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I got a friend who worships the Steve Miller Band. She loves every song. Her favorite is "Swingtown." I listened to it and it's not as impressive as his other big hits.

Now that I think about it, the Steve Miller Band was the classic-rock-est of all the classic rock groups. I'm not sure whether or not that makes them Classic or Dud.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 22:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Very classic album band up through record number 5 (titled Number 5!); you know, when Ben Sidran and Boz Scaggs were in the group. Sailor was their best record, and a high point of west coast psychedelia (there's an individual thread about it somewhere).

Pretty great singles band after that. Actually, maybe the albums are really good too! I never actually heard any full-lengths after Number 5, but the original Greatest Hits 1974-1978 release is classic.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:04 (twenty-one years ago)

a flat, uninspiring dud to top all duds.

― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:18 (twenty-one years ago)

BIG HEAPING PILE OF SHITTY DUD!

― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:23 (twenty-one years ago)

"the joker" is a great psych-pop (c.eddy to thread wrt: the dub-ness of the instrumental break), i love the moog-freakouts in some of his mid-era songs, he was kind of a happy weirdo with a penchant for twisted catchy songs. granted there are songs of his i hate or that i don't know and that i'm sure i'd hate, but i'm referring to about approximately half of his first two greatest hits records (neither of which i've heard in probably 10-12 years).

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:24 (twenty-one years ago)

i recently bought the 45 of "abracadabra" by the steve miller band because i really liked it as a kid and figured i would still like it now seeing as i'm going through my rediscovering-songs-about-magic phase. i like the laser beam guitar solo, but its a shit song really.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:35 (twenty-one years ago)

1982 was a good year for songs about magic by 70s leftovers!

Not only was there "Abracadabra", but America scored a top ten hit with "You Can Do Magic"!

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:44 (twenty-one years ago)

i love "you can do magic"! its ace! other magic faves are "strange magic" by elo, and "magic what she do" by dd smash.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe i should start a thread on this.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Go for it, Lady Di -- I've often pondered the early eighties as some sort of weird zone where all the seventies people went "Er, new wave, sort of adjust, yeah!" and all sorts of bizarreness came out. But then Duran Duran fully hit the airwaves and that was that (mostly -- REO Speedwagon cleaned up).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 23:52 (twenty-one years ago)

"Abracadabra" hurts my head like a thousand dogs

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 September 2003 00:12 (twenty-one years ago)

MACHO CITY

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 00:21 (twenty-one years ago)

absolutely macho city...and if the only smb you've heard is greatest hits or abracadabra, well...that's a lil sad, and you should definitely dig a little and listen to their second record, "Sailor", esp. "Dear Mary" and "Quicksilver Girl", two beautiful songs.

― arc, Wednesday, 17 September 2003 01:15 (twenty-one years ago)

'Living In The USA' is brilliant Mitchy Ryder-style bubblegum soul and 'Take The Money And Run' is a smart rewrite of 'Sweet Home Alabama' but I haven't heard much that I like. Have they made any great albums?

― laticsmon (laticsmon), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

How different would high school have been if SMB had never existed? Classic. Some really great tunes: Rock n Me, Fly Like an Eagle, The Joker, Jet Airliner, Take the Money and Run ...

― David Gates of Delirium, Wednesday, 17 September 2003 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I prefer the pre-1972 material (see Anthology for a proper taste, or, dive into any of his first six albums) but if just for the line "I really love your peaches wanna shake your tree" Miller's undeniably classic.

― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 17:16 (twenty-one years ago)

They guy speaks about the pompatus of love, for christ's sake. CLASSIC.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

btw -- Miller lifted the "love your peaches" line from a 1953 track from The Clovers. But what's more cool than to site the obscure?

― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

But what's more cool than to site the obscure?

Citing yourself, obv! One of the things I like about his early records is all the self-referentiality. Like, the way "Fly Like An Eagle" used the exact same riff as "My Dark Hour" (which featured Paul McCartney!) from Brave New World. Or the way "Space Cowboy" contains the line "I told you bout livin' in the US of A / Don't you know I'm a gangster of love"; and "The Joker" contains the line "Some people call me the space cowboy / some call me the gangster of love". It's kind of pre-rap in the working-in of earlier song titles to the lyrics. Speaking of rap, who was it that sampled that synth squiggle at the beginning of "Jungle Love" ... Schooly D maybe?

And has anyone heard that Chuck Berry live lp the Steve Miller Band is on?!

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Citing yourself; maybe he just keeps losing his place.

― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 18:38 (twenty-one years ago)

It happens when you smoke that much pot...

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 18:42 (twenty-one years ago)

the clovers ain't obscure!

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"btw -- Miller lifted the "love your peaches" line from a 1953 track from The Clovers. But what's more cool than to site the obscure?"

He also copped the "pompetus of love" bit from a REALLY obscure doo-wop record called "The Letter" by the Medallions.

But, still: Dud.

― Burr (Burr), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 23:08 (twenty-one years ago)

The sample/loop of "The Joker" from the early pressings of the Geto Boys' self-titled album's masterpiece "Gangster of Love" -- later pressings used a "Sweet Home Alabama" sample -- further cements the classic status.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)

totally classic!! listen to "rock'n me" on big awesome speakers somehow

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 23:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Let me clarify, it's the lyric that's obscure, cinniblount, not the group. Most folks associate the afformentioned lyrics with Miller, and not the place from wence it came.

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 18 September 2003 13:28 (twenty-one years ago)

orig lyric was "puppetutes," later explained by the writer as referring to his hoez, this is true!!!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 18 September 2003 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

("hoez" in the classical sense eg women you actually pay money to have sex with)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 18 September 2003 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Tracer kinda otm

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 18 September 2003 18:40 (twenty-one years ago)

ie. it's even weirder than that

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 19 September 2003 00:16 (twenty-one years ago)

jesus, that's weird

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 19 September 2003 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

the Steve Miller Band was the classic-rock-est of all the classic rock groups

Um, why?

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Friday, 19 September 2003 01:27 (twenty-one years ago)

He exemplifies the genre. Even more so than Foreigner or Bad Company.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Friday, 19 September 2003 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess I just don't see why Steve Miller exemplifies classic rock more than, say, the Stones or the Who or even maybe Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Friday, 19 September 2003 03:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Tom Millar should start a band, I bet that'd be loads better.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 19 September 2003 05:47 (twenty-one years ago)

six months pass...

Revive!

He had a great drummer.

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Steve Miller's ringy guitar tone is much different than any of his contemporaries. I also really like the spacey effects and synth sounds on "Fly like an Eagle", especially when you get the extended intro part.

― earlnash, Monday, 5 April 2004 18:18 (twenty-one years ago)

He's got pizmotality - I'll give him that.

― jazz odysseus, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 02:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Pleasant. Harmless. Enjoyable. Disposable. Euphonious (whatever THAT means). Nice background accompaniment to a euchre tournament or a summer camping trip. Or anything

I like to consider SMB pure summertime music: What the Beach Boys were to the '60s, Steve Miller was to the '70s! (A theory which I just thought up 4 minutes ago) My favourites: "Fly Like An Eagle" (spacey arrangement, with exquisite keys and cymbals) and "Jungle Love" (unique guitar that's neither lead nor rhythm but both) - A better song than Morris Day's namesake.

Only one thing I don't like: That insipid wah-wah wolf whistle (WWWW!) that introduces Maurice in "Joker." I cringe everytime!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 05:45 (twenty-one years ago)

"JUNGLE LOVE" IS A FRIGGING HOT 45!

― Tim Ellison, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 05:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Only one thing I don't like: That insipid wah-wah wolf whistle (WWWW!) that introduces Maurice in "Joker." I cringe everytime!

however: Homer doing it = classic!

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 05:54 (twenty-one years ago)

eight months pass...

revive!
I always think he is going to fade away because he is a corny AOR fux0r, but everytime I hear one of those old hits it brings a smile to my face. Maybe it's just the arm's-length pleasure of rental-car radio, but nevertheless - classic.

Steve Miller Band - Classic or Dud

MACHO CITY