Bob Seger‘s Back Pages

Nov. 8, 2006

Editor’s note: This week’s 4Play offers an all-Seger rundown on Bob Seger’s new CD and where he’s been.

FACE THE PROMISE
Seger has kept his fans waiting. Eleven years to be exact. As Rock and Roll’s voice of the heartland Seger proves that the old adage “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” rings true.  For diehard Segerites it was worth the wait. “Face The Promise” comes out of the gate with “Wreck This Heart,” proving that at 61 Seger can still rock. The track features sizzling guitar work from J.T. Corenflos (one of Nashville’s top session guitarists) and “Are You” seconds the motion that Seger remains true to his rocker roots. The title cut offers listeners a gateway to Seger’s appreciation for the blues. No musician out there idolizes Seger more than Kid Rock and the pair team up for a speedier version of Vince Gill’s “Real Mean Bottle.” Proving he has crossover appeal with Nashville, Seger duets with Patty Loveless on “The Answer’s in The Question.” Other ballads of note include “Wait For Me” and “The Long Goodbye.” Lyrically, Seger proves that his pen hasn’t been on vacation for the past decade. There may not be a “Turn The Page” on this album but he has already been there and done that; instead “Face the Promise” marks a new beginning in his career and more importantly says that Seger has been missed not only by his fans but also by the industry. So take notice Jack White, Uncle Kraker, Eminem and Kid, Seger proves that the Detroit Rock City throne still belongs to him.
 LIVE BULLET
In 1976 Seger released “Live Bullet,” recorded over two days at Cobo Hall in September of 1975, and some consider it to be Seger’s breakout album. Three of the greatest rock and roll live albums of all time were released within months of one another: “Frampton Comes Alive” and “KISS Alive” were career-defining works as well. The KISS album was also recorded at Detroit’s Cobo Hall, backing up Seger’s now immortalized words from the stage: “I was reading in Rolling Stone where they said, ‘Detroit audiences are the greatest rock & roll audiences in the world.’ I thought to myself, shit I’ve known that for ten years.”’ As much as Seger helped to immortalize Detroit with this album, it was Detroiters who are credited with helping to lift Seger to national prominence. Weeks before the Cobo shows Seger was still performing at clubs -- he jokes today that he went from touring vans to airplanes and skipped the tour bus -- and was virtually unknown outside of Michigan. “Live Bullet” is loaded with early Seger including the infamous live version of “Turn The Page.” Originally released as a double album and re-released on CD, songs such as “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” “Heavy Music,” “Katmandu,” “Lookin’ Back,” and “Get Out Of Denver” were all tunes that created Seger’s hard rockin’ identity. Seger is known to be meticulous in the recording studio and is equally so live, rehearsing with his bands for weeks to prepare for a tour. Unable to get tickets to any of the upcoming Seger shows? Then pick up “Live Bullet” to get a taste of what you will be missing.
 
 NIGHT MOVES
Depending on how you count ’em’. “Face the Promise” is Seger’s 20th album (including both Greatest Hits), so selecting four “must haves” is a challenge. During a two-year period Seger released  “Seven,” “Beautiful Loser,” “Live Bullet,” and “Night Moves,” and all four captured the essence of his musical foundation that runs through his music even 30 years later. “Night Moves” gets the edge over “Beautiful Loser” and “Seven” because this is the first studio album with the Silver Bullet Band, which played an important role in Seger’s rise to fame. It also remains Seger’s best selling studio album to date with nearly seven million copies sold.  Seger’s live performances are legendary, but as history looks back on the great (individual) American rock music songwriters of all time, Seger will finish second only to Dylan (even the master has called Seger one of the “best songwriters of all time”). When you look at the Seger songbook that spans 40 years, and add in the 700 unreleased tunes in the legendary  “Seger Song Vault,” it is hard to argue with Seger’s songwriting greatness. “Night Moves” comes from a generation when great songs were found deep into the track list. For example, “Mainstreet” at number six easily would be a number two or three track by today’s standards. He has always been thankful to his fans, and in “Rock and Roll Never Forgets,” Seger pays homage to them. Reaching #8 on the Billboard album charts, “Night Moves” was his first Top 10 album and started the string of eight consecutive albums over 15 years to make it in the Top 10.
 STRANGER IN TOWN
By selecting “Stranger In Town,” that means “Against the Wind,” Seger’s only number one album that also produced his only Grammy Award, is left out. For Segerites, “Against the Wind” might be a little too commercial and polished, and Seger admits that his goal was to create a commercial success with that album. He did. It is a great album, but if there is one album that could be titled “a greatest hits,” this is it. Seger came from an era when others around him made it big when they were kids, Seger really didn’t hit the big time until he reached his early 30’s. This collection of songs showed that even after hitting the big time he was still sensitive that it might all end tomorrow. While “Old Time Rock and Roll” has become a wedding reception standard (the only tune Seger didn’t pen on the album) – thanks in part to Tom Cruise lip-syncing the song while dancing around in his underwear in the movie “Risky Business” – songs like “Hollywood Nights,” “Feel Like A Number,” and “The Famous Final Scene” all capture Seger’s sense that he was a “Stranger In Town” to the fame and fortune of the industry. Ballads like “Still the Same” and “We’ve Got Tonight,” (a backseat classic) again showcase his Midwestern sensibilities. By a slim margin, this album is Seger’s second best selling album with “Against The Wind” literally a handful of copies behind. Both have sold more than five million units. So as Seger closes in on selling 40 million albums (ranking 34th in all time sales), his body of work has proved to be timeless. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait 11 more years for another release, though Seger hinted in an interview with me that he thinks he can have another album out in two years. There are a lot of people hoping he is right.