This is another Greatest Hits release from the Steve Miller Band, (after Greatest Hits 1968-73), offering a collection of his greatest hits from the highest point of his career, in the mid 1970s. In this 14-song package, 13 of the hits come from two of his albums, released in adjacent years 1976 (Fly Like An Eagle,(FLAE)), and 1977 (Book Of Dreams, (BOD)). The songs for these two albums were recorded at the same time, but split among two albums rather than being released on an extra long album with more than 20 songs on it. The 14th hit stands alone as being derived from an older album, The Joker, (1973). Although this last song is unusual in that it was extracted from an older album, it is perhaps a harbinger of what was to arrive in the near future. This bluesy, humorous song is about a funny character who is described in many terms: "picker, grinner, lover, sinner"; "joker, smoker, midnight toker"; "Space Cowboy, Gangster of Love, Maurice". Each of these last three names is followed by a wacky guitar symbol.

Six of these 14 songs come from the immensely popular FLAE album, released in 1976. At least half of the songs in that album can be considered hits. That album represents many different styles of music: rock 'n' roll, folk, country, and the blues, as well as SM's unique spacey style. The songs from that album included in this GH collection are: "Fly Like An Eagle" (FLAE song), perhaps the best-known song of his career and most heavily played on AOR and oldies radio stations. This album-oriented song is marked by organ accompaniment to his mellow plea for food, clothing, and shelter for the people who lack them. "Wild Mountain Honey" (WMH) is a sequal to the "FLAE" song on the original album, with fancy organ accompaniment and light drum tapping that serve as a backdrop to Steve's vocals. Both of these songs are marked by a unique Steve Miler sound of spacey, novel organ frills on the original FLAE album. Folk guitar can be heard in the rapid strumming of "Serenade" and in "Take The Money And Run", a story of a man and woman trying to rob some cash. A rock 'n' roll number is "Rock N Me", a memorable piece with a hint of southern blues similar to Roy Orbison or Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). Finally, there is the country-sounding "Dance Dance Dance", a good choice for down-to-earth, backyard parties.

The remaining seven songs come from the Book of Dreams (BOD) album, released in 1977 (although it was recorded at the same time as the FLAE album.) These seven songs represent over half of the dozen tracks on the BOD album, or 7/12 songs of that album. The instrumental "Threshold" features an organ that rises and falls in pitch smoothly, sort of like the sound of an airplane taking off, landing, or flying overhead. This track leads directly into "Jet Airliner", one of the very popular hits with the folk and southern rock style reminiscent of CCR. Other southern rock-style hits include "True Fine Love" that also sound like CCR, and "The Stake", a love song with guitar work similar to The Eagles or Joe Walsh. "Winter Time" is a folk/soft rock hit that highlights a folk guitar and harmonica, in a poem about the characteristics of winter outdoors. Steve does a very creative production of the party song "Swingtown", in which he plays with a variety of instruments, as well as the organ. Another track with Steve's unique style of toying with musical instruments is "Jungle Love", a rock 'n' roll love song that begins and ends with whistles and squeaks that probably mimic birds and monkeys and other creatures found in the jungle. This was one of his most popular hits on the radio and also on his GH album.

Overall, this album would earn 5 stars for the creativity and uniqueness of SM's songs, for nobody else seems to produce a sound quite like his. However, some of these tracks are abbreviated, a couple severely. The "FLAE" song has been severely edited at both the beginning and end parts, most notably eliminating the organ trills and scales found at the ending part. More than 1 and 1/2 minutes have been chopped off this song. "Jet Airliner" has also been butchered in places, reducing its impact that was suggested by the title. Almost one minute has been removed here. "Dance Dance Dance" is the third song that has been drastically shortened here, with nearly a minute removed. "Swingtown" has also been shortened by nearly half a minute.

Also, the producers could have placed the FLAE song and WMH together as in the original FLAE album. Fortunately, they have placed "Threshold" and "Jet Airliner" together. Also notably absent are some songs like "Mercury Blues" from the FLAE album, which was a popular hit: a blues-type song about a special car that the singer dreams of having in his possession. This very popular and well-known hit was remade by another artist about 18 years later, using another style.

With the 14 songs in the GH album, even if all of them were full-length, unedited forms, the CD with an 80-minute capacity would be able to accommodate them. The CD with this capacity would also be able to include additional songs such as "Mercury Blues" in its full length for a remastered 15-track album. The original GH album was released on vinyl LP with a 60-minute capacity; even this would be sufficient to accommodate the original 14 songs in full-length form: they still would have amounted to less than 50 minutes. A better remastered GH album would have at least 15 songs in its lineup (the original 14 songs plus "Mercury Blues.") Fortunately, other versions of SM's GH albums have since been produced and released.

With its faults, this album deserves about 3+2/3 to 4 stars. If detailed ratings were possible, the creativity and novelty of songs earns 6 stars on a 5-point scale (really), inclusion and coverage of all available SM songs would bring 4 stars, but the edited versions of songs deserve only 1 or 2 stars. Due to the greatness of SM's creations, this album will receive the benefit of the doubt and get 4 stars here.

This Steve Miller album gets 5 stars largely on its strength as a compilation. All of the Steve Miller hits you know from the radio are on this disc. It's all you need for an overview of Steve Miller and for slapping in the CD player when you're at a party and want some 70s rock on. This stuff is good, simple, rock music. Steve's vocals are well-backed by the guitars. Very solid album.

I'm going to rate this CD based on a $1 per song cost to total cost for the entire CD (Apple and Rhapsody charge $1 per song).
This is a rather fine example of what a greatest hits CD should be. A bunch of really good songs with not much in the way of "filler".
Tracks 1,2,3,4,8,9 & 11 are the popular classics you'll know from the radio. (Tracks 6,12 & 13 aren't that popular, but they grow on you). So you get $7 worth of essential tracks for the current Amazon price of $8. Not bad. (You can get each of these songs individually from iTunes and save yourself $1). Two other good songs from Steve Miller, that fall outside the 1974-1978 range, are "Abracadabra" and "Living in the USA". Don't go and pay $14 for the "Young Hearts" greatest hits CD just to get these two additional songs. I'd buy each of them on iTunes for $1, if available.
Hope this helps.
Darium

A wonderful CD of some of Mr. Miller's best tunes. This is a staple for those times when you want to kick back and relax, and just fade into your memories. Super tunes.

I LOVE IT. I LISTEN AT HOME OR IN THE CAR . IT HAS ALL OF THEIR GREAT SONGS AND IT IS SO MUCH FUN.

The Steve Miller Band produced some remarkable pop rock songs in the 1970s. They were sticky, short and sweet tracks that bore the mark of ingenuity and economy. They didn't take up a lot of your time, but they songs stayed in your mind for a long, long time. Indeed, many of these are FM staples down to this day. This 1978 collection is filled with the gems of their mid-70s work. How do the songs rate?

Swingtown- It begins with a fade-in. The bassline we hear becomes the backbone of the song. Harmonies fill the song, as do catchy melodies. An excellent way to kick off the compilation.

Jungle Love- A classic. Just thinking about "Jungle Love" is driving me crazy.

Take the Money and Run- A short little gem that's one my favourite SMB tracks. The off-kilter drum intro is great, as is the zany guitar work. The lyrics themselves tell the story of a robbing couple and the sheriff who's out to get them. Goofy fun all around.

Rock 'N Me- "Keep on 'a rockin' me baby" says it all. Memorable guitar riff, too.

Serenade- Not the best song, but good by most standards.

True Fine Love- Cute ballad with a nice little swing to it.

The Stake- A slow-burning pop classic.

The Joker- This is from 1973, so its inclusion is dubious. But guess what? The song is one of SMB's most enduring and pivotal tracks. If "Maurice" followed by a guitar-made whistling-like sound doesn't ring a bell, there's something wrong with you.

Fly Like an Eagle- A mellow paean to freedom embossed in some fine electronic atomospherics. One SMB's other key songs.

Threshold- Not really a song at all. It's an intro to...

Jet Airliner- Pop rock about being a celebrity. Great chorus.

Dance, Dance, Dance- More country than anything else. Good thing they stuck it at the end, because I always skip this cold fish.

Winter Time- Doesn't do anything for me.

Wild Mountain Honey- Dull.

Now, as you might've noted, a great many of these tracks garnered quite a bit of praise from me. That's because the music itself is quite awesome. However, this set does have some weaknesses:

*Nothing (aside from "The Joker") outside the 74-78 range. That means you don't get any of SMB's early classics or the early 80s cheesball "Abracadabra" track.

*Original issue CD, which means the sound quality is rather low.

*Not a lot of songs. Given that this compilation was originally released on an LP, we can understand why we don't get that much music.

*Better compilations are out there. "Young Hearts" offers more songs than this, and the sound is better. BUT,if you're looking for a concise overview of hits, you might be interested in this one. If you down mind less tracks and low audio quality, this compilation will work for you. It'll probably cost you less, too.

Overall, this compilation was great for its time. But in this day and age, it seems rather outdated. Fantastic tunes, though!

Great album... has the great hits of Steve popular on the radio when I was growing up.

One for me, one for a friend. Had to buy this one a third time.
Keep on a rock'n me baby.

I love this CD, the music is great and my 14 year old son loves it too.

excellent condition when arrived fast shipping and awsome cd !!

I JUST LOVE STEVE MILLER.I THINK THAT JOKER AND FLY LIKE AN EAGLES ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST SONGS EVER.STEVE MILLER IS AN EXTREMELY GOOD GUITARIST AND ANYDAY BETTER THAN MARK KNOPFLER AND SLASH.

HERE'S MY LIST OF REALLY GOOD SONGS
LYNYRD SKYNYRD FREE BIRD
LYNYRD SKYNYRD SIMPLE MAN
BOSTON MORE THAN A FEELING
QUEEN WE WILL ROCK YOU
QUEEN WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
QUEEN BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
PINK FLOYD COMFORTABLY NUMB
PINK FLOYD ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 2
THE BEATLES WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS
THE BEATLES HEY JUDE
AC/DC GIRLS GOT RHYTM
AC/DC BACK IN BLACK.

HERE'S MY LIST OF WORST SONGS
GREEN DAY BOLUEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
GREEN DAY MACY'S DAY PARADE
FOREIGNER WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU
FOREIGNER GIRL ON THE MOON
DIRE STRAITS HEAVY FUEL
DIRE STRAITS TELEGRAPH ROAD.

I was in Jr. High School when most of Steve Miller Band's Hits were popular. The music sounds as good today as they did some 30 years ago. I love The Joker and I think our radio station here in town plays it more than any other song by SMB. Another good song is Serenade. I love the guitar work on this song as well as Jet Airliner. Fly Like An Eagle is also a very good song with some fine guitar work. Rock 'N' Me is a very mellow song that my friends and I used to sing to a lot and we knew every word. Steve Miller Band was one of the most popular bands of the 70's. My favorite song on this CD is Take The Money And Run. It is about two teenagers in love and they have nothing better to do than steal money from a bank or store and they keep running from the law and as the song says, they are still running today.
This CD is a must for any collection and anyone who likes good Rock and Roll.

It is too bad that so many people's view of the Steve Miller Band centers around this album. First off, there isn't enough space on a CD to truly contain all of Steve's best work.

Where a greatest hits collection is generally the best solution for listeners who are not serious fans, in this case I have an alternative suggestion.

To get a good taste of the Steve Miller's work, I'd suggest getting 4 albums (CDs) for casual fans:

1. Space Cowboy, for the early psychadelic Steve Miller. Nine of nine tracks are superb.
2. Fly Like an Eagle, for the height of his commercial radio career.
3. Book of Dreams, more commercial hits but great work like The Stake, and in this original version of Jet Airliner, there are no "funky kicks" going down in the city.
4. Wide River, which brings Steve Miller into his 4th decade of great music. Every track is good and most are fantastic.

And then I suggest that the hardcore fans (like me) get this greatest hits CD because we have to have it all when it comes to the Steve Miller Band.

If I was Steve Miller, i would have been appalled with the way the record company edited down all of these great tracks. What the heck were you thinking Capitol? Every song is edited even the classics like "the joker" and "jet airliner". The best part of "jet airliner" is the awesome opening guiitar solo, well thanks to Capitol Records they edited most of it out.It sounds terrible.
Don't waste your money on this highly edited album.
If you want Steve Miller Band's greatest hits, I suggest you get
Steve Miller Band "young Hearts"-the complete Greatest hits.
Yes It might cost you a few bucks more BUT you get the full length versions of all songs and it is digitally remastered in stereo

ok being as for me 74-78 were steve miller bands best years i think this is the only smb cd you will ever need but some people dont agree with me cmon swingtown,take the money,rock n me,joker,fly like an eagle,jet airliner what else do you need do yourself a favor and go buy this cd

Ok, when it comes to Steve Miller I can never really say I've been one to get too deep into his stuff. I've never purchased an album that WASN'T a greatest hits, however I have a few.

There is a 68-73 best of package that is really good. I used to have that one and 74-78 in the same case and brought it to every party. I lost that case at one of these parties and now own the boxed set. Thats as deep as I ever got. The boxed set I have problems with though because all the goods are mixed with a lot of crappy filler (mainly the junk he came out with in the eighties.)

THIS DISC THOUGH IS ALL THE REAL ESSENTIALS, see if you buy the newest greatest hits package, sure it has more but its lacking in that the mix isn't as good. It's basically this one with a few 68-73 tracks (not even half of what 68-73 has on it) and an edited (take it or leave it) ABRACADABRA.

THE THING ABOUT THIS DISC IS, that the mix is perfect and every song is grade A. You can put this on at a party or just straight rock out to the whole thing. Few greatest hits packages are classic albums in themselves, the only other one is ROLLING STONES HOT ROCKS.
Some of the songs ARE edited, which stinks yeah, but this ain't gonna stop the ladies from shakin' it.
This is a highly recommended disc for anyone who likes to rock out or just get down in general. If you feel you need more Stevie Miller than get 68-73 after.

How come they edited the first opening riff on Jet Airliner, I
really like that alot. I dont know, I dont like this band and
theres only 3 good songs. Take the Money and Run, Rock N Me, Jet
Airliner, too bad they eddited that. Buy book of dreams and waste your amount of money on it and listen to the Jet Airliner
on it, it's much better. The Joker is one of the worst songs I
have ever heard in my lifetime. That's what makes this compilation sucks the price!! LISTEN to the Dire Straits insted.

"Telegraph Road"
"Heavy Fuel"
"Money for Nothing"
"Skateaway"
"Sultans of Swing"
"So Far Away"
"Walk of Life"
"Industrial Disease"
"Calling Elvis"
"Romeo and Juliet"
"Down to the Waterline"
"Solid Rock"
"Private Investigations"
"Expresso Love"
"Brothers in Arms"

This is a piece of history. It is something to be cherished and listened to on occasion. Nothing aggressive here, just good ol' fashioned rock and roll. Plenty of good vibes.

The Steve Miller Band really dominated the '70s with their rock songs. They are surprisingly catchy, especially the landmark Fly Like An Eagle, which has a cool groove, yet rocks also! Countless rap artists have sampled this song and Seal did a wonderful remake of the song in 1996. But songs like The Joker, the catchy Swingtown that Ford used in their car commercials once, Jet Airliner, the country-tinged Dance Dance Dance, Threshold (the lead-in intro to Jet Airliner--most stations still play both songs at once, a rare and chance taking move), Jungle Love (which Malcolm In the Middle used in their commercial once), and countless others. Miller didn't want to do this project at first, but he could not believe the contribution that his band brought to American music in the '70s. His phenomenal guitar playing dominates the songs and his band had one of the best rhythm sections in rock bands. This is a dynamic release that you'll want to play over and over again! Probably inspired many artists to put out greatest hits albums when their careers were running dry of hits--his band had the right formula to making one rather than what the record company thinks.

Although those who grew up in the 70s were probably fans of Steve Miller when these songs were first released, children of the 80s like myself were first exposed to Steve Miller via the incessantly played pop hit "Abracadabra." It wasn't until I went to college that I discovered the classic tunes featured on this album, as songs such as "Jungle Love" and "Rock 'N Me" were staples of my collegiate life. Unfortunately, it seems that modern-day "best of" radio stations (e.g., "the best of the 70s and 80s"), have co-opted some of these tracks to play them to the point of exhaustion, namely "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle," and "Jet Airliner." Still, if you are a Steve Miller fan, there is plenty to enjoy here that you won't find on the airwaves, "Abracadabra" not withstanding.

A great cd of Steve's best songs from his best albums. All of these songs are arranged really well, showcasing his songwriting talent. This is a great album of party rock that anyone can enjoy, with a little country thrown in for good measure. It is a really good cd that will enhance any collection. If you are new to the music, you will still probably recognize many songs. For more great Steve Miller songs, get Best of 1968-73 (I think thats what it is called). But get this greatest hits collection before that one.

I will always have a copy of this, which means I have had to buy several copies...I am very bad on CD's.

I think this CD is great i mean I like every song on it. Its the CD that got me listening to classic rock. It has all the bands great hits on it and I don't care if it doesn't have space cowboy on it because i dont like that song is even that good. before i listened to this CD i was into rap and I thought that classic rock was only for old people. going from rap to classic rock is a big change and if this CD can do it then you know it is good

Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-1978 lives up to it's title for the most part except that "The Joker" is from 1973. While the album has Steve Miller's biggest radio hits, there is not much point to the album, other than "The Joker" the rest of the songs only come from two different albums,"Fly Like an Eagle and "Book of Dreams" and both of those albums are good enough that most fans would be pleased with those to albums. The other thing that counts against this album is the edited version of "Jet Airliner". I would recommend getting Fly like an Eagle, Book of Dreams, and the new Greatest Hits Cd that covers his whole career.

Great album but not the bast compilation. What makes the Steve Miller Band unique is obvioulsy their distinctive sound which is nice to here every once in a while. It takes me back to the 70's. Again, enjoyed the album but could be better!!!

"Greatest Hits" is good. No way is this the artist's best, though. I would definitely recommend each and every one of his albums before this. Yes, there's some edits here. Yes, "Jet Airliner" is censored. No, "Space Cowboy" and "Living in the USA" aren't found here. No, "Winter Time" was not a "hit". These factors make this a three star album. VERY casual fans will enjoy it, because most only purchase compilations. But if you want to dig deeper, but not buy every note (even though you should), get "Anthology". Don't even get the box set- its set list is way too confused, and the inclusion of several recordings made before Steve was a teenager does not serve the listener well. To the reviewer who said that Miller was the worst vocalist ever- I don't think so, and perhaps you should go back and ask yourself why this album is currently rated the number 800 selling album on amazon.com (this comp is a quarter- century old, and Miller hasn't had a legitimate "hit" since the 80's ("Wide River" doesn't count).

this album is a no. so are all steve miller's. miller is a crooning idiot who thinks he is so cute. his voice is one of the worst i have heard in years (on Jet Airliner he sounds like he is saying "Bingo Gyp with a lineup" instead of "big ol jet airliner"), and the music is overrated and outdated. most of his songs are annoying and/or awful. stay away.

From now on I'm going deeper into customer reviews. Had I read the review from the person who warned that this CD has the shortened and censored version of "Jet Airliner" I never would have made this purchase. When I discovered the unhappy truth while driving in my car, I wanted to "fly" this CD like an eagle -- or make that a frisbee -- right through the moonroof.

Great CD
I wore this CD out! I just wish there were more songs on it; I know there are more great songs than what's on this CD.
Gimme MORE!

A must-Have CD here, pick it up!

Don't hesitate to check out my newly published book:
"Under the Rose: Poetry of Tragedy, Essence and Romance"

This greatest hits CD is perfect in every aspect. Every song on the cd is good, it's classic rock at it's best. It has songs like "Swingtown" "Rockin' Me" and "Jungle Love" It also has many others. If you like classic rock and just enjoy good music this cd is a great addition to your collection!! Greatest hits? Yes it truly is!!

This CD of Steve Miller's greatest hits from his mid seventies output is awesome!!! His signature tunes from his albums Fly Like An Eagle and Book Of Dreams are all here on one shiny little disc!!! The sound quality is top notch!!! A truly great collection!!! Two thumbs up!!! A+

Steve Miller only had two albums - "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Book of Dreams" - plus one song (The Joker) that comprise this collection. Still though, it's worth it. Just like Creedence Clearwater before him, he was a singles artist, so a Greatest Hits is perfect. It's filled with classic mid '70s rock that you'd have to be crazy not to love.

1) Swingtown -- Not my favorite, but still a great long, slow good time rocker.

2) Jungle Love -- After the 'Space Invaders' intro, this becomes one of the harder rocking tracks, and a very fun, uptempo one at that.

3) Take The Money and Run -- A somewhat bluesy pop/rocker with a great story about 'Two young lovers' who go on a crime spree and 'Billy Mack', the Texas detective who does his best to capture them. It plays like a very interesting episode of "COPS."

4) Rock 'N Me -- Another blues tinged poppy rocker, this time about girls. A more typical rock & roll subject. Despite the overplaying of this one, it's a classic I'll never get sick of.

5) Serenade -- Not a great tune, but far from bad. This isn't as pop as some of the others. A slight throwback to his earlier pre-radio days, with it's spacey mid tempo beat.

6) True Fine Love -- The extremely underrated hit that got away! A breezy, happy, poppy 70's spirited rock tune about simply 'Finding me a true, fine love' and settling down. I'll just say that if you're mad before you hear this song, by the time it's over, you'll be a little less ticked.

7) The Stake -- The blues kick in even more here. Another one that could've fit on Steve's earlier albums. On it's own, it's okay, but I just like the previous song too much that it seems boring coming right after it.

8) The Joker -- SM's first hit, and still a rock radio staple. Honestly, who has never heard this humorous, easygoing rock tune?

9) Fly Like an Eagle -- A long, spacey rocker with a lighter tone. Also, one of his biggest hits, and as of lately, I'll always think of the Postal service when I hear it.

10) Threshold -- Just the instrumental, synthesized opening to...

11) Jet Airliner -- Which is one of my all time favorite songs, no kidding. The story of a guy who wants to 'Be movin' on' but keeps getting drawn back home. It's set to a happy, slightly hard edged rock beat, which seems to be a precursor to 80's rock. Put simply, if you like stuff like Journey, Foreigner or Genesis, you'll definately love this.

12) Dance Dance Dance -- The quality of the album drops here. By no means is this a bad song, but it's decidedly much slower paced, and almost sounds like straight country music. It's still an okay, fun listen.

13) Winter Time -- Another slow pop tune which really recalls the space/blues of the early Steve Miller. Not terrible, but far from great.

14) Wild Mountain Honey -- Very similar to the last song, but even more mystical and slow. Still passable, though.

The only flaws with this collection is including a couple lackluster tunes toward the end. Also, Steve's early 80's hits "Heart Like A Wheel" "Give it Up" and especially "Abracadabra" are missing, obviously, since this collection came out before those songs did.

That's still hardly a detractor from one of the best classic rock collections of all time. One that's fairly timeless for its age.

I don't own this album but my mom used to have it and she lost it somehow. So I'm pretty much familiar with it. This is the first time that I had heard Steve Miller's music. This is what introduced me to "Fly Like and Eagle", "The Joker", "Jet Airliner" etc. Some might say that SMB had many other hits that are not on this CD but keep in mind that the title says 74-78. Which also happens to be his most successful period of making music. Although I think the Joker came out in 1973 but i wont complain since i like that song. Since then there's been quite a few albums spanning his entire career. There is one simply titled greatest hits which is an australian import so its obviously gonna cost more money and then the latest one with the false title complete greatest hits. Look just get 74-78 and buy his other albums that are not included in that one.

The CD Steve Miller Band Gr Hits 1974-78.Is a collection of songs
that define 70s rock.Like many of you I first got this on cassete.Listening to the CD brought me back to that erea once more just like it did on cassete.The sound is now no better
or no worse just plain Rock N Roll.

Steve Miller Band is one of the greatest bands of all time and this album proves it. From Swingtime to Wild Mountain Honey you'll be listening to this cd for many many hours. Buy this while it's still here!