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npr · 7 years

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There was no such thing as Classic Rock in 1976 — the phrase, and the radio format it inspired, wouldn't come into common usage until the mid-1980s. But there was already some notion of a rock and roll canon, a list of key albums that FM listeners needed to have in their collection. At the start of 1976, Bob Seger had zero albums on that list. Twelve months later, he had two: Live Bullet, the double LP documenting some blistering hometown sets at Detroit's Cobo Hall, and Night Moves, his first platinum album, whose title single would peak at No. 4 as 1977 began.

His next record, 1978's Stranger in Town, would go platinum within a month. I bought all three at once that year, because they were the ones Columbia House offered. But I knew there were others. As a budding, 13-year-old music obsessive, every record in the canon triggered a cascading need for several more. Some might be content with Elton John's Greatest Hits, but I wanted the entirety of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and then some way to prioritize the rest of his back catalog. Destroyer was not enough KISS; At Budokan was not the sum total of Cheap Trick.

Fast forward to this decade. I hear someone singing "If I Were a Carpenter," which reminds me Seger did a surprisingly heavy version of that song on Smokin' O.P.'s, which I haven't heard for a while. I reach for my copy, only to find that it's gone. This is bothersome, but correctable, I imagine. I am a gainfully employed adult, living in a city with multiple wonderful used record stores, plus there's an entire Internet at my fingertips. I decide to go on a spree, replacing not just the missing album, but finally adding the several I never purchased to my collection.

But I discover something odd: Bob Seger's old albums are not only missing from my shelves. They seem to be missing from the world.

Seger is one of the few remaining digital holdouts — there's nothing beyond the odd Christmas tune available on subscription services, and even on iTunes his only studio album for sale is 2014's Ride Out, which sits beside two anthologies and two live albums.

Where Have All The Bob Seger Albums Gone?

Illustration: Kristen Uroda for NPR; Reference: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Charts: Katie Park/NPR

#Bob Seger #NPR Music #classic rock #music #illustration #data visualization #digital music #album sales

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classicrocka-z-blog · 6 years

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Happy Birthday Bob Seger

Originally a hard-driving rocker in the vein of fellow Michigan garage rockers the Rationals and Mitch Ryder, Bob Seger developed into one of the most popular heartland rockers over the course of the '70s. Combining the driving charge of Ryder's Detroit Wheels with Stonesy garage rock and devotion to hard-edged soul and R&B, he crafted a distinctively American sound. While he never attained the critical respect of his contemporary Bruce Springsteen, Seger did develop a dedicated following through constant touring with his Silver Bullet Band. Following several years of missed chances and lost opportunities, Seger finally achieved a national audience in 1976 with the back-to-back release of Live Bullet and Night Moves. After the platinum success of those albums, Seger retained his popularity for the next two decades, releasing seven Top Ten, platinum-selling albums in a row. Seger began playing music in 1961 as the leader of the Detroit-based trio the Decibels; his future manager, Eddie "Punch" Andrews was also a member of the band. Moving to Ann Arbor, he played with the Town Criers before he became the keyboardist and vocalist for Doug Brown & the Omens. Billing themselves as the Beach Bums, the band released "The Ballad of the Yellow Beret," a parody of the Sgt. Barry Sadler song "The Ballad of the Green Beret." The single was withdrawn shortly after its release after Sadler threatened a lawsuit. In 1966, Seger released his first solo single, "East Side Story," which became a regional hit. Several other local hit singles followed on Cameo Records, including "Persecution Smith" and "Heavy Music," before his label folded. In 1968, he formed the Bob Seger System and signed with Capitol Records, releasing his debut album, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, in the spring of that year. The title track became a national hit, climbing to number 17, but the group's follow-up, Noah, stiffed and Seger decided to quit the music business at the end of 1969 to attend college. By the end of the summer, Seger had returned to rock & roll with a new backing band, releasing Mongrel at the end of the year. For 1971's Brand New Morning, he disbanded his group and recorded a singer/songwriter effort. Following its release, he began performing with the duo Dave Teegarden and Skip "Van Winkle" Knape, and the duo provided support on 1972's Smokin' O.P.'s, which was the first release on Palladium Records, a label he formed with Andrews. The album failed to sell, as did Back in '72 (1973) and Seven (1974), and he moved back to Capitol Records for 1975's Beautiful Loser. For the recording of Beautiful Loser, Seger formed the Silver Bullet Band, which consisted of guitarist Drew Abbott, bassist Chris Campbell, keyboardist Robyn Robbins, saxophonist Alto Reed, and drummer Charlie Allen Martin. Seger supported Beautiful Loser with an extensive tour with the Silver Bullet Band, and while it didn't make the album a hit, it provided a widespread grassroots following across the country. The touring paid off in 1976, when Live Bullet, a double album recorded in Detroit, became a hit, spending over three years on the U.S. charts and going gold; the album would eventually go quadruple platinum. The groundswell behind Live Bullet sent Seger's next studio album, Night Moves (1976), into the Top Ten early in 1977. Night Moves became a blockbuster, generating the hit singles "Night Moves," "Mainstreet," and "Rock & Roll Never Forgets." Stranger in Town, released in the summer of 1978, was just as successful, featuring the hits "Still the Same," "Hollywood Nights," "We've Got Tonite," and "Old Time Rock & Roll." Stranger in Town confirmed his status as one America's most popular rockers. Seger's next album, 1980's Against the Wind, became his first number one album and all of its big hits -- "Fire Lake," "Against the Wind," "You'll Accomp'ny Me" -- were ballads. The live album Nine Tonight continued his multi-platinum success in 1981, selling three million copies and peaking at number three. Seger returned with The Distance in 1982. The Distance was the first album since Seven to be recorded with the addition of session musicians, which caused guitarist Abbott to quit the band in frustration. Over the course of the next decade, the membership of the Silver Bullet Band shifted constantly. While The Distance featured "Shame on the Moon," his biggest hit single to date, its sales plateaued at a million copies, suggesting that his popularity was beginning to level off. Seger also began to drastically reduce his recording and touring schedules -- he only released one other album, 1986's Like a Rock, during the '80s. Like a Rock and its supporting tour were both successes, paving the way for "Shakedown," a song taken from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II, to become Seger's lone number one hit in 1987. Four years after its release, he returned with The Fire Inside. Although the album went platinum and reached the Top Ten, it only appealed to Seger's devoted following, as did 1995's It's a Mystery, which became his first album since Live Bullet to fail to go platinum, leveling off at gold status. A long hiatus followed, where Seger kept his head down and spent time with his family. These quiet years were only interrupted by his 2004 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Finally, in 2006, after an 11-year hiatus, Seger released Face the Promise, his first record since 1975's Beautiful Loser not to feature the Silver Bullet Band. Although it spawned no big hit singles -- "Wait for Me" made it into the Billboard adult contemporary Top 20 -- Face the Promise performed well, debuting at four on the Billboard charts on its way to a platinum certification. A couple archival projects followed: the 2009 compilation Early Seger, Vol. 1, which balanced previously released cuts with re-recorded old tunes, and the 2011 double-disc set Ultimate Hits: Rock & Roll Never Forgets, which was certified platinum and generated the modest adult contemporary hit cover of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train." A new album titled Ride Out appeared in October of 2014, debuting at number three on the Billboard charts. Seger next released I Knew You When, a 2017 album that was dedicated to the recently deceased Glenn Frey.

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jotcamp · 10 years

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In '72 Bob Seger released a record that was almost exclusively blues and r&b cover songs, and it's one of his most fun albums in my opinion. Every rhythm, solo, and fill feels like the band's throwing their whole bounce-dancing weight into their playing. Just love it.

#bob seger #smokin' O.P.'s #jesse james #1972 #blues #rhythm and blues #rock #blues rock #country #xs #american

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detroitbob · 11 years

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Bob Seger's Michigan Years, Part Two

For Brand New Morning, Seger retreated to his living room, cutting an acoustic affair with minimal overdubbing eleven years before New Jersey's own… did the same. For an artist known as a bandleader, it's a little jarring to hear such a spare collection, but it doesn't stop the collection from working on a number of levels. "Maybe Today" is a hopeful song to those desirous of affection while "You Know Who You Are" is a portrait of the failure of a relationship. Seger, who was between relationships at the time, could have easily been directing them at himself. "Railroad Days" chronicled the long-gone days of youth and reflected on all of the changes that one inevitably sees as they age. "Song For Him" was a rare religious song about the necessity of putting things into perspective. Anybody expecting a "son of a bitch" would have been thoroughly disappointed. Brand New Morning became the second Seger LP to miss the charts, the first to do so undeservedly. No single was issued. After recording Brand New Morning, Seger entered a transition phase of his career, searching for the right group. The first band in this period, STK, teamed him up with drummer David Teegarden and organist/pedal bassist Skip "Van Winkle" Knape, with whom he cut the non-album side "Lookin' Back", a number that chronicled Seger's journey from "Ballad of the Yellow Beret" to "2+2=?" and doubly served as a statement on the System. Gigs at this time would feature an acoustic set from Seger, a set from Teegarden and Van Winkle (who had racked up a hit or two on their own) and a set that featured the group (STK and guitarist Monk Bruce), a bonus for promoters. Having left Capitol shortly after the releases of "Lookin' Back" (a number two hit in Detroit) and Brand New Morning, Seger landed on Palladium, a label founded by Punch Andrews a few years earlier and distributed by Reprise/Warner. Seger's first release on Palladium saw him largely tackling his heroes and contemporaries. Along with Teegarden and Van Winkle, Seger utilized a number of Motown players and singers to assist him in the production of the record. Rather than delve into deep cuts, the players stuck to songs that were fairly popular, from Steve Stills' "Love The One You're With" (a song that unsurprisingly works better without the steel drums) to a version of Bobby Bland's "Turn on Your Love Light" heavy on the organ and percussion to a rocking medley from rock and roll's first true original in "Bo Diddley/Who Do You Love?". Though suffering from a weak bottom end, Smokin' OP's works for Seger's voice is in fine form throughout. The sole new original, "Someday" was a prophetic, introspective ballad about a man down and out striving to reach the top. "Heavy Music, Part 1", long out of print, was tacked on to close the album. The safe cover material didn't help- Smokin' OP's barely dented the charts, peaking at #180. Still, of Seger's first seven releases, it is currently the only one with a sanctioned compact disc release (and the reason why none of its songs are presented here). Some of Seger's albums were available on compact disc for about fifteen minutes back in 1993, actually, but the best one was inexplicably left out…

Teegarden, Van Winkle and Bruce gave way to Julia, a group led by guitarist/vocalist Bill Mueller who finished the Smokin' O.P.'s tour dates. For his second Palladium album, Bob Seger would use two groups of musicians. Heading down to Sheffield, Alabama (Julia split upon realizing they were being left behind), Seger utilized the legendary Muscle Shoals Swampers (keyboardist Barry Beckett, drummer Roger Hawkins, bassist David Hood and guitarists Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carr) for the very first time. For the sessions in Detroit and elsewhere, Seger used a group alternately referred to as "My Band" or "Borneo Band"- the names were internal- that consisted of Mueller, organist/pedal bassist Dick Sims, drummer Jamie Oldaker, percussionist Sergio Pastora and backing vocalists Marcy Levy and Shaun Murphy. Motown players like Jack Ashford and Eddie "Bongo" Brown augmented the Detroit sessions. J. J. Cale augmented the band when they recorded at Leon Russell's Paradise Studios. In spite of its lack of commercial success, it seems Seger had been pleased with Smokin' O.P.'s as he would utilize both cover and original material on Back in '72. My personal favorite of these is the Allman Brothers Band cover "Midnight Rider", Seger making it his own by merging Gregg Allman and Kim Payne's lyric to a boogie beat. While it never reaches the heights of the Idlewild South original (no version can for the simple fact that they all lack Duane Allman), it's among the best of the covers. Joe Cocker stole the thunder from the single by cutting his own rendition right around the same time. Seger's rocking originals, exhibited little since the days of the System, were thankfully back in full force on the album. "Rosalie" was a funky little ode to Rosalie Trombley, the CKLW music director who had the power of a fifty-thousand watt signal and the golden touch to make a song a hit, to which Seger could testify (even if he was the rare artist whose success didn't go much beyond the signal). "Turn the Page", a brooding tale of life on the road, showcased Seger's ability to go between first- and second-person points of view to avoid self-pity and benefited greatly from the saxophone of part-time My Band member Tommy Cartmell. The title track was a story song about growing up as a young songwriter in the Motor City in the year of tumult that 1972 was. Somehow he figured out how to pull through even if in the end, he'd learned nothing. The album performed slightly worse than its predecessor, peaking at #188. My Band went their separate ways after the album tour (Seger found them unreliable anyway), with Eric Clapton picking up quite a few as he went to record his 461 Ocean Boulevard LP. They stayed for five albums subsequent to it. For Bob Seger, it would be another album, another band. While utilizing a crack team of Nashville players for the slower numbers, Seger turned to a group of local boys for the rockers. Dubbed The Silver Bullet Band, they consisted of guitarist and part-time My Band member Drew Abbott, bassist Chris Campbell, drummer Charlie Martin and keyboardist Rick Manasa. Seger's seventh album, simply Seven, would be a turning point for the artist, showcasing the strongest set of songs yet. While moving slightly away from what had come before, the material was still missing the overt slickness that would be featured all too soon, thus rendering it unique in the Seger catalog. With "Get Out Of Denver", Seger wrote one of the greatest Chuck Berry pastiches ever, fashioning a powerhouse rhythm with the oft-copied leads and lyrics that go by about as fast as the journey progresses from Nowhere, Nebraska to Denver, cramming nearly four hundred words in just over two and a half minutes. There wasn't much to "Need Ya", the chorus is little more than the song title, but the dynamic rocker about the changing realities love can bring was quite infectious. "UMC" is a jazzy little joker about upper middle class wants and desires, a pretty funny one to boot. Showcasing all that one should aspire to desire from paid vacations and fancy suits to private eyes tailing wives with a bit too much freedom and pretending to be liberal while supporting the GOP. Bob's living the dream now, even if he's only occasionally supported the GOP. The funky "Seen A Lot Of Floors", with Tommy Cartmell's soulful sax getting a showcase, is a thinly veiled portrait about making it with a timid groupie. Three singles were pulled, "UMC" featuring the non-album B-side "This Old House", a lament for the inability to keep up what once was a very elegant residence, applicable to any number of Detroit buildings. Of the three A-sides, only "Get Out Of Denver" charted, at #80, it didn't chart very high. For the third time in his career, Bob Seger had a non-charting LP. Still, you know what happened to Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band after this. First, Robyn Robins replaced Manasa. Second, Tommy Cartmell (whose sax and flute parts had been highlights on Seven and Back in '72 you'd have to wonder why he wasn't utilized more on either) joined full-time, soon enough taking the stage name Alto Reed. Third, Bob Seger finally broke through for good with his eighth album, Beautiful Loser. The album, which wasn't considered commercial enough by Warners, was remixed and offered to Capitol. It outsold the first seven albums combined (a sleeper hit that never got higher than #131, this took some time). Each subsequent studio album remade Beautiful Loser, adapting to the times but rarely straying from the MOR heartland rock with blue-eyed soul vocals formula. With the release of the live double LP set Live Bullet (marketed as a greatest hits album by Capitol), momentum went into full swing and only went up from there. I don't need to talk about any of it, you already know of it, perhaps to the point where you're plumb sick of it. The Silver Bullet Band hasn't had the most stable line-up, but elements of his breakthrough backing group play with Seger to this day. When he's playing, that is… For whatever reason, six of the first seven Bob Seger albums have been kept out of print for nearly the entire CD age; legal downloads aren't available, either. At the very least, there has to be a niche market ready and willing to purchase this material. While Early Seger, Vol. 1 has come out, the remixing, overdubbing and re-recording reek of rewriting history and the limited selection (the first four albums being completely ignored) is just plain wrong. Sixty or so of the songs cut in Bob Seger's first eight years remain either completely out of print or barely in print.

#Bob Seger #Brand New Morning #Teegarden and Van Winkle #Smokin' O.P.'s #Back in '72 #Seven

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