Abracadabra is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band. The album was released on June 15, 1982, by Capitol Records.

Abracadabra charted in nine countries, including Germany where the record reached No. 1 for a week. Four singles were released from the album in various countries: the title track, "Cool Magic" (#57 on the Billboard Hot 100), "Keeps Me Wondering Why", and "Give It Up", with the title song charting the highest at #1 on the pop chart.

Unusually for the band, lead singer/guitarist Steve Miller did not write most of the songs. Drummer Gary Mallaber had brought in a handful of demos from his other band Tracker, which featured several Miller associates. Mallaber hoped one of the songs would be used for the album, but Miller used all of them and Mallaber received eight co-writing credits. Miller, meanwhile, produced two of his own songs; the title track and the "Heart Like a Wheel"-soundalike "Give It Up".

Critical reception

Billboard called the track "Cool Magic" a "catchy midtempo pop tune that takes dead aim at car radios everywhere." Billboard also described the song as being "harder rocking" than the title track. Cash Box called it "a light, straightahead pop/rocker that, in places, brings to mind the Beach Boys or the Beatles."

Track listing

Personnel Steve Miller – vocals, guitar, Synclavier, synthesizers on track 2, Roland Jupiter-8 on track 2 and Roland Juno-60 on track 2 John Massaro – guitar Kenny Lee Lewis – guitar Byron Allred – keyboards Gerald Johnson – bass guitar Gary Mallaber – drums, percussion, keyboards

Additional personnel Greg Douglass – guitar on tracks 3 and 8 Lonnie Turner – bass guitar on tracks 3 and 8

Technical Produced by Steve Miller and Gary Mallaber Recorded and mixed by David N. Cole Additional recording by Gary Mallaber Executive Producer – John Palladino Photography – David Alexander Art – Tommy Steele Design – Tommy Steele, Jeff Lancaster

Charts

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for AbracadabraChart (1982)PeakpositionAustralian Albums (Kent Music Report)5Austrian Top 75 Albums8Canadian Top Albums4German Albums1Netherlands Top 100 Albums11New Zealand Top 50 Albums47Norwegian Top 40 Albums10Swedish Top 60 Albums3UK Albums Chart10

Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for Abracadabra Chart (1982) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 27 US Billboard 200 77

Certifications

References