Steve Miller Band

The Joker

  ^{Steve Miller Band — The Joker (October 1973) Japanese XRCD, 1999}
Ξ►  
Birth name: Steven Haworth Miller
Born: October 5, 1943, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Genre: Classic Rock, Blues Rock, Rock, Art rock
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Album release: October 1973
Record Label: JVC/Capitol
Duration:     36:21
Tracks:
01. Sugar Babe      4:38
02. Mary Lou      2:27
03. Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma      5:43
04. Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash      3:24
05. The Joker      4:28
06. The Lovin Cup      2:12
07. Come On In My Kitchen (live at the Tower Theater, Philadelphia)      4:07
08. Evil      4:37
09. Something To Believe In      4:43
Written:
°   Steve Miller     1, 6, 8, 9
°   Obie Jessie, Sam Ling     2
°   Chuck Calhoun     4
°   Miller, Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün     5
°   Robert Johnson     7
Personnel:
¬•♦•♦•    Steve Miller — guitar, vocals, harmonica
¬•♦•♦•    Gerald Johnson — bass guitar (all but 8), vocals
¬•♦•♦•    Dick Thompson — organ, clavinet
¬•♦•♦•    John King — drums
Additional personnel
¬•♦•♦•    Lonnie Turner — bass guitar (8)
¬•♦•♦•    “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow — pedal steel guitar (9)
¬•♦•♦•    John Van Hamersveld and Norman Seeff — album cover design
¬•♦•♦•    Norman Seeff — photography
Members:
Ξ   Steve Miller
Ξ   Kenny Lee Lewis
Ξ   Gordy Knudtson
Ξ   Joseph Wooten
Ξ   Jacob Petersen
Past members: 
Ξ   Sonny Charles
Ξ   Lonnie Turner
Ξ   James Cooke
Ξ   Tim Davis
Ξ   Jim Peterman
Ξ   Boz Scaggs
Ξ   Ben Sidran
Ξ   Nicky Hopkins
Ξ   Bobby Winkelman
Ξ   Jack King
Ξ   Ross Valory
Ξ   Gerald Johnson
Ξ   Dick Thompson
Ξ   Roger Alan Clark
Ξ   Gary Mallaber
Ξ   John King
Ξ   David Denny
Ξ   Greg Douglass
Ξ   Byron Allred
Ξ   Norton Buffalo
Ξ   John Massaro
Ξ   Billy Peterson
Ξ   Ricky Peterson
Ξ   Bob Malach                        © John McLaughlin & Steve Miller. Photo credit: Jordi Vidal
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com
Ξ►   The Joker is the eighth album by Steve Miller Band, released in 1973. The album marked a period of significant change for the group as the band abandoned their psychedelic oriented music for a more melodic, smooth rock/blues sound. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was also their first solid commercial success due to the strong radio~play of the title track. The title track took 19 days to record. The album reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Platinum in the United States.
The Joker is, without question, the turning point in Steve Miller’s career, the album where he infused his blues with a big, bright dose of pop and got exactly what he deserved: Top Ten hits and stardom. He also lost a lot of fans, the ones who dug his winding improvs, because those spacy jams were driven by chops and revealed new worlds. The Joker isn’t mind’expanding, it’s party music, filled with good vibes, never laying a heavy trip, always keeping things light, relaxed and easygoing. Sometimes, the vibes are interrupted, but not in a harsh way — the second side slows a bit, largely due to the sludgy “Come in My Kitchen” and “Evil,” the two songs that were recorded live but lacking any kinetic energy — but for the most part, this is all bright and fun, occasionally truly silly, as on “Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma.” This silliness, of course, alienated old fans all the more, but that sense of fun is both the most appealing thing about The Joker and it set a touchstone for the rest of his career. Here, it’s best heard on the terrific opener “Sugar Babe” and, of course, the timeless title track, which is sunny and ridiculous in equal measure. If nothing else is quite up to that standard in terms of songs — certainly, it’s not as jammed’pack as its successor, Fly Like an Eagle — The Joker nevertheless maintains its good’time vibe so well that it’s hard not to smile along…provided you’re on the same wavelength as Miller, of course.
Website: http://www.stevemillerband.com/
Review
By David Fricke, December 13, 2016
John McLaughlin, Steve Miller Revive Fusion, Blues Classics in NYC
Ξ►   McLaughlin looks back to Seventies alongside fellow jazz~rock icon Chick Corea, while Miller honors T~Bone Walker with Jimmie Vaughan
Ξ►   http://www.rollingstone.com/music/live-reviews/david-fricke-john-mclaughlin-steve-miller-look-back-in-nyc-w455540
Personal life:
°   Steve Miller has been married four times and divorced three times. He is married to his fourth wife, Janice Ginsberg Miller of New York City._________________________→Δ••••Δ←__________________________

Steve Miller Band

The Joker

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