Book of Dreams from 1977 was essentially the second half of The Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits 1974–78 . Steve Miller released one of rock’s great one-two punch combinations: Fly Like an Eagle in 1976 and Book of Dreams in 1977, records that cemented him as one of the defining artists of the ’70s. The bed tracks for these watershed albums were essentially recorded at the same time, which is part of what makes them feel so cohesive. I remember a friend once calling Book of Dreams the best collection of leftover material ever recorded. I’m not sure how much water that comment holds, and I suspect Mister Miller was more concerned with pulling together the songs that best fit together stylistically. Besides, the answer to the question, “What if all the great songs were released as one album?” was already answered in 1978 with Greatest Hits 1974–78 . Does one really need to hear Book of Dreams ? Kind of depends. Here’s my conundrum: I don’t have the greatest hits collection, so ye...
As a kid I most vividly remember Steely Dan as an inconvenience on the radio. There was a special place in hell reserved for "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" a song that would pop up at the most inconvenient times ... like when I was listening to the radio. Whatever they were was not rock and roll - how did this weird stuff even count as music? The only other song that bugged me more as a kid was "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur. They both seemed to be on at the same time, although that's probably not right but it's how I remember it. As I got older I begrudgingly started to give Steely Dan their due. I was learning to reconcile how these nerdy jazz guys were welcomed with open arms into the fraternity of rock and roll. It was because they were so good. Yes, even "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" started to get under my skin ... Maria, not so much. Steely Dan records were technical marvels, they sounded almost perfect. The best musicians...