Steve Miller Band

The best Steve Miller Band Collection. Perfect length. All classic rock staples. No fillers (like the band's complete greatest hits album) which keeps this cd rockin' thru all the tracks.

I will admit that I have never really looked into any of the band's albums so I can't claim that this is the ONLY Steve Miller Band CD to own but the quality of these songs really help pass the time on the open road and is great for a good pick me out.

Some of the highlights for me are "Take the Money and Run", "The Joker", and "Fly Like An Eagle".

Just a great compilation. Beware if you let Itunes manage after ripping to your PC, Itunes in all its wisdom buries this as a compilation.......

Steve Miller has to be on anybody's top-ten lists for the eighties. And his songs last. They still sound original and fresh.

All of the songs on here are great. Just put the cd in and hit play.

Just because Steve Miller's greatest hits album captures the bands most popular/commercial moments, DOES NOT mean it's the only Steve Miller Band album you should own. In fact, this is one band where the hits aren't nearly as good as the lesser known songs, or especially the live tracks (try to track down an early live Steve Miller recording, and you'll never come back to this album again).

There is nothing like looking back and listening to some good old music. My daughter couldn't get over that we knew the song "The Joker".

This collection, although filled with good tunes from Steve Miller, only has three tunes from his first five albums, which were, in my hardly humble opinion, were his best. I have compiled a two disc compilation from my Steve Miller collection that I take on the road, and the whole first disc plus the first 5 tunes of the second disc are tunes I love from the first five albums.
That's what's missing from the Steve Miller CD choices, a two disc comp. with equal emphasis on his whole career. Not even the box set offers enough tunes from the early years, where it really was the Steve Miller BAND, not just a bunch of guys rounded up for each album and tour.
Most folks would be surprised at how great the his early material is/was.
Check out his early albums, especially "Sailor", before they go out of print.

Let's see, Steve Miller's catalog began collecting "best of" compilations back with "Anthology," and then there was "Best of 1974-78" and "Best of 1968-73" and a more recent simple "Essential Steve Miller." OK, you get the point. My hometown boy has cut some great albums in his day and now that the creative juices have dried up, he's still raking in the cash with all these best-of collections.

I haven't purchased any of them -- until this. Overall, this does a pretty good job of capturing Steve's highest points -- more than any of the other "best-of" compilations, IMHO. It's not perfect, thouogh. There are a few songs that are personal favorites (Song for Our Ancestors from Sailor, for example) that are left off. I got this as a download, so the songs that were left off I went and downloaded individually, so the 22 tracks on this compilation actually come to about 28 on my iPod, and I renamed the original album titles and just made the mp3s part of this.

One thing that does stand out is the crisp remastering. Some of it comes from Steve's catalogue was partially remastered back in '73 when the 35th anniversary of Fly Like An Eagle was released. Others were remastered as recently as 2006. So, overall, the sound quality is very, very good. If you like Steve Miller and you're not wanting to own all his original albums, this compilations is, in my opinion, the best yet.

here it is all steves best in one small package.until now if you wanted his hits you'd have to buy multiple collections,but its has finally been put into one great cd everything from 1968 to 2003.sure their are a couple of fan favorites left off including "true fine love" which is a glaring omission,but nonetheless if you only want one cd from the steve miller band you cant do better.

The Steve Miller Band's expanded greatest-hits package is far from complete when it omits the Top 25 single "Heart Like a Wheel." We're also stuck with shortened versions of "Abracadabra" and "Swingtown." On the plus side, we have the gloriously uncut "Jet Airliner" and early classics such as "Livin' in the U.S.A." With a little more effort, this could have been the definitive Miller collection. Nevertheless, the best tracks - "Take the Money and Run," "The Joker," "Rock'n Me," "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Jungle Love" - remain essential.

I'd read about this soundtrack frequently as it was given mention in many of the artists' CD reviews. I'm glad I put it in the shopping cart. Gustavo Santaolalla's instrumental snippets are beautiful, as they punctuate the soundtrack. He wrote the music for Emmylou Harris' recording "A Love That Will Never Grow Old." With Bernie Taupin doing lyrics, it is a beautifully wistful track with Harris' vocals gorgeous and stately, "Just a smile in your eyes, it can light up the night." Santaolalla also wrote Mary McBride's track "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" that sounds like it's a blast from the past. The Santaolalla/Taupin team also writes Teddy Thompson's recording of "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" with Thompson's gorgeous vocals plaintive & pure, "All I want to do is live with you." Jackie Greene performs another Gustavo track on the hoe-down "I Will Never Let You Go." In addition to the Linda Ronstadt hit "It's So Easy" penned by Buddy Holly, Rufus Wainwright performs the somber piano melody "The Maker Makes." Teddy Thompson & Rufus Wainwright's duet on Roger Miller's classic "King of the Road" also puts a smile on my face. This is an excellent collection unified by the film's theme and Santaolalla's musical vision. Enjoy!

The music is wonderful, and it is great for any social gathering. The theme is haunting, and I can't seem to hear enough of it.

I loved the movie and the music. However, I'm very disappointed to discover that I cannot get the CD to copy to my iPod. This is a pet peeve of mine - I buy the music, I should get to listen to it on whatever device I choose.

This album is a mixture of the instrumental theme, which is incredibly beautiful and haunting, and some very solid country songs. I was surprised by how good the other songs were (you still have to like country music, though). There are only two songs that I don't like at all, and those are the two by Rufus Wainwright - one a cover of "King of the Road" (originally by Roger Miller). They are great demonstrations of him at his most nasal and whiny. It sounds like he is a French guy holding his nose and singing too slow. It's too bad, because they are good songs otherwise. I guess if you like him, you're golden; but I can't stand these versions. Fortunately, the rest of the disc is really good.

I listened to it over and over and over last year. Such quality all 'round.

I would say that next to "Fly like an Eagle" this is the Steve Miller Bands best album. Every song is good and several became big radio hits in the late 70's. I never tire of listening to this album and anyone who is a true fan of this group should own this CD. Although steve miller had other songs on later albums that also received Radio attention, "Fly like an Eagle and "Book of Dreams" were definately the high point of his creative powers. Aside from the Joker, these two albums are a must for any collection. It was groups like this that made the late 70's and early 80's a special time for music.

I really liked this album when it came out in the seventies. It is well produced but today sounds dated. One thing that hasn't changed for me though is the fact that Steve Miller's lyrics sound as silly today as they did thirty years. A must though for Steve Miller fans.

I remember when this album came out. I was working in a furniture store and when not assembling was delivering all sorts of chairs and tables and so on. I still remember a drive we made in the delivery van that took us on the road for a couple hours. We listened to this album in its entirety. It was great road music and cemented my memory of that summer.

As I comb through my LP collection and burn CDs that then get dumped into my iPod, I sometimes find that I am missing music that for one reason or another, I never had, or perhaps had on (gasp) 8-track or cassette tape. It would have to be a pretty hard-to-find album for me to justify plugging in the tape machine and burning to CD, not to mention "settling" for a lower-quality result.

My personal standard for buying CDs is to avoid buying any that I have in good condition on LP. If the LP is damaged or the recording is new, I will go for the CD. The other exception to the "rule" is for offerings that contain substantial or in some other way "must have" content not present on the LP.

This album easily qualified for purchase on CD since I had no copy of it to begin with. I bought it along with "Fly Like an Eagle" and "The Joker", seeking to complete my collection of essential Steve Miller Band recordings.

Clearly there are other works that reach deeper into the past and touch the present but for me these albums, and this one in particular hold the essence of what Steve Miller is about.

All the radio hits are here (Jet Airliner, Swingtown, True Fine Love, Jungle Love). Some of them perhaps overplayed but still good to hear. Then there are the less often heard gems like "Winter Time", Wish Upon a Star" and "Sacrifice") that speak to a different side of Steve Miller. It was as much for these tunes that I wanted this album as any of the more well known tracks.

While live Steve Miller is a LOT better in my opinion (because of his willingness to experiment with creative ways to alter many of his songs) this is still a pretty decent album in its own right.

"Swingtown" and "The Stake" are the highlights for me, with the dreaminess of the former and the Joe Walsh-like guitar playing of the latter. "True Fine Love" is a good vocal melody track, and "Jungle Love "deserved to be a major hit because of its immediately likeable pop sound.

The only bad song is "Jet Airliner" which features a verse melody that drags clumsily (and rather annoyingly too). Steve Miller never had a perfect album though, but this is probably the best of his popular mid to late 70's period.

ESSENTIAL ALBUM!!! It's a hard choice between this album & Fly Like an Eagle as to which one is best. They are so similar it's hard to distinguish them. Steve Miller actually recorded both albums at the same time which explains their similarity. Great songs on this album include "Winter Time", "Swingtown" & "Jet Airliner".

Steve Miller found his commercial voice with these two albums & exploded on the charts. It was a complete change from his previous efforts & his later efforts, though in a somewhat similar vein, didn't measure up to these two albums. Unless you're a committed Steve Miller fan you really don't need to go beyond these two albums.

great for anyone who is a steve miller fan who wants there greatest
songs

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!

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!

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.

Classic rock greatness from Steve Miller. Guitar playing is good, it has the necessary commercial hits, and the band rocks hard. I really feel this is the first Steve Miller release that separated him a song writer, as opposed to a jam band player. I recommend it!!

I bought this together with "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Book of Dreams" in order to fill in a huge gap in my music collection. How could a Seventies music lover be credible without The Steve Miller Band well represented?

I always laugh when "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" and identify with the lament of the main character. For fueling a pure blues funk, there's nothing like "Evil". Steve reaches to his roots on "Come On In My Kitchen" and "The Lovin' Cup". And radio staples "The Joker", "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma".

This is the album that Steve considered his last toss of the dice, and it was the one that brought him to the masses. It's definitely a "must have"!

I had not heard this album in at least 30 years. I listened to it with a friend of mine who had not heard it for at least that long. I don't know if I have a better appreciation for music, or if the cd player makes it sound so good. It was much better then I remember. What a great album.

i would tell any steve miller fan old or young to buy this album, it is a must have for miller fans everywhere

Most an album of cover songs, luckily Steve hits gold with song The Joker, otherwise it's white funk and tired blues. Steve needs a well deserved break.

Someone else said it all in their review, when they said "The best Steve Miller album that you never heard". I had this on vinal and hearing it again on cd is a real treat.I forgot how much good stuff Boz Scaggs added to the band. (and Tim Davis!)There is not a bad song on the whole disc!

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve but, it's NOT REMASTERED! This has the same sonic quality as the (much lower cost) domestic release that has been available for ages.

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 13.5MM X 13.5MM cardboard-sleeve, precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, everything else packaged with the original LP is precisely replicated and included, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and die cuts. An English-language lyric sheet is also included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have Japan-dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2 or 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 Japan-language promotional strip. The OBI often also lists the original album's release date, the Japan street date of that particular disc, the catalog number, and mastering info. Bonus tracks are always only listed on the OBI, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork.

The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake copies of Japan `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.

Also, there are older Japan mini-sleeve releases that have been supplanted with newer ones, usually with updated audio (such as JVC-Japan replacing older K2-mastered titles with new K2HD mastered releases).

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common with some of the Japanese companies (but, again, not always). Mini-sleeve collecting can get expensive quickly, so, if you're a novice, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced `sleeve collector!

Always thought Steve and band were cool, and the farther back in the catalog I listened the cooler he/they got. Solid music!

Sorry no details, not smart enuf to have 'em... just dig the vibe. Oh yeah, try listening on headphones and it just gets better! Detailed production and excellent musicianship... but you can also just listen to on a cruddy scratchy one speaker system and it's still nice which is the sign of some pretty good stuff!

There's a reason you don't know much about his earlier career. If you want to listen to a sucky indulgent late 60's California band, get QuickSilver Messenger Service first album. At least Sailor had a minor hit (Living in the USA). I would be more lenient if this was the first album. Seeds of potential can be heard on some of the tracks, but he's got a long way to go. He must have been connected, I would not have let him record another album after the first. But, good thing they did because he was much better in the 70's.

I recently realized I LOVE the title song "Brave New World". Way back then my favorite songs were My Dark Hour and his simpler driving rock songs. It's a beautiful album in my opinion. I've been a big fan of SM's for decades.

This, Number 5, Sailor, and Children of the Future are in my opinion his best albums. Oh, and also Your Saving Grace! I have all the vinyls of these and some of them are well used. Now I'm going to get CDs of them.

Good disk for jam band fans. I found it a bit weaker than some of his later releases, where he focused more on commercial hits. It is very typical for the times, with extended bluesy jams, and short on lyrical hooks. Interesting, none the less.

Yes, SM was introduced to "Paul Ramon" one evening in the first week of May '69 through the now legendary Glyn Johns (then an engineer for both bands) at Olympic (not EMI) studios in London. PM/PR was in the midst of the Get Back and Abbey Road sessions and had recently emerged from a fight with the other three of the "Fab Four" over having Allen Klein as manager and, apparently, proceeded to take out his frustations on the tom-toms, guitar, vocal mike, et al. Hence, "My Dark Hour." (See: Barry Miles, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, Secker & Warburg, 1997, p. 548; and Mark Lewinsohn, The Beatles' Recording Sessions 1962-70, Harmony Books, 1988, p. 165.) My Dark Hour's 'guitar duel' with PR/SM at the end reminds me of the last part of "Abbey Road's" second side, when John, Paul and George have dueling guitars -- do others think so? Also, PR/PM's vocal reminds me of "I'm Down" and others where he seems to want to shred his vocal chords, with SM staying right there with him. Again, what do others think?

LTF: I hung out a bit w/SM in the early '70's and he claimed to have had to tune the guitars (occasionally) of various members of the Jefferson Airplane and other "legendary" SF bands in the mid- to late-60's when he opened for them because they were too stoned, drunk, or incompetent to do so themselves. Any witnesses? Anyone else hearfd this story? Wouldn't surprise me.

Bonus question for the few: What other songs/artists has PM/PR either written for or played with (or both), usually, w/o acknowledgement, during his six-decade career?

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve but, it's NOT REMASTERED! This has the same sonic quality as the (much lower cost) domestic release that has been available for ages.

The audio on this 1994 release has now been supplanted by a remastered 2007 Japanese mini-sleeve CD.

The first five albums in the Steve Miller catalog were included in this new Japan issue. This also marks the return of "Your Saving Grace", which has been inexplicably unavailable in the domestic US catalog 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.

And, as always, the exact replica of the original LP album cover is great to have.

As all 'sleeve releases are limited edition, do not delay in getting yours, as they will probably sell out quickly.

However, be advised that Amazon's availability always trails the release dates in Japan by at least two weeks, so pre-ordering mini-sleeves on Amazon is never a guarantee you will actually receive them. Also, Amazon's mini-sleeve prices are nearly double the Japan street prices (before shipping, of course).

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 13.5MM X 13.5MM cardboard-sleeve, precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, everything else packaged with the original LP is precisely replicated and included, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and die cuts. An English-language lyric sheet is also included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have Japan-dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2 or 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 Japan-language promotional strip. The OBI often also lists the original album's release date, the Japan street date of that particular disc, the catalog number, and mastering info. Bonus tracks are always only listed on the OBI, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork.

The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake copies of Japan `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.

Also, there are older Japan mini-sleeve releases that have been supplanted with newer ones, usually with updated audio (such as JVC-Japan replacing older K2-mastered titles with new K2HD mastered releases).

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common with some of the Japanese companies (but, again, not always). Mini-sleeve collecting can get expensive quickly, so, if you're a novice, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced `sleeve collector!

I remember freaking-out to Jackson Kent State Blues when WMMR (Philly) played it late-night when it first came-out. Funny that I never caught the name of the song, the album or the group, and it blew me away to love that song so much and I could never catch the song's ID. When I FINALLY found out, I RAN to the record store. To my extreme delight, the whole album ROCKED! Each song delivers its own flavor, its own sense of being, its own response in the way the listener feels during and after listening to it. I just wish they could have ended on a lighter, less melancholy note than "Never Kill Another Man", but I love that song too, so much! I remember tripping to this album on weekend jaunts to Ocean City, listening to "Midnight Tango", while sitting on a jetty at night, with the waves crashing, and the warm seawater coming up to wet the sand under my bare feet, and the electric boardwalk lights, behind, illuminating the waves, and the peace sign hung on leather around my neck, all with such intricate subtle patterns of colors.
(In case you're getting the idea that I'm just an old hippie, well, I was anyway, but let me just tell you that this old hippie was and still is a percussionist. I've played in several groups, concert bands, orchestras, even marching bands. My group even played for a McGovern presidntial campaign rally in '72 at Lafeyette college. I've known music. A lot. I've just changed who I play for - I play for my church now. For free. I just can't charge God for my services. Look where He brought me from!)

Steve played my absolute favorite Jackson Kent State Blues (yes, that's the REAL name) for an encore at a college concert somewhere in New York. Steve came out and said "We're going to sing one final song for you tonight, and it's going to be..." my buddy hollered it out, "Jackson Kent State Blues!!!" as loud as he could (we were only about 50 feet away from Steve), and Steve turned and looked right at us when he agreeably announced "...Jackson Kent State Blues", and he quickly started into the song. That was by far the best concert experience ever! Let's see, that was about 36 years ago in '72. See what I mean by "lasts a lifetime"? Do you think that I will ever forget these things?? I wore out a couple albums of this, and an 8-track... This is a classic, to me, more than any other.

It reminds me of a weekend I'll never forget in Summer 1972 when a friend and I stayed at his parent's big old cottage on an island on a NH lake. This seems to be the only record we had there, and we loved it.

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve but, it's NOT REMASTERED! This has the same sonic quality as the (much lower cost) domestic release that has been available for ages.

Searching for the Steve Miller Band Album "Your Saving Grace", I came to another fine album from that Period - "Number Five". It is Steve Miller at his best, good Songs and a nice and easy "Mood" over the Album. Nice re-listening!

The audio on this 1994 release has now been supplanted by a remastered 2007 Japanese mini-sleeve CD.

The first five albums in the Steve Miller catalog were included in this new Japan issue. This also marks the return of "Your Saving Grace", which has been inexplicably unavailable in the domestic US catalog 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.

And, as always, the exact replica of the original LP album cover is great to have.

As all 'sleeve releases are limited edition, do not delay in getting yours, as they will probably sell out quickly.

However, be advised that Amazon's availability always trails the release dates in Japan by at least two weeks, so pre-ordering mini-sleeves on Amazon is never a guarantee you will actually receive them. Also, Amazon's mini-sleeve prices are nearly double the Japan street prices (before shipping, of course).

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 13.5MM X 13.5MM cardboard-sleeve, precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, everything else packaged with the original LP is precisely replicated and included, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and die cuts. An English-language lyric sheet is also included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have Japan-dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2 or 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 Japan-language promotional strip. The OBI often also lists the original album's release date, the Japan street date of that particular disc, the catalog number, and mastering info. Bonus tracks are always only listed on the OBI, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork.

The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake copies of Japan `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.

Also, there are older Japan mini-sleeve releases that have been supplanted with newer ones, usually with updated audio (such as JVC-Japan replacing older K2-mastered titles with new K2HD mastered releases).

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common with some of the Japanese companies (but, again, not always). Mini-sleeve collecting can get expensive quickly, so, if you're a novice, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced `sleeve collector!

I listen to "Serenade" as I write this : simply classic.
Don't miss this! Torrent most SM -- buy this one!

ESSENTIAL ALBUM!!! Steve Miller hit a commercial milestone with this album. Not even The Joker hinted at what was around the corner for this artist. It has always been hard for me to choose between this album & Book of Dreams. They are very similar & there's a good reason for it; both were recorded at the same time. Capitol Records decided wisely to issue them separately a year apart. Best songs on the album include "Fly Like an Eagle", "Mercury Blues" & "Rockin' Me Baby".

It's a shame that Steve Miller took so long to release new material after these two albums. With the amount of time it took him he should've had some good material but, alas, no. Steve Miller is a competent journeyman guitarist, his main strength being his ability to recycle riffs & songs making them his own.

Steve Miller has not enjoyed the commercial success since Fly Like an Eagle & Book of Dreams. The reason is simple: He could not duplicate what he did on these two albums.

Once upon a time, Steve Miller was a musical force - though at the time, he got little airplay. From "Children of the Future" through "Number 5", the Steve Miller Band made great music.

The came a troubled period, followed by "The Joker". With this album, he set his sights on breaking the Top 40, and while he succeeded, it was hardly admirable work (not an uncommon tale among those who trade respect for profit).

"Fly Like An Eagle" continues that pattern of pandering to the lowest common denominator - a pattern he seems determined to maintain.

If you'd like to know what the man is actually capable of, I recommend "Sailor", "Brave New World", or "Your Saving Grace" (sadly, out-of-print).

The album is obvious a classic this review is for the DVD-Audio that sellers are listing item as. I purchased two they were both DTS-CD don't get me wrong it still sounds good but if you want a DVD-Audio disc ask before you purchase. On DTS-CD "Space Intro" was left out what were they thinking?

The breakthrough to the rock world "besides the SMB diehards" still holds up after 30 years. Part 1 of 2 releases. He recorded Fly and Book of Dreams at the same time.