The Bob Seger Album By Album Thread

Early Seger

I was born and raised in Michigan and remember much of Bob Seger's early material. His early music was hard to find originally and that situation never got better. Once he became famous around the time of Live Bullet and Night Moves there was renewed interest in his back catalog but for whatever reasons Bob Seger didn't make his early music available the way Fleetwood Mac did with their early music after the FM album and Rumours broke big.

Fleetwood Mac made their early music available even though that was a group with many different members (song writers, singers and overall musical direction). I have never understood why Bob Seger wanted to banish from existence his early 45s and some later albums like Back in 72, Noah and New Morning. You would have thought that he would want to cash in on the interest in his back catalog. If you are going to keep Smokin' OPs available then why not Back in 72 and the other albums too?

Scott

 

In the time around Beautiful Loser/ Live Bullet Abkco reissued East Side, Persecution, and Heavy Music on the blue Abkco label. In addition Warners also dumped their Bob Seger stock and the albums Smokin' OPs, Back In 72, and Seven were all available as cut outs at several stores in Detroit(I bought mine at Dearborn Music) then they were gone.

 

I remember when he hit it big right after "Night Moves", all his early albums were rereleased except "Noah", "Brand New Morning" and "Back in '72". Then when they released on CD in the early 90's I picked up "Ramblin Gamblin Man" and before I could get the others they vanished from the marketplace.

There was talk of "Back in '72" being released on CD a few years ago, but "Smokin OP's" was released instead and nothing ever came of '72 being rereleased...

 

Unfortunately, the newer re-issue of "Smokin' OP's" on CD seems to be have mastered a bit hot. It doesn't "seem" brickwalled, but it usually stays in the red on the VU meters in Sound Forge. I've never heard the original CD pressing. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" first

 

Too many people pissed off that he won't do anything with his old material.

I bought 80% of my vinyl at Dearborn Music. I don't know why, as I'm sure I heard his music on the radio a lot, but I had a friend buy Beautiful Loser without me even knowing who it was by. That's when I became a fan. By "Live Bullet" there was no turning back (at least until his over-produced stuff from the late 80's.)

 

I won't be able to contribute anything until Smokin O.P.'s and Beautiful Loser timeframe. But this oughta be a good read through out.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if none of it comes out legitimately until Bob's passed and I wouldn't be more surprised if Bob has it tied up in a legal way so none of it will see the light of day, even after he's passed.

 

I think the problem is that not a lot of people have heard the early stuff. I'm a fan and I've never heard Noah or Brand New Morning. Hopefully this thread will take hold as his early singles and albums are truly worthy parts of his legacy.

 

I wonder does Seger actually have full control over his early recordings? Obviously he has enough control to keep Back in '72 et al out of circulation, but I'd be surprised if he really has the ability to keep it buried even after he's gone.

 

i've enjoyed these for years on my copy of 'michigan brand nuggets'...

 

I can see why he'd want to keep "Noah" out of circulation, simply put it's awful. But the others should be out there and it's a tradgedy they arent...

 

I remember seeing an ad on TV around 68 or 9 for some spaghetti western that used Heavy Music liberally in the ad. Went crazy to see the picture and was SOO disappointed as it was NOWHERE in the movie. I guess they used it in ads in Detroit just to get guys like me into the theatre. Movie was forgettable too.

 

Older Material

The early 45s like East Side Story should be available as part of a box set. I am thinking of Alice Cooper's pre-Alice Cooper group material (Nazz, Earwigs) that might not add to a full album but would be of interest to fans. Obviously most AC fans would be more interested in the big name AC albums (School's Out, etc.) being reissued than the obscure early singles.

Likewise I'm sure that the audience for early Seger singles like East Side Story is smaller than the audience for a deluxe reissue of Night Moves or Against the Wind. However just as the existence of pre-Alice Cooper group singles has not "tarnished" Alice Cooper or Peter Green era FM material also has not hurt FM's ability to have mass success (about as big a success as rock has ever seen actually) early Bob Seger singles being issued would do no harm to Seger's legacy or marketability.

Scott

 

Exactly. It's part of his heritage so why bury it when people are clamoring for it? The bootleggers are making a killing on these albums charging $50-$60 a piece for them. So why not release it yourself instead of them?

 

Wow……a Seger Album-By-Album Thread……About time.....A major Seger fan right here!


Can’t wait for the upcoming discussions and will gladly be sharing tidbits/quotes from my two interviews with Bob, himself, when it seems appropriate. As for the early Seger stuff that came out on Cameo-Parkway, I can share a few nuggets from my talks with Bob—some of which is surely known and some perhaps not. Anyway, I’ll just jump right in with the infamous story of “Heavy Music,” which really became a big local hit in the Detroit area as we all know, but, then, just when things looked to be ready to move Bob to the next level of success, disaster struck:

“[‘Heavy Music’] was released on Cameo-Parkway Records, which was run by Neil Bogart [the same industry exec who would later start Casablanca Records], who was at the time a 24-year-old boy wonder in the industry. But I guess he got in a little over his head [laughs]. The single was really starting to pick up some airplay, and Punch and I called the label to talk about the next move. But they weren’t answering their phones, and this went on for a few days. So we sent a friend of ours in New York over to their offices and he called us to say that the doors were padlocked [laughs].”


That’s right, just as Seger was on the verge of potentially having his first hit, his record company literally went out of business. And, thus, began a series of record company issues and bad decisions that would delay stardom—despite a few early successes—for another ten years.


As for why these early Cameo-Parkway singles have not been released or readily available, Seger revealed to me something that I hadn’t heard about until our first conversation, back in 1991. Less than a year after Cameo-Parkway went belly-up, the label was bought up in 1967 by none other than the famous (or infamous, depending on your personal opinion) Allen Klein at ABKCO [or “Allen & Betty Klein Company”].

“We wanted nothing to do with Klein; Punch and I. We don’t own that early material and certainly don’t want it coming out on ABKCO, which is, of course, Klein’s company. We’ve tried working something out for years, but, so far, it’s not happening.”


Anyway, really looking forward to this thread in the days, weeks, and, hopefully, MONTHS ahead!

 

From what I've read, he does. Punch owns all the Hideout material outright after buying out his former partner Dave Leone. Even the Cameo material was claimed by Punch after some of it was reissued in the Cameo-Parkway box set. Apparently, the lease agreement between Cameo and Hideout was breached when Cameo stopped making payments on it. After the box set was released, Punch and ABKCO came to some settlement over it.

All the later material was licensed to the original labels, rather than sold. So the only stuff that's out is exactly what Punch & Bob want released.

Derek

 

An awesome bootleg set on Belvedere Records (TY-87100)! I've heard Punch was mighty peeved when that set hit the streets...

Derek

 

steve miller has done the same thing with "rock love" and "journey from eden".

i don;t get it either.

 

You nailed it.....although Seger actually wrote "East Side Story" for another one of Punch's bands. He hadn't planned on recording it himself.

"I was trying to write something for this band called the Underdogs. I did not write that for me to do. I might have been a little derivative at that point just because I didn't think it would be my song. I do remember losing some sleep over the fact that it sounded an awful lot like 'Gloria', though, if you put them side by side, they're not really all that alike. There are a lot more chords in 'East Side Story' than there are in 'Gloria'.

"I did [write the song for them], but after Punch heard me singing it, he wanted me to record it instead. He thought my group was stronger, so we put it out and after six months of promoting it at every club and every dance we played, it was a local hit. It got on the radio and made number three in the Detroit charts."

 

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man is the debut album by American rock band The Bob Seger System, released in 1969 (see 1969 in music). The original title was "Tales of Lucy Blue," hence the cover photo. The album is currently unavailable in any format.

1. "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" 2:21
2. "Tales of Lucy Blue" 2:28
3. "Ivory" 2:23
4. "Gone" Dan Honaker, Seger 3:28
5. "Down Home" 3:01
6. "Train Man" 4:06
7. "White Wall" 5:20
8. "Black Eyed Girl" 6:33
9. "2 + 2 = ?" 2:49
10. "Doctor Fine" 1:05
11. "The Last Song (Love Needs to Be Loved)" 3:04

Bob Seger - organ, guitar, piano, vocals
Dan Honaker - bass, guitar, vocals
Pep Perrine - drums, vocals
Bob Schultz - organ, keyboard, saxophone, vocals

Reached #62 on the Billboard album chart. The title track reached #17 on the singles chart and was a staple of Seger's live act for 15 years, before dropping off the playlist.

For the first single off the album, Punch and Seger insisted on the antiwar rocker, "2+2=?" Says Punch: "Capitol was real conservative back then. They got real bent out of shape about my even suggesting that people should be questioning the war. I was literally thrown out of the office, and the record did a quick dive." Timothy White, May 1, 1980, Rolling Stone. "The Fire This Time."

The oddity on the album is "Doctor Fine," a 1:05 instrumental -- the only instrumental on any Bob Seger album. The reason it's there is obvious. It's right after "2+2=?" -- a song so powerful that nothing can really follow it, hence the throw-away before getting into "The Last Song."

The CD version says "All songs written by Bob Seger," though the original album credits "Gone" to Dan Honaker.

The cover is one of the oddest of all Seger albums. The photo collage on shows a surreal halo-ed blonde in long blue robes standing statuesquely on the edge of an ice floe, hands defensively covering her breasts and pubic area; she, presumably, is Chicago Green, "the ice cube queen...famous for her childlike mind" referred to in "Down Home." The back features a line drawing of a white-bearded, formally-dressed elderly man, done in a style reminiscent of "Yellow Submarine." His hair sprouts into psychedelic flowers, hidden in which are two hippy lovers engaged in a passionate kiss. The hippie woman is drawn from the waist up; the man's hand is on her naked breast. I like to think of her as the forerunner of the scantily clad bullet-hugging logo girls of the Live Bullet era.

On the back of the album is the illuminating message: "The title of this album up until three days ago was 'Tales of Lucy Blue.' At that time I realized that Lucy Blue is Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. Thank you Doctor Fine! -- Bob Seger."

 

Like most of Seger's early albums, this one took a lot longer to grow on me than his more mainstream later ones. But like most albums that were not immediately accessible to me, I really came to like it once I gave it a fair chance. While it's not among my favorites of Seger's (there is a fair amount of late sixties excess in the production), it does have a number of real gems:

"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" - I still remember the first time I heard this on the radio, when I was in high school (which would be circa 1990). I can't recall if it was on a classic rock station or an oldies station - it's of just the right style and vintage that it could have been either. I'd seen the title before and knew it was Seger's first hit (and his only one until "Night Moves"), but it was a mystery to me up to that day when I was already an established fan of his late '70s hits. Because I knew the title and because Seger's voice is unmistakeable, I knew what song it was as soon as he got to the chorus. And it left me dumbfounded..."He was making great records like this and it took him eight more years to have another national hit? WTF?" And I still feel that way. Timeless rock and roll perfection.

"Tales of Lucy Blue" - When I was finally lucky enough to track down a copy of this album (orange label reissue, sounds fine), I was familiar with the title track and was fully expecting ten more equally brilliant rockers. Instead, we rocked through "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" and then got...this? "Tales of Lucy Blue" is emblematic both of why RGM is a great album and why it took so long to grow on me. Some great guitar work there and the vocals sound great, but it definitely struck me as a major change after the terrific opener. I like it now, but it took some getting used to.


"Down Home" - Here we have this album's buried treasure. Classic example of a song with brilliant lyrics, only you don't know that at first because it's so hard to understand them at first. The opening guitar lick is among my favorites of Seger's entire career, too. Probably my second-favorite song on the album.

"2 + 2 = ?" I've heard this called the first anti-Vietnam rock song. At first I thought that couldn't be right, but years later I still can't think of any that preceded it. Folk songs yes, rock songs no. "If I've got to kill to live/then there's something left untold" is truly a lyric worthy of rock's greatest writers.

The others? Not bad, but I'm only in the mood for them once in a while.

 

Ramblin'

I really like the music released under the name, The Bob Seger System. This is a fine album that has several high points. It is much less polished and produced then his Silver Bullet albums. There is a raw energy that suits this type of rock though.

I attached a couple of pictures of my copy of this album. It is one of Capitol's last black label color band albums, at least until that label style was brought back in the 80s.

Scott

 

My first copy, although I had heard the album many times before, was on the yellow label SM issue circa 75.
I had bought 2+2=? as a single when it came out(along with the Doors Unknown Soldier- hows that for a one two punch?)at K Mart. K Mart had the playlist from WKNR and CKLW posted. The sliding guitar note at the end was the best thing about the record(and it was a great record), I mean air guitar city. Backed with Death Row, another great track. Bob was on the same swirl label as the Beatles and it was looking up if you were pulling for Bob. The next single released was Rambling gambling Man also on the swirl label but this time with those damned saw teeth. 2+2=?, Death Row, and Rambling Gambling Man are all mono tracks and appear on the album in fake stereo. Death Row would be ressurected on Noah also in fake stereo.
As to the album. Punch and Bob made a crucial mistake in that they were used to making mono singles and made a terrible stereo album. Its also kinda muddy and grungy in places, with gimmicky stereo effects. And the worst thing to me was the sliding guitar note at the end of 2+2 was GONE! I HATE that dead spot!

Overall a stutter step. Some good points but some negatives as well. A little confusing but I give it 3/5.

 

love the 2 singles (2+2 and ramblin gamblin man) but not much else.

 

As a rabid Seger fan like many people in this thread, I have all the early things ripped to CD and I was lucky enough to grab the "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" CD when it made a very brief appearance many years ago.

But since most of this early material is not readily available, I'm thinking that it might be good to put up some audio links for all the tracks being discussed so that all the good people here can get more involved in the first official Bob Seger Album-By-Album Thread.

With that in mind, you can all just click-and-listen to all the tracks from "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" (plus the earlier mentioned Hideout and Cameo singles and b-sides) and give us all your reviews

Early Singles
1. East Side Story
2. (B-Side) East Side Sound
3. Persecution Smith
4. (B-Side) Chain Smokin’
5. Sock It To Me, Santa
6. (B-Side) Florida Time
7. Vagrant Winter
8. (B-Side) Very Few
9. Heavy Music
10. (B-Side) Heavy Music Part 2


"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" Album
1. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
2. Tales Of Lucy Blue
3. Ivory
4. Gone
5. Down Home
6. Train Man
7. White Wall
8. Black Eyed Girl
9. 2+2 = ?
10. Doctor Fine
11. The Last Song (Love Needs To Be Loved)