Bob Seger! May 1, 2010
Posted by sebastianmusic in Uncategorized.Tags: Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Box Tops, Eagles, Frankie Miller, Rolling Stones, Roy Buchannan, True Oldies Channel, Yardbirds
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The True Oldies Channel has Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” in their hot rotation, playing every 60 hours or so. We’ve all heard it so often that no matter how much we like it, it’s become wallpaper. For some reason I actually paid attention the other day and was impressed all over again with the song construction and Seger’s singing.
Seger had the unfortunate advantage of being 31 years old when Live Bullet made him a superstar in 1976. Unfortunate because he had to live on mac-n-cheese on crappy busses for at least 7 years. He already had eight albums under his belt, and had been a successful touring act around Michigan since before his initial national radio hit “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” in 1969. But it was an advantage because it meant he was a seasoned professional by the time he became a star, and he was already an adult. Clearly, his lyrics show he was still in touch with the basic desire to get laid, but this was tempered with an adult perspective that made his songs distinctive.
The only Seger LP I still own is a hits CD, so I went through it and all of my 45s. I came within three tracks of recreating the Night Moves album from 1976, and within one song of recreating 1978’s Stranger In Town. And then I sat down and listened.
Rock And Roll Never Forgets: Utter, wonderful brilliant tribute to that good old rock ‘n’ roll — especially since it avoids any musical clichés along the way. Most of the lyrics are clever, like the opening “You’re a little bit older and a lot less bolder than you used to be / You used to shake ‘em down but now you stop and think about your dignity / Now sweet 16 is turned 31…” True, some lyrics are lame, like “check your local newspaper, chances are you won’t have to go very far” — but nothing is fatally embarrassing. And as the world’s biggest Chuck Berry fan I love the line about seeing a live band perform — “All of Chuck’s children are out there playing his licks.” They are, too, except the song mercifully does NOT use the quintessential Chuck Berry guitar riff. Only an adult with an appreciation for pre-Beatles rock could have written this. I love the song.
Night Moves: isn’t it all about getting laid? Especially at age 16? Trying to make some front-page drive-in news. Seger’s vocals are great because he is comfortable with everything from the soft “woke last night to the sound of thunder” to the loud shouts and ad-libbed “I remember I remember” on the ending. The song construction is creative, putting together different textured sections and always returning to the acoustic guitar chord riff. The adult perspective surfaces in the closing section — “Started humming a song from 1962” and with the repeated “I remember.”
The Fire Down Below: isn’t it all about getting laid? “Here comes old Rosie…from the blue-blood streets of Boston, out in Berkeley and down in Queens.” A restrained rocker, with concise guitar lines in the turnaround. A thoughtful songs about prostitution, along with The Yardbirds “Good Night Sweet Josophine” and The Box Top’s “Sweet Cream Ladies Forward March.”
Sunburst – not on 45 or the hits CD. I don’t remember the song from 34 years ago, either.
Sunspot Baby: Seger’s funny take on the woman who disappeared with his American Express card. The lyrics more than make up for average music. “Sunspot baby, sure had a real good time.”
Main Street: LOVE the guitar sound on this track. Wistful nostalgia of drooling over a stripper. The last verse is a remembrance of the girl and of his own adolescent feelings about her. If ever a song made you feel a chilly wind on a small town street in the autumn, this is it.
Come To Poppa: Not on 45 or the hits CD. I remember liking this is a decent throbbing rocker.
Ship Of Fools: It’s easy to forget that anyone was still into Bob Dylan like this in 1976. Of the songs I found from the album, this is the only one I’d label as lame. On the other hand, I like the electric guitar work.
Mary Lou: Not on 45 or the hits CD. I remember loving this song, but I can’t recall the melody.
Stranger In Town came out almost two years later, in 1978. It is the reason I let my subscription to Rolling Stone magazine lapse. Actually it was Rolling Stone’s negative review of the LP that made me stop reading the magazine. Whoever the reviewer was actually complained that the album was too good. Check, please!
Hollywood Nights: still gives me goosebumps. The country boy goes to town, and he’s doing okay until he meets the girl who so thoroughly outclasses him that he knows from day one it’s hopeless. “He knew he was too far from home,” “He saw that face and he lost all control.” The rhythm section is unrelenting, with the drummer adding an extra lick every four bars. All 4:59 on this smokes. Seger’s growls and shouts and non-lyric interjections add to the urgency.
Still The Same: I’m bored with it, but that’s my problem. The chick singers make me think of Great White and “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” which is not exactly a bad thing. It is a surprisingly nasty song about an old friend whose patterns have not changed — but because the singer has aged and grown, the old friend’s patterns no longer are charming.
Old Time Rock And Roll — a poppier version of “Rock And Roll Never Forgets” without the humor or the cleverness. I fear the Risky Business movie ruined this song for me. However, the song is a great showcase for Seger’s gruff, authoritative, yet non-threatening voice.
Till It Shines: similar guitar sound as on “Main Street” but a happy song. And so what if he sings “Leave the inmates free the guards”?
Feel Like A Number: The best ROCK song of 1978. Obvious reference to the 60s Libertarian TV series “The Prisoner.” The piano player runs through Johnnie Johnson’s greatest hits, clearly influenced by the brilliant pianist for most of Chuck Berry’s classic recordings. The verses pile up a list of dehumanizing things in life – to teachers I’m just another child, to IRS I’m just another file, to workers I’m just another drone, to Ma Belle I’m just another phone; the boss can’t even recall my name and if I show up late I’m docked, it never fails. His dream is to head out to the sea and shout at the ocean “Hey, it’s me!” The chorus is straight from “The Prisoner” — “I feel like a number, I feel like a number / I feel like a stranger, a stranger in this land / Said I feel like a number, I’m not a number / I’m not a number, Dammit I’m a man / Said I’m a man.” By the last section of the song Seger sings and shouts “Feel like…” but doesn’t finish the title words; this conveys an urgency and sense of struggle that is magnificent.
Ain’t Got No Money: There was a brief period when Scottish blues singer Frankie Miller looked like he might be The Next Big Thing. Not a bad song, and full marks to a star of Seger’s weight at the time for doing an outside song. But to paraphrase Mott The Hoople, Miller wasn’t the Nazz, he was just a buzz.
We’ve Got Tonight: Isn’t it all about getting laid? And how many horny guys and gals used this as their soundtrack? A manipulative power ballad, but a superb performance. Besides, who would you rather hear doing this song, Bob Seger or Kenny Rodgers? (no fair drooling over a picture of Sheena Easton as you ponder that question).
Brave Strangers: Isn’t it all about getting laid? Clever song construction, mixing uptempo and slow sections. The near-spoken part where “My hand is (WHOMP!) shaking!” is great, even if influenced by The Rolling Stones’ “Midnight Rambler.” Some of the lyrics are lame — “we were players, not arrangers, but we jammed til the dawn’s early light” — but if that’s what it takes to get the girl to say “yes”…
The Famous Final Scene: Not on 45 or the hits CD dammit. I remember this song and thinking it was great, on a par with The Eagles’ “Wasted Time” from about the same era.
And just for the hell of it, I found a non-LP B-side. “Trying To Live My Life Without You” is a live track from the Nine Tonight album. The flip side was recorded at Cobo Hall but didn’t make it to the album. The live version of “Brave Strangers” is well done. I like Seger’s Michigan lyrics about having a couple of 6-packs of Stroh’s.
I saw Bob Seger once, probably at The old Omni in Atlanta around 1977. The only memory I have of the show is the enormous smile Seger wore non-stop. He was enjoying himself thoroughly. About the same time I had seen Roy Buchannan at a little club, when Rolling Stone magazine was calling him the greatest blues guitarist this side of Eric Clapton. No question Buchannan was a brilliant guitarist, but his stage manner was terrible; he looked bored and acted as if he’d really rather have been sitting in front of a TV with a beer in his hand. The contrast with Seger was like night and day. I never bothered to play a Buchannan record again — if he’s not having fun why should I bother. But Seger’s enthusiasm was infectious, I am willing to suspend disbelief for the theatre of rock and roll when the performer is enjoying it too. Thanks, Bob!
Seger continued to have hits through 1987 when he had his only #1 single, “Shakedown” from Beverly Hills Cop II. And at that point he disappeared. He went five years without making any records. I have never heard so much as a whisper about anything untoward — no drug stories, no booze rehab, nothing sinister or immoral. Did he wear out after nine years of non-stop touring and recording? Did he think he had run out of things to say in songs? Was raising a family suddenly the more important activity? At the age of 43 his moment abruptly ended.
Well, except for those Chevrolet truck ads that kept “Like A Rock” alive for another five years.
Despite my fondness for most of his work, I want apologies from Bob Seger for “Fire Lake” and the abysmal “Shame On The Moon.” Both were top-10; “Shame” was his second biggest hit ever. Have you ever heard either one on the True Oldies Channel? As for the rest of his music, he is one of my favorite American rockers. Until this exercise I had forgotten what a great but comfortable voice he has.
Thanks again, Bob.
