Box Set
It would've been news if Steve Miller hadn't grown up to be a musician.Les Paul(a Wisconsin friend of Miller's physician father) taught him his first chords, and Miller gleaned his bluesy, melodic sense fromT-Bone Walker, a frequent guest at the family's back-yard parties. That innate musicality permeates Miller's satisfying box set (generously kicked off with early home recordings of those two childhood heroes), placing a warm artistic sensibility ahead of slavish devotion to historical chronology. The result is one of the most listenable, user-friendly multidisc compilations around. Fans will find samples of Miller's first San Francisco-based successes of the '60s, through his string of ubiquitous '70s hit singles (refreshingly sequenced on disc 2 to emphasize the inherent genius of the perfect three-minute pop song) to later work rife with jazz and the subtle shadings of maturity. Miller is one of rock's most consistent (albeit persistently underrated) writers and performers. This collection proves that those who know him only from "Jungle Love" and "Abracadabra" don't know Steve Miller at all.--Jerry McCulley