The Steve Miller Band: Fly Like An Eagle - 1976
It had been three years since The Steve Miller Band broke big with The Joker. I must admit that when I saw this sleeve as I flicked through the album covers in the record shops, I perceived it to be a full-on rock album, from Miller's guitar hero pose on the cover. Apart from a few obvious rock moments it is far more of a country rock album, with a definite laid-back vibe pervading throughout proceedings.
The album kicks off with a brief, proggy hark back to the band's space rock past on Space Intro before we get the delightfully irresistible warm funk-lite groove of Fly Like An Eagle, which is just such a country piece of AOR. Wild Mountain Honey is even more country-ish and sounds like The Beach Boys in the early seventies (and not just because of the title, either).
Serenade casts its mind back to the white funk of The Joker album with its main riff, although its lyrics and vocal delivery are decidedly hippy as is the overall ambience. As with the previous alum, there is quite a lot of variety present here. It is all very relaxed, however, nothing like the general musical zeitgeist of 1976-77.
Dance, Dance, Dance is just so downhome country it could almost be Pure Prairie League or Firefall. It has a goofy appeal, though. The muscular, insistent blues chug of Mercury Blues reminds us, however, that Miller could go bluesy when he wanted to. It served as a real contrast to the previous track.
Now we get the album's two genuine rock cornerstones, both of which I remember from the time. Firstly, we get Take The Money And Run, which was surely the inspiration for John Mellencamp's Jack And Diane. Secondly is the riffy delight that is The Eagles-ish Rock 'n Me. I love both these tracks.
A clumsy cover of Sam Cooke's You Send Me is the album's one true low point, though. It just doesn't work for me, or for many, if other reviews are anything to go by. Miller was certainly no Rod Stewart when it came to covering Cooke songs. Blue Odyssey is a short interlude before we go blues again with the harmonica-driven and excellent Sweet Maree.
The Window is a fine sleepy rock-ish slow ballad to end on. As I said, certainly not a rock album but a country rock one, really. A good one, though, with a nice warm sound quality to it as well. By the way, I never really knew what Miller looked like, as you could never see him properly on many of the album covers. He looked very sixties. Like somebody out of The Raspberries or The Box Tops.
