Sailor by The Steve Miller Band (Vinyl record album review)

Record basics

Album name: Sailor

Group name: The Steve Miller Band

Year: 1968

Number of discs: one

Label: Capitol Records

Collection: Brenner / Gessner

Who owned it: probably my father

Buy it on Amazon: $31.51

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this record, and the only other Steve Miller Band record I’ve heard is Greatest Hits 1974-78.

What I expected

Electric blues?

What it was actually like

Sailor got off to a really slow start, and the beginning sounded like a Moody Blues record, or possibly like outtakes from the White Album, so I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first. Quicksilver Girl was also weird.

Things picked up considerably with My Friend, however, which was much more of a rock song, and Living in the U.S.A. was an outstanding R&B (maybe even “maximum R&B”?) song, as was Dime-a-Dance Romance.

Gangster of Love seemed like it was going to be good, despite the mumbly vocals, but then it faded out right when it was getting started!

Overdrive was an amazing Bob Dylan parody.

Lucky Man had some weird sound effects, but was pretty bluesy, and You’re So Fine was truest to the electric blues style.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me