Poll: Best early Steve Miller Band compilation

I was listening to some of the early Steve Miller Band today and it inspired me to create this poll. You can comment about other tracks you would have included or deleted as well.

Which early Steve Miller Band compilation do you prefer?

Here are the track listings to compare:

Anthology:

Recorded 1968-1972

Released November, 1972
Top Billboard Chart Position 56 (39 weeks)

1. I Love You
2. Going To The Country
3. Baby's House
4. Kow Kow Calculator
5. Your Saving Grace
6. Going To Mexico
7. Space Cowboy
8. Living In The USA
9. Journey From Eden
10. Seasons
11. Motherless Children
12. Never Kill Another Man
13. Don't You Let Nobody Turn You Around
14. Little Girl
15. Celebration Song
16. My Dark Hour


Steve Miller Band, The Best of 1968-1973

1. The Joker
2. Living In The USA
3. My Dark Hour
4. Going To The Country
5. Shu Bada Du Ma Ma Ma
6. Going To Mexico
7. Come On In My Kitchen
8. Evil
9. Song For Our Ancestors
10. Your Saving Grace
11. Quicksilver Girl
12. Seasons
13. Space Cowboy
14. Gangster Of Love
15. Kow Kow Calqulator
16. Little Girl
17. Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around
18. Jackson-Kent Blues
19. Sugar Babe

 

This one

 

Not enough songs on that one and it missed Going To Mexico one of my favorites from the time period.

Living In The U.S.A.
I Love You
Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around
Seasons
Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma
Kow Kow Calqulator
The Joker
Going To The Country
My Dark Hour
Your Saving Grace
Celebration Song
Space Cowboy

 

It is a shame they don't license the original version of Mercury Blues from the Revolution soundtrack for any of these.

I would also have included Rock Love which was released as a single.

Fandango was also released as a single from Recall The Beginning ...A Journey From Eden and is not included on many early compilations.

 

Any other thoughts or suggestions about tracks that should be added?

 

Anthology is really all the Steve Miller one really needs

 

Actually, Steve Miller has a history with the blues, and his Top 40 tunes, IMHO, are all just crap. Forget the compilations. You want pure, unadulterated, hardcore Steve Miller, buy the first two Steve Miller Band albums: Children Of The Future (Capitol Records - SKAO-2920) and Sailor (Capitol Records - ST-2984) - both from 1968. These are both on my all-time fave list and I play them often. No one will be disappointed with these two LPs.

 

But it does have a cool Pete Frame family tree (different from the one in Frame's first book).

 

I have almost all of Miller's stuff and I like the albums after the first 2.

 

Actually Anthology misses quite a few good tracks from the early period. Some appear on the other compilation, some appear on his 3 cd box set and some are on the albums.

 

Tracks like Stepping Stone, Junior Saw It Happen and Dime-A-Dance Romance are also cool tracks that miss most of the compilations.

Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash is another single that is omitted most of the time from the compilation albums.

 

Actually.
No.

 

Fatal flaw for any anthology to not have The Joker.

 

Used to think that but it's great to hunt and peck for any tune from the pre-Joker era.

 

Here are the tracks from Children Of The Future through the Joker that appeared on the 3 cd box set that did not appear on either of these compilations.

Children Of The Future
Steppin' Stone
Fanny Mae
Baby's Calling Me Home
L.T.'s Midnight Dream
The Loving Cup

Steppin' Stone, Fanny Mae, Baby's Calling Me Home and The Lovin' Cup are cool tracks.

 

I went with the Best Of because it has Jackson-Kent Blues and Going To Mexico, two of my all-time favorite SM songs.

 

Both have Going to Mexico but I also like Jackson-Kent Blues.

 

Neither of the compilations have "Quicksilver Girl" unfortunately.

 

What a close vote!

Anthology for me. I did consider the other one. The Joker album deserves to be included more on GH records than the one cut it got on 1974-78, but 5 is too many. Best of 1968-73 does probably show a wider range of Steve Miller than Anthology. Neither has Dime-A-Dance Romance. Or anything from Children Of The Future, tho I don't know that there is a real good pull cut from that album.

 

The Best of does

 

I went with The Best of 1968-1973. It's just a great compilation, it flows well and manages to maintain interest. I've listened to it for over 20 years. I didn't hear Anthology until years later and I just don't like it as much.

 

My choices from Children Of The Future would be either Baby's Calling Me Home, Steppin' Stone or Junior Saw It Happen.

There are no tracks from Rock Love on either choice. Not even the Rock Love single.

 

Any other thoughts on this?

 

The vote is really close.

 

Best of 68-73