News

No matter what you call him – the Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love, Maurice, the Pompatus of Love, et al – you’ll have something new to listen to while you think of your answer. The Steve Miller Band’s classic The Joker is getting an expanded reissue for its 50th anniversary this fall.

Due September 15, J50: Evolution of The Joker eschews the typical album plus outtakes format for a mostly chronological journey through the album, track-by-track. Over two CDs or three LPs and a 7″ single, the original album will be played with various live recordings, demos and studio outtakes plus some commentary tracks from Miller himself – all previously unreleased. (The sole released bonus track: the original single version of the title track.) Eight of the songs, including lead tracks “Lidi” and “Travelin’,” have never been heard before. The packages also include liner notes by Miller and Anthony DeCurtis, plus an iron-on transfer and lithograph within the vinyl box.

Released in the fall of 1973, The Joker marked a significant shift in The Steve Miller Band’s style. Miller’s six-string theatrics had been on display since the band’s inception, but five years into their recorded output, the band’s eighth album found Miller streamlining things considerably. The line-up was whittled down to just four members on record: Miller on vocals and guitar, Gerald Johnson on bass, Dick Thompson on keys and John King on drums. (Original bassist Lonnie Turner, who’d appear on later albums in this period, played on “Evil,” one of two live tracks on the album, while session hand Sneaky Pete Kleinow lent pedal steel licks to closing track “Something to Believe In.”) And the overall sound radically shifted from expansive blues psychedelia to radio-friendly rock.

The gambit paid off: The Joker was the group’s first hit album, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, while the tongue-in-cheek title track would top the Hot 100. (In 1990, the song would become a belated U.K. chart-topper when featured in a Levi’s commercial.) The album went platinum in America and kicked off the band’s most beloved era of rock radio rulership, memorialized in the multi-platinum collection Greatest Hits 1974-78.

J50 will be released September 15. Merch bundles are available through Miller’s official site, along with a limited edition picture disc of the original album. Pre-order your copies of the reissues below.

J50: Evolution of The Joker (Sailor/Capitol/UMe, 2023)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP/7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

* previously released on The Joker – Capitol SMAS-11235, 1973
** previously released on Capitol single 3732, 1973

Disc 1

1. Steve Miller Commentary #1
2. Children of the Future (Live in Los Angeles, CA – 5/20/1972)
3. Brave New World (Live in Los Angeles, CA – 5/20/1972)
4. Dear Mary (Live in Los Angeles, CA – 5/20/1972)
5. Space Cowboy (Live in Berkeley, CA – 7/14/1972)
6. Ginger Man (Live in Berkeley, CA – 7/14/1972)
7. Nothing Lasts (Live in Berkeley, CA – 7/14/1972)
8. Steve Miller Commentary #2
9. Sugar Babe (Early Version / Hotel 4-Track – 4/21/1972)
10. Sugar Babe (Live @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH – 12/8/1973)
11. Sugar Babe *
12. Mary Lou (Early Version / Studio Rehearsal – 1/19/1973)
13. Mary Lou *
14. Steve Miller Commentary #3
15. Hat (pre-“Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma”) (Live in Sacramento, CA – 6/6/1971)
16. Say Hey Ray (pre-“Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma”) (Studio Rehearsal – 7/27/1973)
17. White Elephant (pre-“Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma”) (Studio Rehearsal – 6/21/1973)
18. Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma (Early Version / Hotel 4-Track – 4/21/1972)
19. Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma *

Disc 2

1. Steve Miller Commentary #4
2. Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash (Early Version / Studio Jam – 7/5/1973)
3. Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash *
4. Lidi (Twang Guitar) (Hotel 4-Track – 4/21/1972)
5. Lidi (Studio Version – 8/4/1973)
6. Lidi/Travelin’ (Harmonics – Looking for a Chorus for “The Joker”) (Hotel 4-Track – 11/3/1972)
7. Travelin’ (Looking for a Chorus for “The Joker”) (Live Radio – 7/1/1973)
8. The Joker *
9. Steve Miller Commentary #5
10. The Lovin’ Cup (Live @ Jenison Field House East, Lansing, MI – 11/27/1973)
11. The Lovin’ Cup *
12. Come On in My Kitchen (Early Version – Live @ Moody Coliseum, University Park, TX – 10/19/1973)
13. Come On in My Kitchen *
14. Evil (Studio Demo – 7/28/1973)
15. Evil *
16. Steve Miller Commentary #6
17. Coupe de Ville (A Capella / Hotel 4-Track – July 1973)
18. Something to Believe In (Early Version / Hotel 4-Track – 11/3/1972)
19. Something to Believe In (Tough Crowd) (Live @ Moody Coliseum, University Park, TX – 10/19/1973)
20. Something to Believe In *
21. I Don’t Mind (Hotel 4-Track – 4/21/1972)
22. I Don’t Mind (Studio Version – 7/31/1973)
23. Mama Church (A Capella / Hotel 4-Track – 4/21/1972)
24. The Joker (Single Version)