Book of Dreams
1977 studio album by Steve Miller Band
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Book of Dreams is the tenth studio album by Steve Miller Band. The album was released in May 1977 on Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and by Mercury Records in Europe. Three singles were released from the album in 1977 with the first single, "Jet Airliner", being the most successful.
| Book of Dreams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 May 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1975–76 | |||
| Studio | CBS (San Francisco, California)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:02 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Steve Miller | |||
| Steve Miller Band chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Book of Dreams | ||||
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The album peaked in the top 10 of the trade charts in four countries, including Canada where the album topped RPM magazine's 100 Albums chart.[5] The album has gone on to become one of the group's most successful studio outings.
Recording and production
The songs on Book of Dreams were recorded at CBS Studios in San Francisco, California; the basic tracks were recorded at the same time as the basic tracks for the Steve Miller Band's 1976 album Fly Like an Eagle.[6] The sessions were produced by the group's leader, Steve Miller, who had been producing the group's albums since Number 5 in 1970. John Palladino was the album's executive producer and the recording engineer was Mike Fusaro. The recordings were later mixed by Jim Gains with assistance from Win Kutz and were mastered by Ken Perry.[1]
Artwork
The winged horse art was created by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse, who were credited as "Kelly and Mouse". The art director for the album was Roy Kohara.[1] The cover illustration was also used on the record label on the vinyl version of the album.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |   [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
The Bay State Banner wrote that the album "is, for the most part, firmly within the California soft-rock mold exemplified by the Eagles."[10]
AllMusic gave the album a rating of 4/5 stars, calling it "a highlight of the '70s classic rock era and one of Miller's finest releases." The review also comments that it is an unnecessary album for the casual fan to consider, as the 1978 compilation album Greatest Hits 1974–78 contains seven highlight tracks from Book of Dreams.[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Steve Miller, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Threshold" (Instrumental) |
| 1:05 |
| 2. | "Jet Airliner" | Paul Pena | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Winter Time" | 3:10 | |
| 4. | "Swingtown" |
| 3:54 |
| 5. | "True Fine Love" | 2:37 | |
| 6. | "Wish Upon a Star" | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Jungle Love" |
| 3:10 |
| 8. | "Electro Lux Imbroglio" (Instrumental) | 0:55 | |
| 9. | "Sacrifice" |
| 5:17 |
| 10. | "The Stake" | David Denny | 3:57 |
| 11. | "My Own Space" |
| 3:00 |
| 12. | "Babes in the Wood" (Instrumental) | 2:40 | |
| Total length: | 38:02 | ||
Personnel
- Steve Miller – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, sitar, producer
- David Denny – guitar
- Greg Douglass – guitar, slide guitar
- Byron Allred – piano, synthesizer
- Lonnie Turner – bass guitar
- Gary Mallaber – drums, percussion
- Additional personnel
- Norton Buffalo – harmonica on "Winter Time" and "The Stake"
- Les Dudek – lead guitar on "Sacrifice"
- Kenny Johnson – drums on "Sacrifice"
- Joachim Young – piano on "Sacrifice"
- Charles Calmese – bass guitar on "Sacrifice"
- Curley Cooke – acoustic guitar on "Sacrifice"
- Bob Glaub – bass guitar on "Winter Time"
- Technical
- John Palladino – executive producer
- Mike Fusaro – recording engineer
- Jim Gains – mixing
- Win Kutz – assistant mixer
- Ken Perry – mastering
- Roy Kohara – art direction
- Kelly – illustration
- Mouse – illustration
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||