Book of Dreams - Steve Miller Band

studio Miller

While live Steve Miller is a LOT better in my opinion (because of his willingness to experiment with creative ways to alter many of his songs) this is still a pretty decent album in its own right.

"Swingtown" and "The Stake" are the highlights for me, with the dreaminess of the former and the Joe Walsh-like guitar playing of the latter. "True Fine Love" is a good vocal melody track, and "Jungle Love "deserved to be a major hit because of its immediately likeable pop sound.

The only bad song is "Jet Airliner" which features a verse melody that drags clumsily (and rather annoyingly too). Steve Miller never had a perfect album though, but this is probably the best of his popular mid to late 70's period.

Book of Dreams

ESSENTIAL ALBUM!!! It's a hard choice between this album & Fly Like an Eagle as to which one is best. They are so similar it's hard to distinguish them. Steve Miller actually recorded both albums at the same time which explains their similarity. Great songs on this album include "Winter Time", "Swingtown" & "Jet Airliner".

Steve Miller found his commercial voice with these two albums & exploded on the charts. It was a complete change from his previous efforts & his later efforts, though in a somewhat similar vein, didn't measure up to these two albums. Unless you're a committed Steve Miller fan you really don't need to go beyond these two albums.

A Top 100 album!!!

Do I really have to say anything aobut this? If I do, forget it, you would not understand!!!!!

Fly Like an Eagle Part 2 and Steve's best

The better 12 of the 24 songs Steve recorded for Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams are here. Highly recommended and this may be his best.

The Eagle Returns to Dream

Back in 1976, Steve Miller recorded a batch of songs that were enough to fill two complete albums or make one double length album. He chose to divide the songs into two separate albums that were released in consecutive years: "Fly Like an Eagle" in 1976 and "Book of Dreams" in 1977. Both volumes showcase his versatility and talent for producing a variety of styles, including his own twist of originality in many of the songs. Seven of the tracks on "Book of Dreams" are found on his Greatest Hits album, which was released the following year.

Like it's predecesor, this album begins with an instrumental. "Threshold" features an organ and synthesizer 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 popular chart hits found here. A long guitar introduction bursts into the strumming with the folk and southern rock style reminiscent of Creedence Clearwater Revival. In this song, the guy is going on a trip that takes him away from family and friends, but he doubts his feelings about leaving them and asks the plane not to carry him too far away or for too long. Together,these first two tracks serve as an introduction to the album.

Other popular tracks represent a variety of styles here for this artist. Another southern rock song with a hint of the CCR style is "True Fine Love", in which a young man has decided it's time to settle down with a girl he truely loves, and raise a family with her. Another southern rock track is the love song "The Stake", with guitar work similar to The Eagles or Joe Walsh. There are a couple of great instrumental sections in the middle and at the end part. Both of these songs were included on the Greatest Hits album. "Winter Time" is a folk/soft rock hit that features a folk guitar and harmonica, as an accompaniment to the vocals and in the instrumental section. This gentle song dwells on the features of winter: brown leaves, winds, birds flying away for the summer. It begins and ends with the sound of the wind. Steve does a very creative production with "Swingtown", in which he plays with the instruments. This party song has an intro that starts with drums, which are soon joined by a bass guitar, then an organ comes in next, and then an acoustic piano, and finally a strumming guitar. The folk style vocals are accompanied by the various instruments, in a song that deals with wanting to have fun after a hard day's work. An instrumental that begins in the middle and continues to the end include a variety of organ reed "voices" that take turns, and finally the wind marks the end as other instruments fade. The other track with Steve's unique style is "Jungle Love", a rock n' roll number that begins and ends with whistles and squeaks that probably mimic birds and monkeys and other creatures found in the jungle. This whimsical love song about being in love with a girl out in the jungle features great instrumental sections with the electric guitar. This was also one of his popular hits on the radio and also on his Greatest Hits album.

The remaining five tracks may not have been seen as being among his super hits, but they still have the trademark of Steve Miller in their sound. As might be expected from its title, "Wish Upon a Star" is a gentle lullaby with a folk and soft rock style, featuring an accompaniment of organ synthesizer and bass. The theme is "It doesn't matter where or who you are when you wish upon a star. Let your dreams into your heart." A second instrumental "Electro Lux Imbroglio" showcases an organ with fancy space sounds, high flute, electronic tinkle, and church organ. This track leads into "Sacrifice", a mellow composition and the longest piece on this album. This song about a girl who did not appreciate the man she once was with, and therefore sacrificed the relationship, is marked by fancy organ accompaniment with tinkling and trills, as well as bass and drums in the instrumental section. "My Own Space", the last vocal on this album, begins with wind sounds, and later includes an instrumental in the middle with fancy organ and guitar techniques. This reflective, folk-like song is about escaping from problems and worries by heading off to a quiet place like a seashore, where clouds pass overhead, and he walks in the sand, picks up seashells, feels the spirit of life, "where I reach my destiny, I feel free, where I can have my own space".

This album ends with the third instrumental, "Babes in the Woods". This is another novelty piece of Miller's, with a variety of musical instruments such as the strumming guitar, drums, tinkling triangle, flute sounds, and bass. It is as if the instruments themselves are the players, since there are no vocals; the flute and guitar seem to be the focal point, while the triangle, bass, and drums are in the background. This mellow performance marks a quiet closing of this album.

Together, this album and the preceding one, would produce nearly enough popular hits to construct a Greatest Hits album, which was released the following year; as well as provide considerable material for other greatest hits releases that came later. Steve seemed to reach the high point of his recording career and popularity in 1976 and 1977, and is remembered by these songs, for the most part. No one else seems able to quite mimic Steve's unique creativity in producing these artistic masterpieces.