Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Steve Miller's segue from the late '60s cosmic blues of Sailor and Children of the Future into his new role as a "space cowboy" was a gradual one that took place mostly out of the public eye and over a half dozen albums that would be largely unrecognizable to many of Miller's latest fans. Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden, Your Saving Grace, and Rock Love were weedy, ramshackle affairs that sound as unfocused as they do uncommercial but they were also where he worked out the foundational compositional approaches that would define his sound throughout the '70s.
You can hear the transformation on this J50 set, and the "early" version of "Mary Lou" may be the very point at which things pivoted. In this studio rehearsal take, the song sounds like a clanking, loose-limbed blues-raver (much like many of the tracks that Miller recorded a couple years previously), with banging percussion, warbly keyboard lines, and vocals that are high on vibe and low on precision. This set immediately sequences the album version of "Mary Lou" after the rehearsal, so you can easily hear that it's the same song. Whereas the rehearsal version wouldn't have been out of place on Rock Love, the album version—with all the same component parts, just rendered in a distinctly more thoughtful manner—is an absolutely new sound for the Steve Miller Band, the one that would make him one of the biggest stars of the decade.
Of course, J50 also provides similar revelatory insights into other aspects of this classic album: an acoustic demo, "Travelin'," is subtitled "Looking for a chorus for the Joker" and we also get five (yes, five!) versions of "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma." The approach is similar to the one taken on Big Star's Complete Third, where the evolution of the album, rather than the album-plus-some-outtakes, is the focus. The flow of the classic album is substituted for works-in-progress next to their finished versions, live tunes that showed where the band was at before they even started writing the album, and even interstitials of Miller talking. It's a beautifully contrarian way to celebrate a classic album since it has no pretense of replacing The Joker, but instead provides a deep, complementary look at it. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Alan Thomson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Ben Sidran, ComposerLyricist - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Geoff Muldaur, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mastering Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1990 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Obediah Donnell Jessie, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Obediah Donnell Jessie, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1990 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - GLYN JOHNS, Producer - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Capitol Records, LLC
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1990 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Charles Calhoun, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Charles Calhoun, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - AHMET ERTEGUN, ComposerLyricist - Kent Hertz, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - EDDIE CURTIS, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2017 Capitol Records LLC
STEVE MILLER, Producer - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 Capitol Records, LLC
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Robert Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robert Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Greg MacCarthy, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1990 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Dickie Thompson, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Lonnie Turner, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Greg MacCarthy, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1990 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - Dickey Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gene Hicks, Assistant Mixer, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Sweet, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Ranellucci, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist - "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, Pedal Steel, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1991 Capitol Records, LLC
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Kent Hertz, Mixer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Mastering Engineer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - Steven Haworth Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2023 Sailor Records
Gerald Johnson, Bass Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KING, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - AHMET ERTEGUN, ComposerLyricist - STEVE MILLER, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Miller Band, MainArtist - EDDIE CURTIS, ComposerLyricist - Dick Thompson, Organ, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1973 Capitol Records, LLC
Album review
Steve Miller's segue from the late '60s cosmic blues of Sailor and Children of the Future into his new role as a "space cowboy" was a gradual one that took place mostly out of the public eye and over a half dozen albums that would be largely unrecognizable to many of Miller's latest fans. Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden, Your Saving Grace, and Rock Love were weedy, ramshackle affairs that sound as unfocused as they do uncommercial but they were also where he worked out the foundational compositional approaches that would define his sound throughout the '70s.
You can hear the transformation on this J50 set, and the "early" version of "Mary Lou" may be the very point at which things pivoted. In this studio rehearsal take, the song sounds like a clanking, loose-limbed blues-raver (much like many of the tracks that Miller recorded a couple years previously), with banging percussion, warbly keyboard lines, and vocals that are high on vibe and low on precision. This set immediately sequences the album version of "Mary Lou" after the rehearsal, so you can easily hear that it's the same song. Whereas the rehearsal version wouldn't have been out of place on Rock Love, the album version—with all the same component parts, just rendered in a distinctly more thoughtful manner—is an absolutely new sound for the Steve Miller Band, the one that would make him one of the biggest stars of the decade.
Of course, J50 also provides similar revelatory insights into other aspects of this classic album: an acoustic demo, "Travelin'," is subtitled "Looking for a chorus for the Joker" and we also get five (yes, five!) versions of "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma." The approach is similar to the one taken on Big Star's Complete Third, where the evolution of the album, rather than the album-plus-some-outtakes, is the focus. The flow of the classic album is substituted for works-in-progress next to their finished versions, live tunes that showed where the band was at before they even started writing the album, and even interstitials of Miller talking. It's a beautifully contrarian way to celebrate a classic album since it has no pretense of replacing The Joker, but instead provides a deep, complementary look at it. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 43 track(s)
- Total length: 02:01:02
- Main artists: Steve Miller Band
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Steve Miller - Owned
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2023 Capitol Records, LLC. and Sailor Records, LLC. ℗ 2023 Capitol Records, LLC. and Sailor Records, LLC.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.