![]() ![]() Anyway they came and went without much impression on me. The support band, Mr Big came on and played and I remember thinking how loud they were - and they had two drummers! A bit of a novelty I thought. I got to the venue and sat downstairs in the stalls on my own and I had no idea what to expect. The 'Night at the Opera' tour began in late 1975 and this time I was determined to go - I made it to the show on November 29th. Unfortunately I was too young at this time to go along to see them at the Rainbow although I dearly wanted to - however I certainly made up for this later on and witnessed the band on many tours. To say this made a profound impression on me is an understatement, as I remember sitting bolt upright and thinking 'Wow', who is this band? I decided to find out more. In 1974 I was 13 and had come across the band from seeing their debut performance on TV on Top of The Pops with 'Seven Seas of Rhye'. and what a first gig to attend! It was life changing. “It was a very cold and foggy late November day and I remember being on the bus going to Hammersmith Odeon for my very first concert. Though it may not quite transcend its time, it certainly is an album rock landmark of the mid-’70s and its best moments (namely, the aforementioned singles) are classics of the idiom.” (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG) The rest of the album may not be quite up to those standards, but there aren’t any duds, either, as “Wild Mountain Honey” and “Mercury Blues” give this a comfortable backdrop, thanks to Miller’s offhand, lazy charm. It still can sound fairly dated – those whooshing keyboards and cavernous echoes are certainly of their time – but its essence hasn’t aged, as “Fly Like an Eagle” drifts like a cool breeze, while “Take the Money and Run” and “Rock ‘n Me” are fiendishly hooky, friendly rockers. The key is focus, even on an album as stylishly, self-consciously trippy as this, since the focus brings about his strongest set of songs (both originals and covers), plus a detailed atmospheric production where everything fits. “Steve Miller had started to essay his classic sound with The Joker, but 1976’s Fly Like an Eagle is where he took flight, creating his definitive slice of space blues. ![]()
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