Book of Dreams

Book of Dreams is the tenth studio album by Steve Miller Band. The album was released in May 1977 (see 1977 in music) 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.

For other uses, see Book of Dreams (disambiguation).
Book of Dreams
Studio album by
Steve Miller Band
ReleasedMay 1977
Recorded1975–76
StudioCBS Studios, San Francisco, California[1]
GenreRock
Length38:02
LabelCapitol
ProducerSteve Miller
Steve Miller Band chronology
Fly Like an Eagle
(1976)		 Book of Dreams
(1977)		 Greatest Hits 1974–78
(1978)
Singles from Book of Dreams
  1. "Jet Airliner"
    Released: April 1977
  2. "Jungle Love"
    Released: August 1977
  3. "Swingtown"
    Released: October 1977

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.[2] The album has gone on to become one of the group's most successful studio albums.

Recording and production

The songs on Book of Dreams were recorded at CBS Studios in San Francisco, California from leftover material recorded for Fly Like an Eagle, but not released on the album.[3] 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
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Record GuideB–[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]

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 compilation album Greatest Hits 1974–78 contains seven highlight tracks from Book of Dreams.[6]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Threshold"Steve Miller1:05
2."Jet Airliner"Paul Pena4:25
3."Winter Time"Miller3:10
4."Swingtown"Miller, Chris McCarty3:54
5."True Fine Love"Miller3:10
6."Wish Upon a Star"Miller3:39
7."Jungle Love"Lonnie Turner, Greg Douglass3:10
8."Electro Lux Imbroglio"Miller0:55
9."Sacrifice"Curley Cooke, Les Dudek5:17
10."The Stake"David Denny3:56
11."My Own Space"Jason Cooper, Bobby Winkelman3:00
12."Babes in the Wood"Miller2:40

Personnel
Additional personnel
  • Norton Buffalo – harmonica on "Winter Time" and "The Stake"
  • Les Dudek – lead guitar on "Sacrifice"
  • Kenny Johnson – drums on "Sacrifice"
  • Jachym Young – piano on "Sacrifice"
  • Charles Calamise – bass guitar on "Sacrifice"
  • Curley Cooke – acoustic guitar on "Sacrifice"
  • Bob Glaub – bass guitar on "Winter Time"
  • Steven (Sticks Douglas) Moore - drums and background vocals on "Winter Time"
Technical

Charts and certifications
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 6
Canadian 100 Albums[2] 1
Netherlands Album Top 100[8] 4
New Zealand Top 40 Albums[9] 5
Swedish Top 60 Albums[10] 11
UK Albums Chart[11] 12
US Billboard 200[12] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 22
Country Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)
United States[14] RIAA 3x Multi-Platinum
United Kingdom[15] BPI Silver

References
  1. Book of Dreams (CD liner). The Steve Miller Band. Netherlands: Arcade Records. 1991. 88.02.2004.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "100 Albums". RPM. Vol. 27 no. 16. July 16, 1977. p. 27. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original (PHP) on 2011-09-21. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  3. Ashley Brown, ed. (1990). "Space Cowboy". The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. Vol. 11 (Reference ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 1227. ISBN 1-85435-026-9.
  4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  6. Cook, Stephen. "Book of Dreams review". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Steve Miller Band – Book of Dreams (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  9. "Steve Miller Band – Book of Dreams (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  10. "Steve Miller Band – Book of Dreams (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  11. "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 11th June 1977". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  12. "Steve Miller: Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 429. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (ASPX) on 2009-09-24.
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