Bob Seger - The Albums and the career, song by song thread

LMAO

 

As I agreed with in my opening post.

 

Horizontal Bop announces Seger's intent to make Against the Wind a different-sounding album than its predecessors. If the album cover didn't give it away, this track would be another clue. It's a different kind of groove than he had used before and is far removed from Rock and Roll Never Forgets and Hollywood Nights. I liked the different musical feel when it came out, though I've grown less fond of the song over time.

So for Seger's purposes it works fine as an opening track. This wasn't the lead single, it was the 4th single.

 

Horizontal Bop

The production on this one just seems to give a dull and flat sound, particularly in comparison to some of the rockers on the prior two albums. I had never really paid attention to the lyrics before reading them here and while pretty standard they did make the song seem more fun. Gotta love a Woodward Avenue shoutout.

I loved Nine Tonight and would have much preferred that one to be included. If that had replaced either this or Her Strut or Betty Lou then this would definitely get my vote as top Seger album.

 

Right. I meant lead track and A single

 

Betty Lou and Her Strut would need to stay for me
By all means Horizontal Bop could have, and in some ways I think, should have been replaced with Nine Tonight though.

 

First thing I notice out the gate is the the guitar has more bite then the previous record. That alone is reason to celebrate for me.

 

In Iowa, we called that a PDP (progressive drinking party). Which would have worked well as a pun if it was Wall-themed!

It also would have worked well as the bonus 45 that came with the 40th anniversary copy of ATW (as great is it was to resurrect "Lookin' Back" with a decent sounding reissue).

The classic example, for me anyway, being "My Old School" by Steely Dan...the mention of William and Mary will always make me think of Annandale, Virginia even though I know they meant Annandale, New York.

 

Yes I’ve played gigs at Bard College and Steely Dan are GODS there, despite the fact that they never went back

 

Horizontal Bop

As the album opener it does set the mood for something fun despite being a classic Chuck Berry rework; it did get a decent airplay here but later than other tracks that were sent out specifically to radio and jukeboxes (i would talk of these when appears). No surprise that it also got a single release: as a fourth single, after FL, ATW and Y'AM, it return on the rocker vibe that was missing from Hollywood Night and it shows it did have some traction by itself.

 

"You'll Accomp'ny Me"


Single by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
from the album Against the Wind
B-side "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight"
Released July 1980
Genre Soft rock, country rock
Length 4:00 (album version) 3:36 (single version)
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Bob Seger
Producer(s) Punch Andrews, Bob Seger

• Bob Seger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar

The Silver Bullet Band

• Chris Campbell – bass
• David Teegarden – drums

Additional musicians

• Ginger Blake – background vocals
• Sam Clayton – percussion
• Laura Creamer – background vocals
• Linda Dillard – background vocals
• Bill Payne – piano, organ, synthesizer

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[9] 23
Canadian RPM Top 100 8
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 14
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The third single from the album.

A gypsy wind is blowing warm tonight
The sky is starlit and the time is right
And still you're tellin' me you have to go
Before you leave there's something you should know
Yeah something you should know babe

I've seen you smiling in the summer sun
I've seen your long hair flying when you run
I've made my mind up that it's meant to be
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Out where the rivers meet the sounding sea
You're high above me now, you're wild and free ah but
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

Some people say that love's a losin' game
You start with fire but you lose the flame
The ashes smolder but the warmth's soon gone
You end up cold and lonely on your own

I'll take my chances babe I'll risk it all
I'll win your love or I'll take the fall
I've made my mind up girl it's meant to be
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

It's written down somewhere, it's got to be
You're high above me flyin' wild and free
Oh but someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Out where the rivers meet the sounding sea
I feel it in my soul, it's meant to be
Oh someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

Songwriters: Seger Robert Clark
You’ll Accomp’ny Me lyrics © Gear Publishing Company Inc, Gear Publishing Co. Inc.

This song wouldn't be out of place on any of the previous three studio albums.
We have the acoustic guitar rolling through a two chord pattern that is setting the feel, and Bob comes in with a strong vocal.

Lyrically we have Bob waxing poetic on this woman's features that are so attractive to him, and telling her he is willing to show her that he is willing to show her that he is the man for her. That he is willing to face the devastating feeling of rejection to win her love.

The thing that makes this song work so well is the ever rising atmosphere created by the rolling acoustic and the keyboards that grow as the song moves along.
We start with the piano adding nice textures and then the organ swells to give us a solid wall of texture.
The backing vocals also come in giving us a nice density .

The thing I like about this track, is that it manages to somewhat straddle the wall between ballad and rock song nicely.
The song is almost hypnotic in the way it is arranged and Bob really delivers a great, believable vocal.

 

Single mix

We only lose about 20 seconds, but we still had a mentality that singles had to be a little shorter at this time.

 

Woodward is M-1 in the Michigan highway trunk line system. It starts just before the Detroit River downtown and ends in Pontiac. I know I seen this pic in Creem. Judging by the blurb I'd say this is where it was scanned from.

 

We'll do Nine Tonight after the album.
There is a studio version on YouTube.... it goes for about 4:15... the thing that has me confused is wiki says the Urban Cowboy version is over 6 minutes?

 

My buddy had an early 70s red Chevy Nova and we’d load up the cooler and cruise up and down Woodward listening to his excellent sound system. And stop at Arby’s in Royal Oak. That was a hangout of sorts.

 

I'm about four miles from Telegraph Road myself. Just for context this is the old Dixie Highway (US 24), loses the Federal highway distinction just north of Pontiac and as Dixie goes all the way up to Saginaw - with a couple of name changes in the Flint area. I know going south it keeps the name Telegraph all the way to the Ohio Border. After that; who knows?

 

what about Gino and Daddy G?

 

Horizontal Bop

Awful. Like something Toby Keith would do.

 

In Ohio, it continues as Telegraph Rd for a while and then merges with another road and becomes Detroit Ave. I don’t what happens after that.

“You’ll Accomp’ny Me” doesn’t do it for me as it feels like a retread of sorts, and the weird contraction “Accomp’ny” just feels like a mouthful to sing, even in contracted state. Bob Seger, from ‘N ‘Rbor, Mich’gan.

 

You'll Accomp'ny Me

Bit basic, but shuffles along nicely enough. I prefer the live version.

 

It is 4:15 on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack unless the LP version was longer. Ya something weird is going on here. Discogs list my CD version as 6:35 but it's 4:15

 

Ouch, that's harsh. LOL

 

We've Got Tonight may have been Bob's mom's favorite song of his, but my mom's was You'll Accompany Me and as such I have nothing bad to say about it.

 

You'll Accompany Me
An excellent tune and arrangement well sung and played, but it somehow feels less inspired than the excellent mid tempo tunes on the last album and a bit more of a paint by numbers attempt to score another one of those. Always enjoy hearing it start to end but it's no Night Moves or Travellin Man.
Rating 9/10

 

You'll Accompany Me - Love everything about this one! I've seen some criticism of him calling her "babe", but if that's the worst you've got against a male rock star of his generation, quit while you're ahead. I do have to admit it sounds like he's setting himself up for a fall here, if the woman has made up her mind to go...but when you're in love, it is ever so easy to convince yourself you can change her mind. In the second verse, of course, Seger makes it clear that his eyes are open as to what will happen if he fails to convince her, but then he concludes that it's worth the risk. And as anyone who has ever been in a successful relationship can tell you, he's right - it is worth the risk. This song really captures the exuberance of a new love, where you just know it's going to work out in the end. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit.