Has anyone heard of the Steve Miller band - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Author

Message

Topic Search

Topic Options

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Topic: Has anyone heard of the Steve Miller band
Posted: November 04 2005 at 03:52

Are they prog?

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Posted: November 04 2005 at 03:55

Oh come on! 7 of you have viewed this but no1 will answer my question?

con safo

Prog Reviewer

Joined: March 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 1230

Posted: November 04 2005 at 03:57

barbs

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 04 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 562

Posted: November 04 2005 at 03:59

Fly like an eagle

Yep, did some really good laid back stuff. No more prog than Steely Dan though IMO.

Eternity

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Posted: November 04 2005 at 04:03

barbs wrote:

Fly like an eagle

Yep, did some really good laid back stuff. No more prog than Steely Dan though IMO.

So basically you're saying.. no?

RoyalJelly View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: September 29 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 582

Posted: November 04 2005 at 04:14

NO!!!!!! They were responsible for that dreadful American MOR sound that put everyone into an artificial coma in the latter part of the seventies, effectively ending a decade of creative progress in pop music (along with Wings, the Eagles and their "Tequila Sunrise", etc.). There is another Steve Miller, a british keyboardist who's actually the brother of brilliant guitarist Phil Miller (National Health, Hatfield & the North), who collaborated with various Canterbury bands.

My favorite (american) Steve Miller story was told by Miles Davis in his autobiography. Unbelievably, Miles was booked by Bill Graham as the WARM-UP act for Miller at the Fillmore. Miles refused to open for a guy he referred to as "that jive-ass no-playin' fool". and showed up late every night so he had to play after him, and just blew 'em away. Bill ran up all pissed off and shouted, "Hey man, you're disrespecting Steve!!!", to which Miles replied, "And we killed 'em, baby, didn't we?".

Sean Trane View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Prog Folk

Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 20248

Posted: November 04 2005 at 05:03

Hi JJ1414,

First of all welcome to the Archives! I hope you will enjoy yourself and I encourage you to read the few guidelines that are applicable for using the forums! These guidelines will tell you how to place a thread in the right forum (Steve Miller Band is not in the database, therefore has to be talked about in Non-prog music even if we discuss their progressiveness) , they will tell you to be patient , as just the 7 views of your thread from others members is not enough to warrant an answer , especially if most members do not know SMB!!

Furthermore your languages suggest a great amount of impatience!!! not the best way to get an answer!

Actually Steve Miller Band started out in 68 as a psych rock group (their base was in San Fran although they were originally from Chicago) , recorded their first four albums in England with Glyns John as a producer (this is why they have a hybrid US-Uk sound)> this sounds like psychich pop-rock with progressive overtones!

The group included Boz Scaggs , but he left for a solo career around 70, and SMB almost broke up before re-forming a little while later (around 73 I think)and made the Joker, and all of those 70's AOR (MOR means middle-of-the-road which is used for much mellower acts) albums. There are prog tones in his stuff of that era also but not enough to warrant their inclusion in the site.

let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword

Easy Livin View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: February 21 2004
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 15585

Posted: November 04 2005 at 08:25

I guess some of their very early psychedelic stuff could be considered to have prog connections, but they quickly moved away from that into West Coast pop rock. They made some good music though, "Fly like and eagle" and "Rock'n'me" are great pop rock.

UncleMeat

Forum Senior Member

Joined: October 23 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 288

Posted: November 04 2005 at 15:39

Who really cares if Steve Miller is Prog or not? There is only Good or Bad music, and that is very subjective. If it would be objective, there would be no-one in the world to like Chriss De Burghhh or Celine Dion.

Personally, I like a lot of the Steve Miller music. Just sounds good, nice sound. Not the best there is, but on a scale from 1-10 I rate it a 7.

Music Is The Best

barbs

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 04 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 562

Posted: November 05 2005 at 08:12

jj1414 wrote:

barbs wrote:

Fly like an eagle

Yep, did some really good laid back stuff. No more prog than Steely Dan though IMO.

So basically you're saying.. no?

Yes jj. Welcome.

Eternity

Syzygy

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: December 16 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 7003

Posted: November 05 2005 at 08:37

Steve Miller also made some interesting use of synths in the 80s - Abracadabra was the big hit from that era. His music is definitely not prog, but for what it is (AOR I suppose) it's good stuff and makes for great driving music.

'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'

Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Posted: November 06 2005 at 00:48

Sean Trane wrote:

Hi JJ1414,

Furthermore your languages suggest a great amount of impatience!!! not the best way to get an answer!

Haha....ok. This is really weird. Why do you guys have such strict pollicies? It's just a message board right? It's a little more then strange that you can't talk about a band on a certain board just because they're not on the database. ell oh ellz, whatever. Ok then.

I'll not say anything more about it.

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Posted: November 06 2005 at 01:12

Thanks for the wink though, I appreciate it.

jj1414

Forum Groupie

Joined: July 27 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 85

Posted: November 06 2005 at 01:14

Or wait, it was the embarrassed wink. Okie dokie......

Dick Heath View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Jazz-Rock Specialist

Joined: April 19 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 12813

Posted: November 06 2005 at 10:15

barbs wrote:

Fly like an eagle

Yep, did some really good laid back stuff. No more prog than Steely Dan though IMO.

A dodgy comparison. Steely Dan could get through the the back door, as rock musicians using jazz, as could Joni Mitchell. Try Nazareth..........................for instance

BTW what about the other (late) Steve Miller.

Sean Trane View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Prog Folk

Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 20248

Posted: November 06 2005 at 16:06

jj1414 wrote:

Thanks for the wink though, I appreciate it.

well enjoy yourself on the forums and the database of the Archives.

You might consider this site a bit addictive as time wears on!

let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword

The Doctor View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: June 23 2005
Location: The Tardis
Status: Offline
Points: 8543

Posted: November 06 2005 at 16:55

UncleMeat wrote:

Who really cares if Steve Miller is Prog or not? There is only Good or Bad music, and that is very subjective. If it would be objective, there would be no-one in the world to like Chriss De Burghhh or Celine Dion.

Personally, I like a lot of the Steve Miller music. Just sounds good, nice sound. Not the best there is, but on a scale from 1-10 I rate it a 7.

I love Chris DeBurgh...especially his albums Spanish Train, Far Beyond These Castle Walls and Crusader. But I actually love most of his work, with the exception of the dreadful Lady in Red

I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you?

DallasBryan View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: November 23 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3323

Posted: November 06 2005 at 20:12

Steve Miller went to the same high school as I went
to in Dallas, Texas(though a few years earlier). Steve
was a great innovator in the American AOR sound. In
his mid 70's period he flurted with progressive
sounds.(Fly Like An Eagle), although he was best at
Americana. Paul McCartney was a close friend and a
big fan of Stevie's sound. The Joker had a major
AOR impact in the states. The Best of Steve
Miller(AUS) is a good purchase for any 70's rock
lover!

barbs

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 04 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 562

Posted: November 11 2005 at 18:53

Dick Heath wrote:

barbs wrote:

Fly like an eagle

Yep, did some really good laid back stuff. No more prog than Steely Dan though IMO.

A dodgy comparison. Steely Dan could get through the the back door, as rock musicians using jazz, as could Joni Mitchell. Try Nazareth..........................for instance

BTW what about the other (late) Steve Miller.

Fair enough Dick,(who am I to argue with u about this subject) though I did say IMO and I guess I was referring to the West Coast influence AOR. I prefer Steely Dan over Steve Miller by the way, probably for the very reason you have pointed out, but as a comparison I was probably too quick to place them together 'post-haste'.

Regarding Jone Mitchell, I think you would need a pretty thorough understanding of her catalogue to draw that conclusion and I don't think there are to many people who would have that experience to draw on including me. Somehow I don't think of Nazareth and Steve Miller as similar but Jackson Browne maybe.

I'm not an expert anyway for which I am rather glad as I have heard some particularly unkind definitions about experts.

BTW, what about the other (late) Steve Miller?

Edited by barbs

Eternity

ChadFromCanada View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: November 12 2005
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 293

Posted: November 12 2005 at 21:31

RoyalJelly wrote:

That's great! I'll have to read it.

I don't mind Steve Miller band, they have a few radio friendly songs that can get stuck in your head. The Joker is my favourite.