Garage Sale Vinyl: Steve Miller Band
Fly Like an Eagle / Capitol / May 1976
by Christopher Long
Although it was released in the spring of 1976, the ninth studio album from Steve Miller Band had a very long and successful chart life. In the process, it reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and achieved multi platinum status. As a result, by the spring of ‘77, along with Night Moves, Hotel California, Frampton Comes Alive, and Rumours, Fly Like an Eagle was one of THE five current albums that ALL self-respecting rock fans had to own. Nearly 50 years later, the warm and cozy record remains aural “comfort food.”
At age 14, I lacked the funds necessary to acquire all the records that I craved. My older (and more financially stable) sister would score and subsequently introduce me to a menagerie of those classic albums, then it was up to me and my younger (and equally impoverished) brother to pool our resources together and buy as many of them as we could, and add them to our growing joint 8-track tape collection.
However, our extremely conservative parents, Chuck and Barb, were less than enthusiastic about some of the “garbage” music my brother and I were bringing home. So, in late ‘76, when they forbade my brother to purchase an 8-track copy of KISS’ Rock and Roll Over, he opted for choice “B” — Fly Like an Eagle.
A celebrated singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist, Miller’s cosmic trip can be traced all the way back to his 1969 album, Brave New World, when he was still a primarily blues-based artist. However, given the “Space Cowboy” theme of his massive chart-topping 1973 single, “The Joker,” Miller brought a fair measure of that (now) signature spacey vibe to Fly Like an Eagle.
Produced by Miller, the 12-track collection birthed three major Top 40 singles: the irresistible, hypnotic, organ-soaked title track, the arguably cheesy, ching-a-lingy “Take the Money and Run,” and the eternally cool, ultra-groovy “Rock’n Me.”
But the hits weren’t necessarily the highlights. “Wild Mountain Honey” was a super-trippy, lava-lamp-lit delight, while “Serenade” was another tall ching-a-lingy standout.
A bona fide, countryfied highlight, “Dance, Dance, Dance” still reminds me of the hayrides and hoedowns that my family attended when I was a kid growing up in the Ozark Mountains, while “Mercury Blues” was one of my earliest introductions to the blues. Speaking of which, given Miller’s authentic blues background, it is no surprise that blues harmonica legend James Cotton played on “Sweet Marie” and blues guitar ace Les Dudek played on “The Window” — both incredibly memorable album moments, to be sure. However, I still remain partial to Miller’s remake of the Sam Cooke classic, “You Send Me.”
As a teenager, I would pick up my own personal vinyl copy of Fly Like an Eagle. That LP vanished over the years. I’d replace it on CD in the ’80s. That copy also disappeared over time. Fortunately, not too long ago, I nabbed a crackly vinyl copy from a dear friend — for FREE. Tick, tock, tick. Doo doo, doo doo!
(5/5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fly Like an Eagle Track List
SIDE A
1. Space Intro (S. Miller) 1:15
2. Fly Like an Eagle (S. Miller) – 4:42
3. Wild Mountain Honey (S. McCarty) 4:50
4. Serenade (S. Miller, C. McCarty) – 3:10
5. Dance, Dance, Dance (S. Miller, J. & B. Cooper) – 2:16
6. Mercury Blues (K.C. Douglas) – 3:43
SIDE B
1. Take the Money and Run (S. Miller) – 2:48
2. Rock’n Me (S. Miller) – 3:05
3. You Send Me (S. Cooke) 2:40
4. Blue Odyssey (S. Miller) – 1:00
5. Sweet Marie (S. Miller) – 4:16
6. The Window (S. Miller, J. Cooper) – 4:19
