A music-obsessed, retired San Francisco lawyer, and author of the rock & roll memoir Jittery White Guy Music (available on Amazon)... picking a random album or song in his collection every day or so and sharing a few thoughts.
When you hear "Steve Miller Band," it's hard not to immediately leap to that run of inescapable mid-70s singles that still clog the FM radio dial. Which is ok--overplay aside, I kinda like those songs, even if they're not the sort of records I play otherwise. But I'm personally partial to the early work of the band, the first half dozen or so albums which blended pop, psychedelia, and blues into a surprisingly effective stew. It stands up nicely alongside other San Francisco Summer of Love-birthed acts like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Moby Grape, even if it seems to get much less love in the popular imagination.
I'm less enthralled with their bluesier efforts, but their early catalog has some wonderfully captivating psychedelia. "Quicksilver Girl," off their second LP--1968's Sailor--is a fine example of what made this period special. It's a gentle wisp of a song, checking in at under 3 minutes and so featherlight it can float by before you notice, maybe not a lot to it at first blush, but some beautiful harmonies and swirling guitar figures seem to hang in the air long after the song fades.
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