Hear Steve Miller’s ‘The Joker Suite’ Off Upcoming ‘J50′ Box Set

Steve Miller Band will commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Joker with the J50: The Evolution of The Joker box set, which arrives on Sept. 15.

J50 is available to preorder now in two-CD, three-LP (plus bonus 7") and digital formats. Miller is previewing the collection with "The Joker Suite," which showcases his musical journey to the album's chart-topping title track and includes the previously unreleased songs "Lidi"  and "Travelin'."

You can listen to "The Joker Suite" and see the J50 vinyl track listing below.

Miller curated the J50 box set, which chronologically places the original album alongside 27 previously unreleased recordings, including songwriting tapes made in hotel rooms and at live performances, studio outtakes and rehearsals and audio commentary tracks. It also features exclusive liner notes from Miller and music journalist Anthony DeCurtis.

"The most important rule that every kid out there who wants to make a record should remember is: When you go into the studio, be ready to do the whole performance the first time you do it because that's going to be the best time you do it," Miller noted in a press release announcing the set. "The whole thing is to capture the first performance. That's a lot of what The Joker's about. It was all first takes, and first takes are always better than perfect takes."

Reflecting on the star-making title track, Miller said, "To make a hit record, I thought it was best to have five hooks. Not one, not two, not three, not four, but five, if you really wanted to deliver a hit. Like if you take 'The Joker.' 'Some people call me the Space Cowboy.' What the hell was that? Then it continues and it gets your attention again: the slide guitar, the chorus, the harmony, the wolf whistle. It all adds up. All of these things are just elements of writing. You learn those elements, and you're always playing with them."

Steve Miller Band, 'J50: The Evolution of the Joker' Vinyl Track Listing
LP1 SIDE ONE
Steve Miller Commentary 1
Children of the Future (Live)
Brave New World (Live)
Dear Mary (Live)
Space Cowboy (Live)
Ginger Man (Live)
Nothing Lasts (Live)

LP1 SIDE TWO
Steve Miller Commentary 2
Sugar Babe (Early Version)
Sugar Babe (Live)
Sugar Babe (Album Version)
Mary Lou (Early Version)
Mary Lou (Album Version)

LP2 SIDE ONE
Steve Miller Commentary 3
Hat (Live – Pre Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma)
Say Hey Ray (Pre Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma)
White Elephant (Pre Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma)
Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma (Early Version)
Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma (Album Version)

LP2 SIDE TWO
Steve Miller Commentary 4
Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash (Early Version)
Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ But Trash (Album Version)
Lidi (Twang Guitar)
Lidi (Studio)
Lidi/Travelin’ (Harmonics - Looking for a Chorus for The Joker)
Travelin’ (Looking for a Chorus for The Joker)
The Joker (Album Version)

LP3 SIDE ONE
Steve Miller Commentary 5
Lovin’ Cup (Live)
Lovin’ Cup (Album Version)
Come On In My Kitchen (Live)
Come On In My Kitchen (Album Version)
Evil (Studio Demo)
Evil (Album Version)

LP3 SIDE TWO
Steve Miller Commentary 6
Coupe De Ville (A Cappella)
Something to Believe In (Early Version)
Something to Believe In (Tough Crowd – Live)
Something to Believe In (Album Version)
I Don’t Mind (Hotel 4-Track)
I Don’t Mind (Studio)
Mama Church (A Cappella)

7” SIDE A
The Joker (Single Version)
Lidi/Travelin’ (Harmonics - Looking for a Chorus for The Joker)

7” SIDE B
I Don’t Mind (Studio)
Lidi (Studio)