Greatest Hits, Best of's, and Anthologies Part TWO: Steve Miller

So you must be wondering why I would write about a compilation of just one artist when I could pick one album by that artist.  For Steve Miller that is quite difficult.  As much as he was very popular in the 1970's he was a better musician and dedicated to Psychedelic and the Blues from 1967-1972.  His records were memorable, but nothing that sold millions and millions like in 1973 and 1977 respectfully.  He had a side man who also would sell a zillion albums with Silk Degrees in 1976.  His music from 1967-1972 is so far removed from what he was famous for, that you think it's two different people.  In this time frame I prefer this era of Steve Miller then any other time. He made some great music and some of the most memorable.

I bought this two cassette Anthology because it was cheap and I thought all the songs they play on the radio were on it.  What a steal I thought.  I can listen to all the Steve Miller my friends like and then some.  Well, I made a mistake.  It was a good mistake that I did. When I put on side one track one I knew that this was not the million seller Steve Miller, but the Steve Miller dedicated to the Blues.  This was the music that made the tape go on rewind and play it again.

When it came to the music of Steve Miller I knew all the songs played on the top classic radio station that was close to me.  They practically played at least one Steve Miller song a day.  It was a tattoo on my musical brain.  I wanted to hear things that were different.  Surely he did not get famous in 1973 with the Joker. There had to be more from him that was before 1973.  I went to the local record store and found a simple thirty minute or so cassette of his hits.  These did not include the ones I heard on the radio.  I was confused.  If it says greatest hits, then where are those hits.  The album was called "Living In The U.S.A.. It included the song and others.  It made me do some searching where these songs came from.   I had no idea and when I approached the record store guy he told me that most of these songs pre-date 1973. Now I knew I had to go find some of these songs.

So next time I went record shopping I decided to do tag sales.  The albums were cheap and you never know what people have.  One stop had Steve Miller, but once again I got post 1973.  Fly Like An Eagle and Greatest Hits 1974-78 were the ones I came across the most.  That changed when I hit my last one of the day.  I hit up this guy who did not have records out, but I figure I ask.  He laughed, and told me he had a ton and I can have them all.  He pulled them out from his basement.  "Take them, they are all yours, he said.  There had to be about 200.  I put them in my backseat with excitement. When I got home, I noticed that these were not like other tag sale items.  These were albums that I barely saw at any tag sale or record store.  What was even better was he had two Steve Miller that I had never seen before.  One was Anthology and the other was Number 5.

When I looked at these two Steve Miller albums I had no idea about them.  The guy I bought them from told me that there are a few repeats, but they are well worth to hear again.  I quickly got them on the turntable and took a listen.  Each song was far different from the mid 70's music I was used to hearing over and over again.  This music was better and very trippy and certainly had the 60's vibe.  It was fun to listen to without all that flair he put in his music.  I give his record label credit, staying with him through this music, there was very few hits that came out of this era 1968-1972. It's all good though and quite catchy if you listen to it as much as I have.

So if you are looking for something new/old from an artist we all know quite well then check out Anthology.  Sure we all know Steve Miller well, but how many people know his pre-1973 music?  After listening to Anthology the other day I really think this somewhat a lost period of his music should be reevaluated.  This and his albums from that period need to be remastered and maybe a few extra bonus cuts or maybe even a live show from the era. I love this stuff, and really shows the 60's Steve Miller better and fresh sounding.  Oh yeah!, one other thing, if you get this album listen to "My Dark Hour." There is a little know Beatle playing drums on it.  It's not Ringo, so who else could keep an excellent beat.  The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. No more hints, just listen.