5 amazingly overlooked debut albums of the 1960s

Steve Miller Band - Children Of The Future 

The Steve Miller Band are best known for their classic rock hits in the 1970s. “The Joker”, Rock’n Me” and “Fly Like An Eagle” set a particular style and tone for the California band.  Yet their debut album Children Of The Future, released in 1968 would likely come as a surprise to many. It hasn't got any well-known hits, singles, or tracks that people would recognize unless they were ardent fans.

There are a few surprises with the album. The music is not what you might expect if you know the band from their classic hits. It's a bit more British blues and a lot more psychedelia. 

The British blues element is perhaps traced to it being recorded while the band was in the UK and it was produced by Glyn Johns who had worked with many of the UK's top rock acts. Given Johns’ CV before then and since, he was quite a coup for the band's debut record. It wasn’t just in the studio that there was quality, alongside Steve Miller and his guitar was Boz Skaggs who’d only just signed up as a guitarist with the band.

The album earned good reviews on release and was compared favourably to other great music of the time, including The Beatles on Sergeant Pepper. Yet in chart times, it only had a moderate impact, only as far as the 134th slot on the Billboard 200. Another overlooked debut album of the times which seems surprising given its quality and the band's subsequent success.