Steve Miller Band - Ultimate Hits

by Nicky Crewe

published: 19 / 11 / 2017

Label: Universal
Format: CD X2

Timely double best of CD from the Steve Miller Band which is a reminder of their huge commercial success and influence on classic American rock music

Review

Steve Miller is American rock royalty. His godfather was Les Paul. He worked with Chicago Blues greats and T Bone Walker. Boz Scaggs was a school friend. He’s been around for a long time and continues to make music. CD1 includes a recording of Les Paul talking to a five year old Steve. It’s prophetic and very sweet. There’s an intro to 'Gangster of Love' that is a long spoken piece about his early days in music, as a twelve year old schoolboy trying to get his parents to take him to bookings. His parents were involved and supportive, great friends of Les Paul and Mary Ford. So, those are the extras for the fans. The rest of the CDs do what it says on the tin. These are the ultimate hits, and there are a staggering number of them. Mostly familiar through radio airplay, there are many previously unreleased and live versions to add to a definitive collection. I was introduced to Steve Miller’s music when a friend played 'Sailor' to me in the late Sixties. The circumstances were unusual. It was in the Far East, where my family lived, and our jungle gardens backed on to one another’s. I first heard 'Piper at The Gates Of Dawn' in a similar way, Psychedelic sounds at full volume accompanied by a tropical soundscape. 'Song for Our Ancestors' is seared into my psyche as a result, and while I love the classic American rock tracks included here and am in awe of Steve Miller’s prolific output as a successful musician, that’s the one that’s missing. It was out of character I suppose, and never an ultimate hit. Steve Miller’s 'Gangster Of Love' introduced me to the music of Johnny Guitar Watson, and I did get to see him live. Once when I was working at the Hacienda, Rob Gretton played 'The Joker' at full volume on the sound system, before the doors opened. I wasn’t expecting that. You get forty tracks on these two CDs. If you’re a fan, it’s a great collection. Even if you’re not, it’s a great reminder of some fantastic hits.

Track Listing:-

1 Steve Miller Age 5 Talking To His Godfather Les Paul
2 Gangster Of Love
3 The Joker
4 Baby's Callin' Me Home
5 My Dark Hour
6 Little Girl
7 Living In The U.S.A.
8 Space Cowboy
9 Seasons
10 Journey From Eden
11 Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma
12 Going To Mexico
13 Kow Kow Calculator
14 Come On In My Kitchen
15 Sugar Babe
16 The Lovin' Cup
17 Dance, Dance, Dance
18 Take The Money And Run
19 Rock'n Me
20 Space Intro
21 Fly Like An Eagle
22 Wild Mountain Honey
23 The Window
24 Take The Money And Run
25 In The Midnight Hour
26 Jungle Love
27 Threshold
28 Jet Airliner
29 The Stake
30 Swingtown
31 Serenade From The Stars
32 True Fine Love
33 Heart Like A Wheel
34 Abracadabra
35 I Want To Make The World Turn Around
36 Italian X Rays
37 Don't Cha Know
38 Cry, Cry, Cry
39 Stranger Blues
40 Behind The Barn