And ‘galumphing’ was the perfect descriptor too! 
The bass is quite buried in this mix for “Bugday” by The Fall, but melds creepily with Springsteen’s friendlier version in “Fire”.
I listened to classic rock for about two straight days recently and was reacquainted with several songs I had completely forgotten about, and was surprised by how often I couldn’t name the artist. When Steve Miller’s SPACE COWBOY came on – it reminded me of at least a dozen songs. I had the idea that if you took each track that was part of the song they would all be derivative of a different influential artist or song.
It seemed like when the bass was out in front I was saying: “What is that song with the very similar bass line?!?” Then the guitar would play a riff and I would think “Ooh, ooh that a Beatles lick— no, Stones…… CCR! The Who, Chuck Berry……” But by then the keys would have become the focus - - - WAIT! Drum fill from T-Rex……” The whole way through I had the idea the entire song was homage to other artists, but I wasn’t fast enough to catch on, to make the connection before it moved to something else. In all honesty, it has been so long since I have listened to that vintage- it might just be reminding me of Space Cowboy by Steve Miller. I do think there is more to it than that (I actually remember the tune as less electronic and more straight ahead blues based rock than it actually is).
After thinking about it over time, the only connection I can come up with is a stylistic similarity to WALKIN’ ON THE SUN by Smash Mouth. Just the fast paced conversational style of singing and the electronic effects. That isn’t even the same era of music and Miller sure couldn’t have been influenced by a group that came along decades later. Does anyone find these two works similar? Does anyone get that vibe from Space Cowboy? That it is derivative of every tune produced at that time?
“Space Cowboy” is actually named The Joker, off the Steve Miller album of the same name.
Yeah, both it and Walking on the Sun have a similar groove, I suppose. But if I had to compare Walking on the Sun with another song, it would be Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum or LaGrange by ZZ Top. All three are a variant of an A boogie groove with fills that toggle between D and C.
Steve Miller was the most magpie of all rock stars. But I love his early stuff.
Don’t you think Smashmouth could be influenced by Miller? Time’s arrow and all that stuff, you know.
I hear the tempo is the same in the two songs. Space Cowboy has a chorus though. The way it hits the chorus must be in a lot of songs but I can’t think of one off hand.
The riff on Space Cowboy seems to use some notes common to Day Tripper. But I can’t think of another one that’s the same. It sounds familiar though.
Yes - Roundabout will either go rapidly into ELP - From The Beginning (at the acoustic intro), or later into Edgar Winter - Frankenstein (at the fast bass-line walkdown)
Intro from Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac always sucker-punches me by not becoming Something Good by Herman’s Hermits, which I invariably try to start singing.
Rather odder bedfellows than that: after “Here I go, here I go, here I here I go go!” in Boom (Shake the Room), I always expect the “Fuck you” guitar riff from Killing in the Name. Works the other way round too: after a few turns of “now you do what they told ya/you’re out of control”, I could comfortably launch into “Dance in the aisles when the Prince steps to it”.
Hell yeah! Every time.
For me, the Smash Mouth song recalls the Zombies “She’s Not There” and Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man.”
Space Cowboy (from the earlier Brave New World) and The Joker (from the later The Joker) are two different songs.
Lots for me to catch up on, I am going to have to spend some time listening to stuff I haven’t heard for far too long. This distinction however I can address, The Joker was popular when I was in high school and just started driving- heard it several times a day, every day for a while there; Space Cowboy received significantly less airplay at that time and was something of a rare treat when it came on the radio. I was referring to S.C. however in my comment above, The Joker had more of an Eagles sound to it for my money, a sort of Country or perhaps country adjacent sound to it. If not the Eagles maybe The Band. Like early Eagles tunes, the Joker sounds to me like a C& W band waits for the fiddle player to leave after practice, then the banjo guy puts his instrument up and grabs a electric guitar and they wail; Space Cowboy doesn’t sound that way at all to me.
Okay, this made me think. I am a little embarrassed to admit that Day Tripper was a Latin number in my youth; I thought Sergio Mendez must have written it as I heard the album Brazil 66 quite a bit back then. But the suggestion made me wonder if the “….U.S. of A….” lyric was a reference to the Beatles Back in the U.S.S.R. It turns out Steve Miller is simply very self referential mentioning his earlier work: Living in the U.S. of A. (and Gangster of Love) in the song. Later he refers to Space Cowboy in the lyrics of The Joker, so he keeps his catalog current by continually mentioning older recording in newer ones. (I suspect the Space Cowboy lyric very early in the song THE JOKER is the cause of confusion over titles.)
Your suggestion about the chorus is right on the nose I believe. That song was a quintessential product of its time and is reminiscent of many, many songs of the period without being the same as any of them.
And yes, I believe Smash Mouth was influenced by Steve Miller, but probably equally by ZZ Top, and The Zombies, and Herbie Hancock, perhaps a bit less by Norman Greenbaum who didn’t hit the charts quite as often as the others. The reason I was focusing on the Miller tune was because when I heard it after all this time the sensation it was formed almost entirely from other works was VERY strong. That he may have influenced other, later acts was not surprising or important to me. What got my attention was that I was hearing this unique song with very distinctive bass, and guitar, and drum parts and I was very sure I had heard the parts- but not the whole before. I really have the sense I felt that way the first time I heard it too.
Years ago I heard or read that Steve Miller got his first guitar lesson from Les Paul. Perhaps I am looking in the wrong genre; maybe Miller was taking older music and older styles and playing them on newer instruments with new techniques. Or maybe I am just full of shit. Several others have suggested tunes to compare with the Smash Mouth song— nobody has suggested possible comparisons for the Miller song. Perhaps it is quite unique and I am hearing something that isn’t really there.
While I was looking at the Zombies and other suggestions, I reviewed WALKING ON THE SUN. The first few seconds, until the guitar comes in, sounds very much like Elvis’ A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION of Ocean’s Eleven fame. They do not sound so much alike back to back, but the intros remind me each other.
The definitive sounds like Smash Mouth’s WALKING ON THE SUN winner is SHE’S NOT THERE by the Zombies. I think it is the Rhodes Piano sound (although I doubt either group used an actual Rhodes to record) that clinches it. The Zombies have a cleaner sound, Smash Mouth seems to be using a fuzz box or some other effect on all of their instruments. Space Cowboy has a very guitar sound compared to either of these. I suspect WordMan’s two suggestions will compare better with SC when I get to them, although he mentions them in comparison to WotS.
I was not familiar with WATERMELON MAN, but I like the one version I just listened to. It doesn’t sound like any of the other songs being discussed in my opinion, it sounds like a long alto sax jazz number. The guy on the cover of the album is holding a tenor sax, but if he is playing a tenor he is in its highest range. I don’t find any relation to Walking on the Sun (or Space Cowboy); not the instrumentation, the tempo, the feel, nothing. In fact it seems laid back and cool- kind of the opposite of the other songs being discussed. I am curious what elements you think are similar to WotS? Or the Zombies tune for that matter (which as I said above IS very similar to WotS in my opinion). Is it possible I found an unusual recording that had cool jazz rubbed all over it but the ‘normal’ version is an up tempo, higher energy rock tune? I guess I really do not have a good ear for this stuff.
Okay, I found an interview with Herbie Hancock where he plays an original version on a grand piano, then switches to a funk version, and eventually gets up and moves to a Korg. I did recognize the original version- although I never knew the name of the piece. I could hear a similarity to Walking on the Sun that was purely the melody, I believe. In the Funk version, I lost the melody in the beat, and therefore the connection. I will try to link the version below:
The original version I really like, the funk version doesn’t even sound like the same song to me.
The titles of Miller’s works are addressed by Doug K. in posy #129. The song I was referring to was not the Joker, that one does name check Space Cowboy, but they are different songs.
I am really familiar with both of your suggestions and can sort of mentally “pull up” samples in my head, but I was very surprised by how much they sound like the Smash Mouth in real back to back playing. The Spirit in the Sky particularly sounds like Walking on the Sun. Like the instruments and background and every detail were tuned together in the same space and recorded on the same machine using the same effects. I wonder why it never occurred to me how much they sound alike.
ZZ Top, not as much- but they both sound more like Walking on the Sun than they do like Space Cowboy. I really expected to find the opposite, so thank you for enhancing my musical experience and helping me dispel faulty assumptions.
:smack:. Thank you for being gentle.
Ah, that song. Yeah, it has a Lady Madonna groove. Same with Joe Jackson’s song off Look Sharp, Pretty Girls. Generally thought to be based on 1940’s boogie woogie piano grooves.
Temp Name - cool. Yeah, once you figure out a groove on guitar or piano, it gets surprising to realize that songs of wildly different feels have very similar chord/note structures. With Smashmouth and Spirit in the Sky, we decided to try Smashmouth in my band. We had no organ, so I faked the part on my fuzzy guitar. Noodling it out on guitar made me realize immediately I was playing Spirit in the Sky, differently.
Yeah, I was thinking of this version with that piano groove along with the laid-back drums. “Walking on the Sun”'s opening groove reminds me of that vibe.
With all the talk about Smash Mouth, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the obvious similarity: Evil Ways. So much so that I tried to talk the band I used to be in into doing a mashup/medley/ping pong with me alternating singing one and one of the other guys singing the other.
Never thought of that one, but I can see it.
Steve’s dad was one of them texas sherrifs. So he met everyone and was a little star as a child. He also met the prominent black musicians and was very influenced by it.
The chorus of Space Cowboy is the same chords as the Monkees “Stepping Stone” so it is familiar. There is the Lady Madonna similarity in the verse with that double vamp. And it’s around riffs that are derivative. I think you would love other Miller songs from the era: Brave New World is a great album. Livin in the USA is like a companion to Space Cowboy somehow. Seasons is a great ballad. Boz Scaggs wrote a song called “Baby’s Callin me Home” on an early LP that is the best thing I ever heard him do.
I don’t think you can get too granular in analyzing Miller though. He was just making the best thing he could make.