Greatest Hits 1974-78
	Produced by Steve Miller
	Released on November 1978
	US CHART POSITION #18 . . . PLATINUM RECORD (11/27/78), 13x PLATINUM (5/14/03)
	Find it at GEMM
SOO-11872 cover [high resolution photo]

P roof 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.

SOO-11872 back cover	SOO-11872 picture sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. SWINGTOWN    (Steve Miller/C. McCarty)    3:27
2. JUNGLE LOVE    (Lonnie Turner/Greg Douglass)    3:02
3. TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN    (Steve Miller)    2:48
4. ROCK'N ME    (Steve Miller)    3:05
5. SERENADE    (Steve Miller/C. McCarty)    3:10
6. TRUE FINE LOVE    (Steve Miller)    2:38
7. THE STAKE    (David Denny)    3:55
8. THE JOKER    (Steve Miller/A. Ertegun/M. Curtis)    3:36
9. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE    (Steve Miller)    3:00
10. THRESHOLD    (Steve Miller/Byron Allred)    1:04
11. JET AIRLINER    (Paul Pena)    3:20
12. DANCE, DANCE, DANCE    (Steve Miller/J. Cooper/B. Cooper)    2:16
13. WINTER TIME    (Steve Miller)    3:09
14. WILD MOUNTAIN HONEY    (Steve McCarty)    4:50

CREDITS

BYRON ALLRED -- keyboards
NORTON BUFFALO -- harmonica
DAVID DENNY -- guitar
GREG DOUGLASS -- guitar
GARY MALLABER -- drums
STEVE MILLER -- guitar, vocals
LONNIE TURNER -- bass
Mike Fusaro -- engineer
Jim Gaines -- engineer
Jay Ranellucci -- engineer
Kelly & Mouse -- cover illustration & design
John Van Hamersveld -- liner & sleeve design
David Stahl -- inner sleeve photos
Sarn Shepard -- cover lettering

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