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

Interesting. I reckon it's a great track.
Funny how that goes

 

VW was also not reissued by ABKCO, unlike East Side Story, Persecution Smith. and Heavy Music.

As an aside, Cameo was invested in the Michigan scene. In addition to Bob they had ? and the Mysterians, the Rationals, and Terry Knight and the Pack

 

Cool thread. Always dug Seger though my knowledge of him is limited to the 2 live LPS, tracks that got wide airplay, and seeing big in concert twice - first ~20 years ago and again at his farewell tour.

This will be a nice chance to become familiar with much of his output especially with so much OOP.

So far I only really dug Vagrant Winter.

 

The early stuff is a really interesting collection of stuff. A very broad palette, that somewhat feels like Bob is just trying everything, and seeing what sticks.

I look forward to your thoughts on the way through.
Some of it is so very different than one would expect from a post Beautiful Loser perspective, because the later stuff was where I came in.
Some of it takes a couple of listens. For example, Noah can have a bit of a WTF kind of effect at first, but I have actually grown to like it

 

My wife would tell me stories of the early years (she passed in 2019). Bay City, Michigan had an indoor roller rink (Roll Air) where bands would play for the teens....battle of the bands. Seger, Cooper, MC5 all made the trek north to play there. It's now demolished and is part of the Bay City State Park.

Bern

 

"Vagrant Winter" has that late 60s style "rock poetry" style that Seger rarely ventured into afterward, but I agree that the lyrics are very effective and work well with the British Invasion-style rock arrangement of the music. Had Seger made an album with The Last Heard, this would have been a solid album track. As a single, however, it wasn't very commercially appealing.

"Very Few" is quite different, being a poetic ballad that calls back to an earlier musical era in some ways. This is something like an ill-fitting suit for Seger and his voice doesn't work that well on this type of material. Not a song I return to.

 

For Noah, Brand New Morning, and Back in 72, everything is a needledrop even if you heard it on CD. Scott Sparling at the Seger File connected me with Tom Erlewine at AllMusic so I could send him my needledrops so he could better review those albums at AllMusic.

I would love for those three to get official releases from tape sources, but it hasn't happened in the 35+ years of the CD era so I am not holding out much hope. On the other hand we finally got the Cameo singles and who thought that would happen? Heck, the version of Heavy Music on Smokin' O.P.'s is a needledrop no matter which version of LP or CD you have!

Vagrant Winter is not up to the level of the other singles, it's just not as distinctive, especially in the lyric writing. Very Few shows that Bob still had a long way to go in the ballad-writing department - the two / few rhyme is not one of his shining moments. They're fun to listen to occasionally though.

 

"Heavy Music Part 1"



Single by Bob Seger & the Last Heard
B-side "Heavy Music Part 2"
Released Summer 1967
Genre Rock
Length 2:33
Label Cameo-Parkway
Songwriter(s) Bob Seger
Producer(s) Doug Brown

"Heavy Music" is a song first released as a single by Bob Seger & the Last Heard. Two different vocal takes of the song (using the same instrumental track) were released together on either side of the single, with the names "Heavy Music Part 1" and "Heavy Music Part 2". An eight-minute fourteen second-long live version of the song is featured on the album Live Bullet with the Silver Bullet Band.

The song is about listening to music and the emotions it evokes, but misunderstandings arose. Seger denied those took a sexual reading of the lyric: "A lot of people really misconstrued it. That was a song about the music, but a lot of people thought it was a song about music and sex, the two together. There was nothing sexual in it, it was simply read in by a lot of program directors. The part about 'goin' deeper.'"[1]

The single proved to be Seger's most successful work to date, climbing to the number one position on the Detroit charts[2] and gaining him some exposure outside of the Detroit area. For a time it looked like it would be Seger's ticket to a national breakthrough, until the label Cameo-Parkway went out of business just as the song was gaining popularity.[3] The track ended up peaking at number 103 nationally in the US on Billboard; it was actually a bigger hit in Canada, peaking at number 82 on the RPM charts. Still, the success of "Heavy Music" aided in landing Seger his first contract with Capitol Records.


Chart (1967) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 103
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 70
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We get another song here that is influenced heavily by Soul music here, and the opening bass, joined by the claps and drums sets us off on our journey nicely.

I wasn't aware that we just had two different vocal takes and a decision to release both. I had kind of assumed that it was somewhat like Ray Charles What'd I Say, where they just split the song in half.

I think this song has a sort of addictive nature about it, which I think comes from that Soul music connection. I love the way that the backing vocals kind of use this cool modulating effect.
Bob's vocal is also excellent and perfectly suited to the style.

Essentially this is a great groove that feels live and almost improvised.

I would assume at this stage of Bob's career, this would likely have been his signature song. Perhaps some of out Detroit folks can chime in on that.

 

Heavy Music Pt 2

Perhaps it's just the upload, but this sounds a little different and not just the vocal.
I think either way, this track works well.

 

I'm not sure who did it, but this is an attempt to merge the two versions. I'm not sure if it was official or just some home studio guy messing around.

 

Bob Seger And The Last Heard ‎– Heavy Music: The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-1967
Label: ABKCO ‎– 8369-2
Format: CD, Compilation, Remastered, Mono
Country: US
Released: 07 Sep 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock




1 Heavy Music (Part 1) 2:41
2 East Side Story (Vocal) 2:27
3 Chain Smokin' 2:46
4 Persecution Smith 3:04
5 Vagrant Winter 2:21
6 Very Few 2:24
7 Florida Time 2:01
8 Sock It To Me Santa 2:14
9 Heavy Music (Part 2) 2:50
10 East Side Sound (Instrumental) 2:27

• Arranged By – Bob Seger, Doug Brown (5) (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 10)
• Art Direction, Graphic Design – Steve Stanley (2)
• Bass – Dan Honaker
• Bongos – Pep Perrine (tracks: 2, 10)
• Drums – Bob Evans (5) (tracks: 2, 10)
• Drums, Percussion – Pep Perrine (tracks: 1, 3 to 9)
• Guitar – Carl Lagassa (tracks: 1, 3 to 9)
• Guitar, Organ – Doug Brown (5) (tracks: 2, 10)
• Lead Vocals, Guitar – Bob Seger
• Liner Notes – Jim Allen (11)
• Mastered By – Robert Vosgien
• Organ, Piano – Bob Seger (tracks: 1, 3 to 9)
• Producer – Bob Seger (tracks: 1 to 4, 7 to 10), Doug Brown (5) (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 10)
• Reissue Producer – Teri Landi
• Transferred By – Matt Cavaluzzo, Teri Landi
• Vocals [Additional] – David Whitehouse (2) (tracks: 1, 3 to 9), Doug Brown (5) (tracks: 1, 3 to 9)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So finally in 2018 these five singles and their b-sides finally make it onto an album.
This was my first exposure to these songs, and I enjoy it a lot. Initially I was somewhat surprised by the kind of pastiche tracks like Florida Time and Persecution Smith, but I found all the songs seemed to sit together quite comfortably here, and if you like thee tracks, this is probably a good way to get them.

Released on cd, lp and as flac files, I guess there is a version for everyone.

So I suppose using this spot here ....
I think this early stage of Bob's career, really seems like a bit of a testing ground. Bob exploring possibilities and testing the water for direction. I think we hear more of that over the first few albums also though, and I think some folks unfamiliar with the albums coming up over the next couple of weeks, may be somewhat surprised by the somewhat experimental nature of some of the tracks.

In some ways I guess it was, or at least seemed like a stroke of bad luck when his record label collapsed, and I can only imagine how unsettling it would have been, particularly when he was just getting a feel for the whole situation, and then suddenly it must have seemed like having to restart the race somewhere else.

The search for a label began, and interestingly Bob turned down a Motown offer. Motown were apparently offering more money, but Bob felt that Capitol was more in line with his direction ... So I think we can gather from that, that Bob felt that a rock focus was more where he was going to go.

Capitol actually renamed the band The Bob Seger System, and I guess they figured that they needed to change the name to make sure folks knew this was something a little different, but again, all you folks in the know, please give us the lowdown on that, I don't want to be spreading bed info.

So tomorrow we move into the next phase of Bob Seger's career, and it just keeps getting more interesting, and more focused from my perspective.

Cheers
Mark

 

The bands name was changed because of fast talking DJs. By the time Heavy Music came out they just said "Bob Seger" because saying it fast came out "the last TURD". Clever name backfires.
The main reason HM went to number one in Detroit is because all the Cameo stock was shipped to Detroit. No promotion at all other than Bob and Punch.

 

Heavy Music first appeared on LP as part of the double LP CKLW Solid Gold on Post.

 

First of these tracks that really sounds like Seger to me, but pretty repetitive - even more so in 2 versions or stretched out to 8 min live.

 

Just to say he did that in his home. Heavy Music is without doubt his biggest record historically in Detroit. Everybody knew it and you can hear that on Live Bullet. Hell, we were so loud Punch had to turn us down. He could have gone another ten minutes and we would have gone nutz. This is HIS crowd and his anthem.

 

I believe Punch has a story about not discovering Cameo/Parkway had gone under until he went to New York for a routine meeting with the label brass, and found the office locked up and empty. Apparently the janitor told him everyone had moved out the week before or some such.

I recognize "Heavy Music" as the most important of his pre-Capitol singles, but "Vagrant Winter" is my favorite. I'm always amazed at how unsuccessful it apparently was even in Detroit. I've never even seen a stock copy of it, though I do own a white-label promo one. (Incidentally, I also have a Hideout Records compilation with everything on the Heavy Music album - except for "Very Few". I always found that a telling anecdote as to just how out-of-character "Very Few" is!

 

Heavy Music debuted on the top 100 in the high 80s with a serious bullet. Cameo went out of business a week later. Capitol and Buddah picked up several acts. Cameo emerged with a new deal under MGM but that only lasted a few months, and without all of those acts they had a year before.

 

I feel like "Heavy Music" could have been a perfect entry for Motown into the rock genre. They really missed the boat by not signing Seger, although apparently they did make an offer that Seger rejected. There's a lot of Motown influence here. The song doesn't have a strong melody, but that almost doesn't matter because the groove is so addicting and the almost tribal chanting of the backing vocalists a perfect foil to Seger's amazing lead exhortations. I can see where the song was misconstrued as being about sex - Seger is pretty convincing here with his vocal! I think they chose the stronger take for the single a-side. This was the song that, more than East Side Story, really established him in Detroit and southern Michigan. It even got him attention in Canada (not surprising given that it's just across the river from Detroit and that radio stations in the U.S. were easily heard in parts of southern Ontario). A very important song for Seger's career.

 

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man


Studio album by
the Bob Seger System
Released January 1969
Recorded 1968
Genre Hard rock psychedelic rock
Length 36:07
Label Capitol
Producer The Bob Seger System and Punch Andrews

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man is the first studio 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 art. In the liner notes, Bob Seger says (sarcastically) he later realized Lucy Blue was Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, and so changed the title of the album. He then thanks "Doctor Fine" for this realization. (Doctor Fine being the person who made Seger change the album's name.) The original cover design for the album featured the nude figure from Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, but this too was changed for the final release.[2]

The title track was also performed on Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's live album Live Bullet.

• Bob Seger – guitar, lead vocals, piano, organ
• Dan Honaker – bass, vocals
• Pep Perrine – drums, vocals
• Bob Schultz – organ on "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"

Additional personnel

• Michael Erlewine – blues harp on "Down Home"
• Glenn Frey – backing vocals and acoustic guitar on "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"[3]
• Penny Lawyer – backing vocals

Production

• The Bob Seger System & Punch Andrews
• Engineer: Jim Bruzzese
• Liner notes: Bob Seger
• Front and Back cover illustration (LP) - Lockart [4]

Year Chart Position
1969 Pop Albums - 62

Singles - Billboard (United States)
1969 "Ivory" Pop Singles - 97
1969 "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" Pop Singles - 17

All tracks are written by Bob Seger, except where noted. All songs arranged by the Bob Seger System and Punch Andrews.

1. "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" 2:21
2. "Tales of Lucy Blue" 2:28
3. "Ivory" 2:23
4. "Gone" (Dan Honaker) 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

--------------------------------------------------------------

In January 1968 "2+2 =" came out as the lead single, and it was again successful in Detroit, also hitting number one on radio stations in Buffalo and Orlando Florida, but it's a solid track that we'll look at as we roll through the album. For the record the single also hit 79 on the charts in Canada.
In December 1968 the title track Ramblin' Gamblin' Man came out as the second single, and it made the first significant impact on the US chart for Bob. It hit number 17 on the Billboard singles chart, and also charted at 18 in Canada. This led to the album being released in January 1969, and helped give the album some legs. It helped to carry the album up to 62 in February of 1969, and spent 10 weeks on the chart.

I'm sure Capitol was pretty pleased with this result from their new artist, and his first album.
This was in the days of giving artists a few album to find their groove, find their sound and also allow them to experiment a bit, without threat of dismissal.

This album again finds Bob somewhat searching, and trying different things. We have some pretty straight rock, some wandering into some of the psychedelic sounds of the time, and Bob really letting loose vocally to see what he could do.

We see an early Eagles connection with Glenn Frey appearing on the title track. Frey was 19 and played acoustic guitar and did some backing vocals. I'm not sure how this came about but Frey said Seger was a huge influence and encouraged him to concentrate on writing original songs. In 67 Seger had helped Frey get a management and contract deal, and also went on to write and produce his band, The Mushrooms first single.
Frey was actually going to join Seger's band, but his mother Blocked that move because Frey had smoked some cannabis with Seger.

Anyway.
This is a solid album, and opens up the world to Seger. It is his first taste of success, and although it took a few more years to capitalise on, it was a good grounding for Bob.

I enjoy this album a lot. I got it in November 2017 when I decided to fill out my Seger albums.
I have listened to it several times since then, but due to my erratic listening, I don't feel that I am fully fluent in the album really. It is an album I have that I enjoy, but am looking forward to looking more closely at.

So please tell us when you came across this album, and what your thoughts were. Tell us what you thought then, what you think now, and anything else that comes to mind that you would like to share about this album.

Cheers
Mark

 

Never heard the album, only know the title track. Gonna check out the whole album this AM via Spotify on my way to ski.

 

You have plenty of time mate. We'll hit track one Monday.

 

I know the title track as @Rfreeman mentioned. I'm looking forward to hearing the whole record!