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Bob Seger

Bob Seger image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
April
Year
1974
OCR Text

Bob Seger
Bob Seger: Seven,
MS 2184.
The Beatles are broken-up, the Stones are fading, the Kinks are in Show-Biz, The Beach Boys and the Who are ,Artists. Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix are dead, Mitch Ryder is gone without a trace. And although there's no good reason why I should expect it to be otherwise, it seems like most of the stars/seers of my adolescence are burned-out, sold out, or six feet deep. Now, growing up in the Motor City I had the particular regional advantage of radio access to Bob Seger's energy and it's encouraging to discover via his new release
"Seven." that at least one "2nd generation" giant is still alive and very well in 1974. "Seven," I assume, refers to the latest number in the stretched-out series of Seger releases, almost all of which are, sadly, just memories these days. Concerning his two most recent and still available releases; "Smokin OP's" is a collection, a good collection, of Other People's tunes, and I regret to say I never got to "Back in '72" so that I come to this new release ignorant and fresh. This is a very good album. All the elements of Seger's art I learned to love through tunes like "2 plus 2." "East Side Story," "Heavy Music," "Persecution Smith," and "Ramblin' Gamblin Man" -- that grainy, soulful, Seger voice; funny, intelligent, Society-scathing lyrics; and heavy-rhythmic rock locomotion -- are still evident. This time around there are the additional benefits of a shining entity called the Silver Bullet Band and the alternate use of session musicians out of Nashville like Torn Cogbill and Kenny Buttrey.
Those Nashville musicians with Bob kick off the album and the first tune "Get Out of Denver" with that classic "Johnny B. Goode" guitar riffing into a tale of primal confrontation between the police and the long-hairs (Bob describes most situations in Us/Them terms) that punk singing double-time over an already cooking tempo and you know you're into somthing good. "School Teacher" oozes out in the direction of your mind after awhile, clearly the most explosive cut on the album. It ain't Elton John needing his teacher "like a little child" either, it's hairy-palmed Bob watching a petite sustainer of class enculturation on her way to school and him thinking:

I'd like to know ya, but I'm a nuthin ' And you 're a sumthin ' I'd like to know ya, yeah I'd like to hold ya, I'd like to luuuv ya
I'd like to know ya, yeah

It's got that Billy Joe Royal "Down in the Boondocks" class analysis, plus a fabulously greasy guitar solo courtesy of Bill Meuller by way of Ted Nugent. This should be the single. How can it miss? "Long Song Comin" and "Cross of Gold" neatly put down long-winded and small-minded politicians, fat ladies at church bazaars and other unspecified Christian hypocrites. In "UMC" (Upper Middle Class) Seger himself takes the voice of a man bent on "making it." Sounds like some snot-nosed eternal kid petitioning Money in a red and white suit and long snowy beard: (Bob singing over a sly, understated piano and slide guitar backdrop)

I want a pool to swim in, fancy suits to dress in, some stock in GM and GE An office in the city, secretary pretty who II take dictation on my knee I want a paid vacation, don 't want to have to rat ion a thing with anyone but me And if there 's war or famine, promise I'll examine the details if they're on TV.

Great stuff in the timeless tradition of the Kink's "Well-Respected Man." "Need Ya," "Seen a Lot of Floors," and "All Your Love" are our ramblin', gamblin' man's declarations of desire, the latter two of which owe quite a bit to Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love To You." I find it refreshing, I must say, to hear that sweating guy grunting and groaning of his needs as opposed to blase, ice-blue Lou Reed and his progeny. Finally, "20 Years From Now" is a love song in the lush Van-to-Janet Planet-way, borrowing much tender feeling from some straight-out-of-church organ, a lovely piano solo by David Briggs and Seger just singing his full heart out.
Now that Seger is getting national distribution and promotion the whole country has the chance to discover this guy's long-standing talent by way of quite possibly the best rock and roll album released so far this year.

--Bill Adler