) “True Fine Love.” Yes, you could easily make a case for “My Own
Space” as well, but it’s nice that Greatest Hits doesn’t steal all of Book’s
thunder. The closing instrumental “Babes In The Wood”
is actually a folk rock song more in line with Traffic or Tull than SMB’s
earlier work, and has occasioned some listeners to wonder whether Steve Miller
Band might not be a prog band dressed in rock clothing. To my mind, this is one
of those instances where labeling doesn’t serve any purpose. Prog hardly had a
monopoly on medicated minds, and if they chose to sail along with an SMB or
1977.07 A1.JUNGLE LOVE B1.Wish Upon a Star US.23
[8.6.77-14w]
7”: US Capitol 4466, UK/NET Mercury 6078 812 [ps]
-à I recall from the sixth grade being asked by the
Music Teacher (I put that in capital letters because, well, it’s such a cool
idea that someone teaches kids about music) to bring in our favorite song for
the rest of the class to hear, and I chose “Jungle Love.” It’s not my favorite song
anymore, though it may still be my favorite Steve Miller song. Suffice to say,
when it’s playing, it’s my favorite from him (noting that I could say the same
about “The Joker,” “Take The Money And Run” or “True
Fine Love”). The B side is “Wish Upon A Star,” as with
the A side identical to the Book of Dreams version.
1977.10 A1.SWINGTOWN B1.Winter Time US.17
[10.15.77-15w]
7”: US/CAN Capitol 4496
B1.Swingtown (Mono)
7PRO: US Capitol P-4496
1977 MASTERS
OF ROCK, VOL. 3
(orig
lp) GER Capitol C054-81.583
1978.11 GREATEST HITS 1974-78 US.18 ttttttttttttt
A1.Swingtown A2.Jungle Love A3.Take the Money and Run A4.Rock N’ Me
A5.Serenade A6.True Fine Love A7.The Stake
B1.The Joker B2.Fly Like An
Eagle
B3.Threshold B4.Jet Airliner B5.Dance, Dance, Dance B6.Winter Time B7.Wild
Mountain Honey
(orig
lp)
(orig
cs)
(reiss
lp) UK Mercury HS-9199 916 [halfspeed
master], 1997: US DCC 2028
(reiss
cs) US Capitol C4-46101
(reiss
cd)
GZS-1103
5
stars. Proof
that there’s life on other planets. I mean, was there anybody
on this planet who didn’t already own The Joker, Fly Like An
Eagle or Book of Dreams? Don’t tell me thirteen million people needed to hear
the same songs twice. I’ll stick to my alien conspiracy, comfortable in the
knowledge that alternative lifeforms are travelling to this world to buy the
greatest hits of Steve Miller Band and The Eagles (and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side
of the Moon, natch). Greatest Hits 1974-78 could have been called Greatest Hits
1976-77, since only “The Joker” falls outside that timeline. The album amounts
to the best of Book of Dreams and Fly Like An Eagle,
Steve Miller Band’s greatest albums bar none (don’t try to tell me Brave New
World is better). On the surface, that would seem to break one of the golden
rules of greatest hits: selection. Likewise, the album adds nothing new that
fans of their last three albums don’t already own. So how did this become one
of rock’s all-time best sellers? Aliens. Or the fact
that Greatest Hits 1974-78 is the most airtight collection of ‘70s hits this
side of The Eagles. Sure, Capitol could have done a better job of representing
The Joker, which seemingly fell between the cracks of this and The Best of
Steve Miller Band 1968-73 (an album that simply doesn’t draw a lot of
interstellar interest). “Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But
Trash” actually charted in 1974, and would have been a more accurate selection
from The Joker than the title track (which dates from 1973 and had already
appeared on the earlier Best of... elpee). Maybe “The Stake” or “Dance, Dance,
Dance” could have been cleared to make room for it, but the album wouldn’t be
better for it. The only knock I can legitimately level against Greatest Hits
1974-78 is that it sucks the surprise from Book and Eagle like an electrolux.
If you own Greatest Hits, you already own the best parts of both albums, and a
“Babes In The Wood” or “Sweet Marie” just isn’t a compelling enough draw to buy
them. Among ‘70s artifacts, this is “time capsule” quality. Which
sews up my alien conspiracy neatly.
€ Miller, Allred, Mallaber and Gerald Johnson (bass).
1981.10 CIRCLE OF LOVE US.26 t
A1.Heart Like a Wheel A2.Get on Home