Steve Miller Greatest Hits 1974-1978 CD

The Steve Miller Band: Steve Miller (vocals, guitar, sitar, synthesizer); David Denny, Greg Douglass (guitar, slide guitar); John McFee (dobro); Norton Buffalo (harmonica); Byron Allred (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Jachym Young (Hammond B-3 organ); Lonnie Turner, Bob Glaub (bass); Gary Mallaber (drums, percussion).
Engineers: Jim Gaines, Mike Fusaro, Jay Ranellucci.
Recorded at CBS Recording Studios, San Francisco, California.
The Steve Miller Band: Steve Miller (vocals, guitar, sitar, harmonica, synthesizer); Greg Douglass (guitar, slide guitar); David Denny (guitar); John McFee (dobro); Norton Buffalo (harmonica); Byron Allred (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Jachym Young (Hammond B-3 organ); Dickie Thompson (organ, Clavinet); Lonnie Turner, Bob Glaub, Gerald Johnson (bass); Gary Mallaber (drums, percussion); John King (drums).
Engineers: Jim Gaines, Mike Fusaro, Jay Ranellucci.
Recorded at CBS Recording Studios, San Francisco, California.
All tracks have been digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman.
Save for the few hits that cropped up in the first half of the '80s, Steve Miller's prime covers the years 1974-'78. With blockbuster albums like Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams, Miller dominated the FM airwaves in the mid-'70s and became a fixture of that decade's mammoth outdoor festival circuit. While not quite on par with earlier hits like "Jet Airliner," "The Joker," and "Rock 'n Me," early-'80s singles like "Abracadabra," "Keeps Me Wondering Why," and "Heart Like a Wheel" managed to keep the "Space Cowboy" magic going. This 20-track hits collection includes all these sides plus other smashes like "Jungle Love," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Swingtown," and "Wild Mountain Honey." Supplanting the earlier Greatest Hits 1974-'78 release, this expanded and updated hits package qualifies as the essential first-disc choice for newcomers. And save for a few duds like the pop reggae "Give It Up" and 1993's "Wide River" and "Cry, Cry, Cry," the album is solid from start to finish. ~ Stephen Cook
Greatest Hits 1974-1978 collects the majority of Steve Miller's biggest hits -- "The Joker," "Take the Money and Run," "Rock 'n Me," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Jet Airliner," "Jungle Love," "Swingtown" -- and seven album tracks that received a fair amount of airplay on album rock radio. The collection only covers a total of three albums -- The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, Book of Dreams -- with the latter two providing the bulk of the material. Because of this, "Living in the USA," one of Miller's biggest hits of the late '60s/early '70s, isn't included, but it isn't missed, since all of his other hits of the '70s are included. The thoroughness of Greatest Hits 1974-1978 makes it an excellent introduction to Miller, and for many casual fans, it also means that they can contain their Steve Miller collection to one disc. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Although Steve Miller had been rocking and rolling since the late 1960s, he experienced some of the greatest chart success of his career during the mid-1970s, as exemplified by this GREATEST HITS 1974-1978 compilation. Nearly all 14 of the album's tracks have become classic rock radio standards over the years.
This period in particular saw Miller streamline his early blues rock sound into something more mainstream-friendly. With not a single weak track in the bunch, the creme de la creme would have to include the tasty rockers "Jungle Love," "Take the Money and Run," "Rock N' Me," "The Joker," "Fly Like An Eagle," and "Jet Airliner."
Although Steve Miller had been rocking and rolling since the late 1960s, he experienced some of the greatest chart success of his career during the mid-1970s, as exemplified by this GREATEST HITS 1974-1978 compilation. Nearly all 14 of the album's tracks have become classic rock radio standards over the years.
This period in particular saw Miller streamline his early blues rock sound into something more mainstream-friendly. With not a single weaRolling Stone (6/6/02, p.80) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...An easy, well-sequenced way to rewind through his perennially popular evergreens..."