STEVE MILLER BAND "MIDNIGHT TOKER" LIVE 1976 NYC RARE 'AMAZING KORNYPHONE' LP

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25

STEVE MILLER BAND "MIDNIGHT TOKER" LIVE 1976 NYC ~ RARE 'AMAZING KORNYPHONE' LP
THE STEVE MILLER BAND "THE MIDNIGHT TOKER ~ BLASTS FROM THE PAST, FLASHES OF THE FUTURE" RECORDED LIVE MAY 7th, 1976 ~ BEACON THEATER, NEW YORK CITY RECORDED LIVE ON THE 'BOOK OF DREAMS' TOUR LABEL: THE AMAZING KORNYPHONE RECORDS ~ TAKRL - 1960 RARE SCARCE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING ~ YELLOW LABELS ~ QUAD MATRIX (SIDE A): TAKRL - 1960 A 
CONDITION:  VINYL: EX- TO EX    LABELS: EX- TO EX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been going thru my large vinyl record collection over the past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
After all, we are just temporary 'caretakers' of these musical gems until the next owner and next collection takes them in.
This week on EBay I am offering up this rare early live Steve Miller Band recording of 'The Midnight Toker' on the Amazing Kornyphone label.
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First off, let me point out that this is just the rare original VINYL ONLY, in a modern plain white jacket.
This record was included in a large vinyl record collection I purchased back in the late 70's. It was found placed inside the gatefold of a copy of the Steve Miller band's 'Number 5' album. It was clean, in it's own paper sleeve, very well protected, but 'loose' with no original jacket and with no original paper insert or artwork. Just the way you see it.
I put it in plain white jacket and have had it in my collection ever since, over 40 years now. I've taken great care of it for decades, pulling it out every few years to listen to, but it's time to pass it on.
In my photos, I showed a picture of what the original album cover art looked like, just for reference, but this record comes in a plain white jacket with NO paper insert or artwork.
I thought there still might be a fan of vintage Steve Miller or a collector of rare Amazing Kornyphone 'collector' records that would still want this, despite no original jacket or artwork.
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This is a very rare and very cool vintage Steve Miller Band 'collector' record called "The Midnight Toker ~ Blasts from the past, Flashes of the future", released on the 'Amazing Kornyphone' record label in late 1976 or early 1977. 
This is an original First Pressing with the simple light yellow labels and the early 'TAKRL 1960' matrix numbers.
The bulk of this album was recorded in May 1976 at the Beacon Theater in New York City on the band's tour in support of their 'Fly Like An Eagle' album.
This 1976 Beacon Theater show was broadcast live across the airwaves on New York's classic rock station WNWK ('K-Rock') at the time, and was professionally recorded. The show was so good, so timeless, and so 'classic', that selections from this gig were later featured on future King Biscuit Flour Hour (KBFH) live radio programs throughout the late 70's and early 80's.
Although usually just called 'Midnight Toker', the original full title of this album was ‘The Midnight Toker - Blasts From The Past, Flashes Of The Future’ and that's exactly what it contains.
This live show contained 'blasts from the past' with songs like the excellent 'Going to the Country', 'The Joker', and Box Scagg's classic 'Baby’s Calling Me Home', but also some 'flashes' of the new modern sounds, styles and textures that Miller was developing on his 1976 album 'Fly Like an Eagle' and the following year's 'Book of Dreams'.
This excellent sounding live soundboard recording captures the Steve Miller Band's distinctive blend of rock, blues, and psychedelic sounds that were emerging at the beginning of their peak era of the 70's.
The 'hits' from those records, 'Jet Airliner', 'Rock 'n Me', 'Fly Like an Eagle' were technically complex, challenging, multi-layered examples of studio wizardry and difficult for a band to play in a live setting, so this album doesn't have many of those FM hits of the day, but it's still an excellent, great sounding, hard rocking show from the 'Space Cowboy' and his excellent band.
The lineup of the Steve Miller Band at this time included Steve Miller, on his vintage Les Paul, second guitarist David Denny, long-time band member bassist Lonnie Turner, keyboardist Byron Allred, drummer Gary Mallaber, and the band's amazing harmonica player Norton Buffalo.
It contains some terrific songs, amazing playing, and is highly recommended if you like classic mid-70’s Steve Miller.
The songs on this rare classic 'collector' record include:
Baby's Calling Me Home (4:20) Wild Mountain Honey (4:06) Going To The Country (3:12) Nothing Lasts (3:46) Going To Mexico (3:52) The Joker (5:15) Take The Money And Run (4:15) The Gangster's Back (3:25) ~~~~
This album starts off with a great version of Boz Scaggs' “Baby’s Callin’ Me Home,” from the first Steve Miller Band album 'Children of the Future'.
Another older track from that debut album, the fan favorite “Wild Mountain Honey” is a dreamy, acid-drenched performance full of crisp shimmering guitar, great keyboard runs, a little psychedelic-tinged percussion and trippy, raga-inspired guitar work near the end.
“Going To The Country”, from the great, overlooked "Number 5" album, is an uptempo, twangy, hippified, country funk number full of Steve's lively chicken-pickin’ guitar.
There's also some great rockers on this live album, like 'Going To Mexico' and 'Take The Money And Run'. The band's live version of 'The Joker' is fantastic, with the band laying down a smooth, reggae-styled rhythm over Lonnie Turner's bass lines and Miller’s jazzy, laid-back vocals. 
On the other songs, Miller’s fantastic guitar playing is all over the map, in a good way, incorporating blues and rock with a jazzy undercurrent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to great sound and an amazing selection of songs, this rare, First Pressing of 'Midnight Toker' was also recorded in Quadraphonic sound.
In the early to mid 70's, Quadrophonic sound was the latest popular trend in Hi-Fi and this album was one of the very first, and one of the very few, 'collector' records to be recorded in Quad, with QS Quadrophonic encoding.
The original jacket artwork stated: "This record will provide a quadraphonic sound when played utilizing the QS matrix systems."
Don't let the Quad scare you or turn you away. Although encoded for Quad, this album, like all Quad albums, sounds just fine and amazing on a regular Stereo system. It just opens up to reveal more when played on a system that can decode the QS matrix.
Later pressings and re-issues of this record were not encoded for Quad, just these rare 1976/77 First pressings, making them even more unusual and collectable.
'Midnight Toker' is definitely an album worth hearing, owning and having in your collection.
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THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE STEVE MILLER BAND
Although most people are only familiar with the Steve Miller Band from their run of classic mid-1970s hit singles that continue to be staples of classic rock radio and streaming formats, the band's roots actually date back to the late 60's. 
Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee, went away to a private high school in Dallas, but returned to attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the late 1960s, where he became politicized,  psychedlicized and determined to make a career out of music.
In Madison, he formed his first serious band, 'The Ardells', a psych/blues rock band with his friends, guitarist and vocalist Royce 'Boz' Scaggs and keyboardist Ben Sidran.
Their music was strongly blues based but heavily influenced by the psychedelic blues style that dominated the West coast music scene at the time. To be closer to the source of the music they loved, in 1968 the band moved to San Francisco, renamed themselves The Steve Miller Band, and recorded their debut album with producer Glyn Johns, the excellent 'Children of the Future'.
After two terrific early psych/rock albums, Boz Scaggs wanted to explore his blues roots further and recorded his own classic self-titled debut album, which included the long, terrific 'Loan me a Dime' w/ Duane Allman.
Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs continued to collaborate, writing and performing together around the Bay area, but after a couple of albums, Boz left the band to peruse his own highly successful career.
Losing their lead vocalist, and a large part of their early sound and vibe, the Steve Miller band changed up their style and recorded 1969's 'Brave New World' with a heavier, guitar-forward, rocking, sound. Miller focused on playing amazing lead guitar, while most of the vocal duties were now handled by drummer Tim Davis. Miller's pal, bassist Lonnie Turner, kept the groove and power flowing.
The band continued to make several more excellent albums, many of which made the charts, but fame and fortune eluded them. Finally, after 7 great albums, the band struck gold and had a massive hit in 1973 with 'The Joker'. 
The money from 'The Joker' allowed Miller to buy more guitars, gear and pedals, as well as build his own studio, in order to chase his dream and create the unique modern guitar sounds he envisioned. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the time he first picked up a guitar, Miller was always interested in getting new, unique and better sounds out of his instrument.
Miller's father, a wealthy, socially connected doctor in Dallas, was friends with the famous guitarist and electric guitar designer Les Paul. Les was at the Miller house often. He personally gave Steven his first guitar lessons, and Les educated him about all the nuances and technical aspects of electric guitars.
Miller was always fascinated with the technology, new possibilities, and new sounds that he could achieve with his guitar. He was called "Stevie-guitar-Miller" for a good reason; he was an excellent, masterful player, always pushing the boundaries and limits of the instrument.
Miller learned how to mix, blend, layer and use the studio as an additional instrument, adding early electronic sounds, echo, delay, reverb, panning and stereo imaging to create amazing sounding 3-d, 'visual' songs like 'Fly Like an Eagle' that sounded new, unique, and like nothing else at the time.
By the mid to late 70's, the Steve Miller Band had developed a more radio-friendly, rock-oriented, guitar-forward sound that incorporated catchy pop melodies hung over brilliant playing and the latest technological sounds and instrumentation.
They had found that 'sweet spot' in rock music that was spacey and psychedelic enough to be popular with the Stoners, crunchy, driving, and powerful enough to be popular with Heavy Rock fans, and melodic and catchy enough to be popular with straight ahead Rock fans. Miller’s stellar fretwork, amazing studio skills, and the band’s psychedelic-tinged blues-rock sound resonated with young FM radio listeners and his records sold like crazy.
1976’s 'Fly Like An Eagle', 1977’s 'Book of Dreams', and 1981’s 'Abracadabra' are all great albums, containing classic rock hits like “Take The Money And Run” and “Jet Airliner” that still receive steady airplay to this day.
No longer needing to chase hits to make a living, Steve Miller went on to focus on his love of the blues and his fascination with technology and released many more terrific, but non-commercial, albums over the years and continued to tour in small clubs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In summary, I thought there might be a fan of vintage Steve Miller Band, a fan of 'collector' records, or a collector of unusual QUAD pressings that would still appreciate this rare record, despite it's lack of a proper jacket or artwork.
A great sounding record, very cool, very rare, and a great addition to your vinyl record collection, despite not having it's original sleeve.
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CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of this record in my pictures. There's really not much to show; rather simple labels and a simple white stock jacket that I've kept this record in all these years.
VINYL: The vinyl is still clean and looks fantastic. No significant flaws, scratches or damage. A nice pressing with no filling defects or issues.
Amazing Kornyphone records were always pressed well, using thick, sturdy vinyl.
The Deadwax has the simple early etched matrix numbers, TAKRL 1976, and not much else, as is typical for these 'collector' records.
There's some very light wear, evidence of play, and a few light superficial hairlines, but nothing that affects the sound.
It's been played a few times over the years, but always well taken care of. I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it still looks. 
I'll call it a conservative VG+, to keep everyone happy, but you can see from my photos how nice it looks and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in over 40 years. It has some light 'dust' and paper specks and could use a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is, but I'll leave that up to the winning bidder.
LABELS: This is the first pressing of this Amazing Kornyphone release from late 1976 or early 1977, pressed with plain pale yellow labels that make no mention of the artist or the record's content, typical of these 'collector' records. 
The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still relatively sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years. 
The only 'fault' is that the original owner wrote the band name, 'S.Miller' in tiny letters near the spindle hole on side one. It's done in a strange font, slightly cryptic and psychedelic, and I think it adds character and authenticity to this nearly 50 year old record. 
JACKET: As mentioned, this auction listing is just for the original vinyl record.  There is NO original jacket, paper insert or artwork of any kind. I included a picture of the original album artwork just for reference.
Decades ago, I put this record in a nice poly-lined sleeve and a sturdy plain white jacket and that's how I'll pass it on to its new home.
This record has been sleeved and stored properly in my collection for decades, and, as you can see from my pictures, it's still quite nice for an early first pressing. A nice, clean, beautiful survivor. 
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** NOTE: I'm selling this rare Steve Miller Band 'collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare, clean, sounds amazing and it's as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
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I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. 
Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,700 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far. I hope this listing was entertaining and informative.
I know I rambled on a bit, but can't help it. I have a passion for vinyl records and music, especially classic rock and 'collector' records,
HAPPY NEW YEAR  TO YOU AND YOURS AND WE WISH YOU MUCH PEACE AND PROSPERITY IN THE YEAR TO COME!! ~~ JOHN