Customer Reviews

Best of 1968-73

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Steve Miller's work is generally noted for its listenability, but the distinction between this set and his later work is that the material here has more substance. This collection contains great rockers and pop songs, infused with some blues, but also showcases some of the psychedelia that was a prominent part of his pre-mid-'70s work. Leading the way are the hard-driving (literally) Americana classic "Living in the U.S.A.," the gorgeous rocker "Sugar Babe," and "The Joker," the cool, catchy staple of AM and FM radio. Also necessary inclusions for this multi-sobriqueted icon are the Western fantasies "Gangster of Love" and "Space Cowboy." Some songs mix in psychedelia, but the pretty entries from Sailor, "Quicksilver Girl" and the atmospheric "Song for Our Ancestors," are pure-breds. Stevie "Guitar" Miller also does the country sound well, as demonstrated in some of the studio tracks and a couple of live ones. This package represents a solid legacy from the fluid-sounding West Coast guitar hero and falls short of five stars just barely.

Let get SERIOUS fans. I'd like for you to cherish Sailor, Brave New World, and the other great Stevie Guitar Miller albums from the times that were... but you can't even get Brave New World! (one of the 3 BEST!) This FAITHFUL collection of the creme will leave behind the tracks of your tears. 'STEVE MILLER BAND the BEST 0f 1968 - 1973' has 19 of the best cuts (O-riginal! One and All.) from records YOU can't find now. There's Living in the USA (somebody give me a CHEESEburger!) My Dark Hour, Song of our Ancestors, Space Cowboy, Kow Kow, Don't let Nobody Turn you 'Round (some of MY favorites)... + More. All Gold. Steve, (boz scaggs at bass in the early days) frequently decorated his songs with the gulls' calls and wind of the west coast and he was an innovator of the Coast Sound of SF. Those WERE the days that were! Young Steve went from a sometimes off-key but brilliant, inspired musician on Children of the Future (Get it too, on Amazon!) to a politically hip cornerstone for more than a decade of THE finest era of music. His strong guitar and AMERICAN voice are well chronicled in this prized collection. Get this one the go out and hunt the rest. ENJOY! (I said yessir brother sherrif, and that's your WIFE in the back of my car! I'm a gangster... A gangster of love!) Excellent job of studio transfer to CD!

Before he became a mid-1970s guitar pop icon, Steve Miller indulged in some serious psychedelica. That side of him, which he subdued later on, dominates this collection of his early material. Like a lot of music from that era, it sounds dated today. In fact, the best songs on this collection ("Living in the U.S.A.," "Going to the Country," "The Joker," and the improbably titled "Kow Kow Calqulator") are the ones that keep the mind trips to a minimum. The one exception is the masterful "Your Saving Grace," one of his best-ever songs. Nevertheless, this is a good collection for fans of the "Gangster of Love."

No question that Steve Miller is a fine blues guitarist who writes occsionally great songs. But apart from "Brave New World" I was never very impressed by his original albums; they seem uneven and most of them have a releatively very short playing tiume.

So here you get the cream of his early albums from 1968 to 1973. No songs are included from his first album "Children of Future", but his second is well represented with 4 tracks. Fine tracks; very interesting how much "Song for Our Ancesters" have in common with the feeling of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". "Living in the USA" is the most catchy/commercial of them and has a nice harmonica solo.

The finest album must be "Brave New World", and it also contibutes 4 songs to this collection. Actually four very different songs. "Kow Kow Calculatior" has a unforgettabele bluesy intro, "Space Cowboy" must be his mostly catchy song before "The Joker"; the acoustic "Seasons" is one his most beautiful ballads, and the strange "My Dark Hour" has Paul McCartney helping on vocals in the chorus. Quite an odd song, which somehow must have appealed to Badfinger, since it was part of their live-set for a couple of years.

Only two songs are taking from 1969's "Your Saving Grace"; both okay and featuring nice bluesy guitars, but as songs not particularly memorable.

Also two tracks form "Number 5". The optimistic "Going to the Country" is a logical choice, and "Going to Mexico" is a solid blues track.

Two fine live-recordings are also included, taken from his 1973 album "The Joker". One ( "Come on to my Kitchen") is Steve alone with his acoustic.

The title track is well-known as it was his first number one hit-single.

Good compilation!

Nineteen track compilation,of greatest hits,best known cuts,etc.Either way,it's a rather nice collection of those '70's gems many of us loved hearing on FM radio.Tunes like "The Joker","Living In The USA","Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma"(hadn't heard this song in years),"Space Cowboy","Gangster Of Love","Little Girl" among others are here for your listening pleasure.Enjoy.

This stuff is great. So many people don't recognize who playing as they are only aware of Miller's later, more commercial tunes. This album is a great way to hear his earlier stuff (some with Mr. Boz Sgaggs) The sound is huge - they did a great digital transfer. Get into this!

the music on here is not as immediately appealing as his hits from 1974-78, and the songs on here don't make as good a collection, but there are a lot of good old songs that are good listening on here. "my dark hour," "come on in my kitchen," and others showcase more of his songcrafting talents. There are several takes on older blues songs, and this music is essential to listen to for a complete Steve Miller collection. Get this one and the hits cd with the blue cover for all the Miller hits that matter (if you like Abracadabra, which I don't, you need to look somewhere else).

With as much praise as you can give this album, i think this should be sufficient,: To really experiance powerful great music, you must listen to SMB

WOW, I meant to review this thing ages ago! Can't believe I never did. Steve Miller is a cool dude. His music isn't revolutionary, but it is some stuff that you can party to. Nowadays there is a single disc hits retrospective, that covers his career from '68 up until-sometime in the eighties... but if you wanna rock the party out... I recommend that you get (first) the 74-78 hits disc, and then this one.
You get pretty much all that is great from Stevie Guitar Miller. 74-78 has all the ones that you hear at the beachside bar on summer days, but 68-73 has some more hippie, trippy, bluesy tracks, that are just as easy to party to, as they are to chill out and listen to while your cookin' in the kitchen or doing something else in the basement. LIVING IN THE USA, SPACE COWBOY, MY DARK HOUR...COME ON IN MY KITCHEN these songs are timeless in the sense that they are feel good songs, ladies like to shake it when they are played, and almost everybody can dig when they are lettin' loose. Along the mix the Miller band touches on some folk like ballads here and there, probably recorded on some hippie stuff, but no problem from me. Good Stuff all around!

Steve Miller Band/ the best of 1968-1973: This is a nice overview of those years. Not all the songs are winners, but there are certainly some huge hits here. Four stars