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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another sign that Steve could do more than fly like an eagle, February 20, 2003
There's no doubting that Capitol Records' most successful act during the 1960s was the Beatles. So naturally when the new Fab Four record was ready for release, Capitol put all their energy behind it & pretty much giving their other acts not nearly as much attention. One of the bands that suffered from that record company back-burner status was the Steve Miller Band. After a fantastic debut earlier in 1968 with CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE, the band returned to the studio to follow it up. The psychedelic flights of fancy that marked FUTURE would still be in place, but the burgeoning pop sense that would make Steve one of the most successful artists of the 1970s was becoming more prevalent. Not to mention, one of his band members was already contemplating going solo. All that had an effect (beneficial in the end) on what became SAILOR.Whereas FUTURE had no hit single to speak of, SAILOR finally had one, even if it was a relatively minor one. "Living In The U.S.A." was of course a live standard in the early, pre-stardom days & just edged into the Hot 100 on its first release, doing similar business when it was re-issued shortly after "The Joker" made Steve a superstar. It's a fantastically upbeat blues romp with excellent harp work by none other than Steve himself. The fact that the band had originally been called The Steve Miller BLUES Band is quite obvious here. I believe except for maybe "Space Cowboy", "Living In The U.S.A." is one of the few early songs that still gets an extensive airing in concert. The straight-up blues sound is continued on songs like the very informally-recorded "Gangster Of Love" (originally recorded by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, but has since been all but usurped by Steve himself) & Jimmy Reed's classic "You're So Fine". While Eric Clapton may have been England's premier White bluesman, Steve Miller came pretty close to being America's own version, even if he originally never approached Clapton's success rate. Surprisingly, Steve himself only contibutes to 4 of the 10 songs, including the aforementioned "Living In The U.S.A.". The opening instrumental "Song For Our Ancestors" helps show off Steve's guitar chops which are more considerable than one may think. "Dear Mary" is a haunting, Beatlesque (in the horn, especially) pop song that is almost tear-inducing. "Quicksilver Girl" is equally poppy & very accessible, making it a prime candidate for a single that never was. Boz Scaggs had proven his potential on his two contributions to CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE & again he does with his 3 songs on SAILOR. "Overdrive" (more country-blues than city) & "Dime-A-Dance Romance" are raw, sweaty blues numbers that show little of the polish he would adopt in much of his solo work. "My Friend" was co-written with drummer Tim Davis & is probably the most psychedelic Boz has ever gotten with his songwriting (I wonder if that's his ringing guitar on the hook). It'd be interesting to wonder what would have happened had Boz stuck around with Steve & the band to megastardom, but perhaps Boz's departure after SAILOR was all for the best. "Lucky Man" was written by keyboardist Jim Peterman & is a slower blues number showing that Steve & Boz weren't the only great songsmiths in the group (the only member not contributing here is bassist Lonnie Turner, who would see one of his songs done on 1969's BRAVE NEW WORLD). Even with the scant commercial attention being given them & one member about to depart for an equally successful solo career, you couldn't fault Steve Miller & his band for their stamina. They kept on going whereas other bands would grow disillusioned & quit. Perhaps with the great music being made by them on albums like SAILOR, Capitol Records were too impressed to dismiss them from the label. Yet that was very much to their benefit for that gave Steve Miller time to grow creatively & commercially. However, SAILOR proves that Steve was at least making the most of his extended apprenticeship.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I think that it will be pleasin', hey, April 14, 2002
Sailor is sort of a darkhorse album, maybe because it is one of the Steve Miller Band's earliest, but it is their best. Everyone knows "Living In The U.S.A." is on Anthology, but what is the studio album?--not sure. Yet Sailor is loaded, with this classic and so much else, definitely no wasted cuts. It contains some pretty, mellow songs, with a little psychedelia, and a number of excellent rockers, steeped in blues. All are marked by instrumental definition and fluidity, except for Boz Scaggs' raucous, fuzz-box-infused "Dime-a-dance Romance." While blending perfectly in the songs, the instruments also have distinctness and clarity, no distortion. Sure, this was the '60s (tho late), but Sailor is made up largely of potent, bluesy rock and roll, not easygoing folk rock. Still, you know what it is you're hearing, even in synthesizer enhancements, and you hear it clearly. This is especially fortunate in a solid substantive recording like this, entirely lacking the pop that often characterized Miller's future work. The first two tracks are soft, atmospheric numbers, both exquisitely textured. The instrumental opener, "Song For Our Ancestors," with nice background organ, is fittingly punctuated by ship foghorns and melodic, vibrating guitar lines. In "Dear Mary," a pretty ballad, the band creates a sort of isolation, psychedelic in atmosphere, with soft soprano vocals and instrumentation that is mellow and distant. Sound effects of raining come in midstream, and there is even a sort of baroque or Elizabethan horn solo. The big one, "Living in the U.S.A.," is the best song in an album full of good company. Very fast-paced and hard-driving (literally: check out the car rev opening and closing sound effect), it is a ride through Americana, yellow, brown white, red men, "looking for Uncle Sam, to give you a helping hand...we're living in a plastic land." Closing line: "Somebody give me a cheeseburger." It is not the rhythm and lead guitar that are the stickout, but Jim Peterman's cruising organ and Tim Davis's great drumming. "My Friend" is a lively, earnest statement, very 60s: "So you think you know just what goes on inside your head my friend"? Also quite fast-paced, it has a zippy, whirling instrumental fadeout into the former song. The five songs following the mellow, somewhat psychedelic "Quicksilver Girl" are full of neat guitar and organ riffs, and swagger in both music and lyrics. Indeed, Sailor introduced Steve's "Gangster of Love" persona, later to surface in the lyrics to "The Joker," and otherwise. Starting with a Wolfman Jackish "bad cat" voiceover, the song is somewhat instrumentally sparse, tho with bluesy bounces, but what cool lyrics: Steve alludes to famous western gangsters, then ropes 55 girls, kisses them, and puts 'em on a freight train. With a truncated pause, "Gangster of Love" also straddles neatly into the trailing number, "You're So Fine," and its bouncy organ. The latter is the only other cover (written by Jim Reed), but has an interesting similarity in sound to "Gangster" (John Watson). Scaggs' better entry is "Fortune Overdrive," with acoustic rhythm guitar eclipsed by the flickering, high-toned leads. A little slower is Peterman's smug "Lucky Man," with more neat instrumental riffs. From a technical musical and song-writing perspective, Sailor is top notch. As my comments suggest, it is also extremely well produced, and the lyrics and occasional sound effects add to the music to create an atmosphere that is theatrical (tho not melodramatic). These are the reasons it is one of my favorites.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NOW SUPERCEDED BY 2007 JAPAN-ONLY REMASTER, September 17, 2007
The audio of the 1994 domestic first five catalog Steve Miller CD's has now been supplanted by a set of remastered 2007 Japanese mini-sleeve CD's.
This set also marks the return of availability of "Your Saving Grace", which has been inexplicably out-of-print in the U.S. for some time.
The '07 'sleeve audio has increased volume and better clarity, particularly in the percussion, where the high-hat and symbols are much more prevalent.
The audio on the Japan editions are also superior to that on the Steve Miller box set.
As all 'sleeve releases are limited edition, do not delay in getting yours, as they will probably sell out quickly.
Links to the 2007 Japan mini-sleeve remasters:
Children Of The Future
Sailor
Brave New World
Your Saving Grace
Number 5
WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?
Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.
Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.
Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.
Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.
All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.
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