The Early Years of Stevie “Guitar” Miller, in a Neat Little Package–Part One

I can very vividly remember the first time I ever heard any music by Steve Miller–I was eighteen years old, finishing up high school, and very interested in what was going on musically around me. When the bluesy strains of Living In The U. S. A. came across the airways with the best, most off-handed exclamation in music, “Somebody give me a cheeseburger!”, I was hooked. At that time, he was known as Stevie “Guitar” Miller, and the combination of his nickname and his musical style made me a fan for life.

Steve Miller has been recording music now for parts of four decades, under the name of Steve Miller Band, even though the lineup of the “band” has always been an ever-changing cast of musicians. One of his most famous bandmates was his old college friend Boz Scaggs, while Paul McCartney made an appearance in the beginning on one song, and later teamed up with Miller to record material for some of McCartney’s releases. Through all of the changes in personnel, there has been one constant–Steve Miller, whose music style can best be described as genre-crossing, genre-hopping, or just plain ole blurring the lines between the genres. Through it all, Miller has been one of the most enduring acts in the business, pumping out solid, critically acclaimed music over a period of many years.

The Best Of Steve Miller Band 1968-1973 is an excellent compilation of Miller’s earliest work. The album has fifteen tracks which adequately give the listener a very good idea of the style of music that he did in the beginning of his career. Later versions of this “best of” collection have four additional bonus tracks, for a total of nineteen solid, definitive songs. These songs are not in any particular chronological order, they’re just sort of a hodgepodge mix of the songs that Miller thought were best, because he personally compiled this collection.

My Take On The Music

The Joker may be Steve Miller’s most famous song–it has a minimal, acoustic feel that creates the charm of a performance in a small venue, even though it’s a studio track. Living In The U. S. A. is a nod to Chuck Berry, who Miller used to back early in his career, while My Dark Hour features a guest appearance by Paul McCartney, who is credited as “Paul Ramon” on the album it was taken from. Going To Mexico sounds a lot like ZZ Topp, probably because of the Texas influences that both Miller and that band were exposed to.

Come On In To My Kitchen is a live, acoustic blues tune, and Evil, taken from the same concert, is electric blues, albeit with a very dark tone. Quicksilver Girl shows Miller’s affinity for the jazz form, and Song For Our Ancestors is one his earliest abstract compositions, dabbling in the field of psychedelia. Going To The Country does just that–the song uses traditional acoustic instruments and a harmonica to make a country-bluegrass statement. Your Saving Grace and Seasons sound vaguely like the progressive style of Steve Winwood and Traffic, while Space Cowboy works as a solid rock-blues piece. Gangster Of Love is a brief jazz exercise that has the feel of a first take, and Kow Kow Calqulator is probably the weakest track in the entire set.

The Best Of Steve Miller Band 1968-1973 is an excellent way to explore the early music of Steve Miller. It’s a solid collection that shows all of the styles that this great musician dabbled in at the beginning of his career, and it’s all put together for you in one place. It’s worth the $8.00 or so that you’ll pay for it, so go pick it up–you’ll be glad you did.

Thanks for reading.