By 1975 if Poco and Little Feat were bemoaning modest album sales compared to those of say the Eagles, so Bob Seger could only look on enviously as the likes of Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh continued along career paths that had little problem generating interest.
Ten years on from a glorious debut single, the R & B flavoured ‘Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man‘ (a hit in his native Detroit but overlooked just about everywhere else), Seger, now thirty, had for the best part of a decade watched from the sidelines as many with far less to offer were carried to success on the wings of country or hard rock.
Despite honing a sumptuous Creedence/Van Morrison affected sound, he was unable to connect with the record buying public, being too sweaty for the late-60s singer-songwriter brigade but not obvious enough to be deemed a heavy rocker – Seger more lyrically astute than all but the very finest L.A. wordsmiths.
While a run of generally excellent albums earned him rave critical notices but made no commercial impact, Seger went for a change of tact on ‘Seven‘ (1974) an altogether fine record that saw him backed for the first time by an aggregation christened ‘The Silver Bullet Band‘.
Extending his range with a couple of rock ballads (of the sort he would craft to perfection on ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ four years later), he was still able to include the tough-rocking ‘U. M. C.’ (Upper Middle Class) and literally breathtaking ‘Get Out of Denver‘ – a song of such rip-roaring exuberance it quickly entered the repertoire of every mid-70s bar band worth their salt.
As the album brought improved returns in the marketplace, Seger stuck with the format on his next release ‘Beautiful Loser‘ (April 1975), an album recorded primarily with session craftsmen The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, with his Silver Bullet crew saved for live performances.
Encouraging sales of an album that was engaging and at times inspired finally enabled Seger to begin shaking off his long-attached ‘talent in the wilderness‘ tag – but it was not until release of ‘LIVE BULLET‘ (April 1976) that he came to widespread prominence, this dynamite live double-set making him an overnight sensation after so long being denied the big time.
The overdue acclaim was richly deserved. In showcasing an exemplary collection of material ranging from the start of his career to latest album, ‘Live Bullet‘ goes way beyond the usual parameters of an in-concert recording – Seger and the Silver Bullet Band captured in two performances at the Cobo Hall, Detroit in early September 1975 while still an act awaiting recognition opposed to headliners with a string of hit albums to their name.
On occasion the intensity of playing appears infused with desperation, Seger and his cohorts gripped by the notion their last chance of reaching the top is at hand – the prevailing sense of drama and excitement, combined with euphoric responses from a wildly partisan hometown audience serving to make ‘Live Bullet‘ not just one of the truly great live albums but a remarkable rock record in its own right.
Given their regional popularity it is no surprise Seger (gtr/piano) and the Silver Bullets – Drew Abbott (gtr), Chris Campbell (bass), Charlie Martin (drums), Robyn Robbins (keyboards) and Tom Cartmell (saxophone) – take the stage to a rapturous welcome. Leading the band into a power-packed reading of Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘Nutbush City Limits‘ (covered on his most recent studio set), during an instrumental break Seger endears himself further to the crowd by stating:
“As I told everybody last night, I was reading in Rolling Stone where they said, “Detroit audiences are the greatest rock & roll audiences in the world.” I thought to myself, “Shit! I’ve known that for ten years!”
On bringing the opener to a rousing conclusion Seger announces the intention to play a couple of songs from the new (‘Beautiful Loser’) LP, the first of which is ‘Travellin’ Man‘ – his words the prelude to nine minutes’ worth of music among the finest ever committed to vinyl.
Taken as separate entities ‘Travellin’ Man‘ and ‘Beautiful Loser‘ are impressive rock songs of the period but segued together in this form come as a stunning medley, transcending mere album tracks to become rock at its most invigorating. During the connecting interlude the players may or may not be conscious of reaching for the stars, but the interplay between them is quite momentous and evokes the The Band, even The Who – Martin pummeling his kit with a Moon-like ferocity.
If by comparison the wistful ‘Jody Girl‘ is a straightforward take of how it appears on ‘Beautiful Loser‘ the audience are at least given a moment to catch their breath after such extraordinary accomplishment on the preceding tour-de-force.
Rather than content themselves with dynamic Stones-styled material, Seger and his ensemble turn Van Morrison’s ‘I’ve Been Working‘ into a funky Sly Stone set-piece and convert ‘Bo Diddley‘ to an uproarious form of Motown-rock, coming across as a well-drilled soul revue. From ‘Beautiful Loser‘ Seger also brings the Chuck Berry influenced ‘Katmandu‘ and if the witty, travelogue lyrics are not enough to bring ‘Living in the USA‘ to mind then the pounding piano and ringing guitar-licks certainly will.
Having been around three years since appearing on the ‘Back in 72‘ LP, Seger delivers a superbly emotive vocal for ‘Turn the Page‘ – the song that was to become most identified with ‘Live Bullet.’
From the atmospheric sax break by Cartmell that serves as an introduction, this plaintive tale of life on the road through the eyes of a struggling performer is one of the great matter-of-fact depictions of low-key touring – the chorus laying bare the insecurities and occasional delusions of the artist:
‘See here I am, on the road again/There I am up on the stage/Here I go playin’ star again/There I go, Turn the page.’
Seger goes back further still in offering a deliciously chunky rendition of ‘Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,’ delivering a lyric crammed with great lines, (‘Cause I was born lonely down by the riverside/Learned to spin fortune wheels and throw dice/And I was just thirteen when I had to leave home/Knew I couldn’t stick around, I had to roam‘), to an audience who sound in self-congratulatory mood, as if aware they were the only ones who realised what a great song it was all those years ago.
From here he moves quickly into the powerhouse soul-rock of ‘Heavy Music,’ another superb cut to be a local hit and no more. Greeted like an old friend, the audience are rewarded for their raucous contribution to the chorus with an invitation to be heard for posterity:
‘We’ve got the 16-track tape machine rolling out back,’ Seger tells them, ‘if you’ll sing with me just a little bit more, I won’t guarantee it, but you might just end up on an album.’
As the band let fly again, it really is hard to decide between the group and the crowd as to who are having the better time.
With ‘U.M.C‘ and ‘Lookin’ Back‘ Seger gives his social observations an airing. Having written the hardest rocking song protesting the Vietnam war with the trenchant ‘2+2 =?‘ on the former he turns his acerbic gaze on the complacency of affluence (‘And if there’s war or famine, promise I’ll examine, the details if they’re on TV/I’ll pretend to be liberal but I’ll still support the GOP/As part of the UMC‘), the sneering, off-hand vocal and stinging guitar lines making the studio original sound sedate by comparison.
On ‘Lookin’ Back‘ he is even more cutting, this attack on Washington conservatism (‘They could vote and end the war/But are much too busy fittin’ locks upon the back door‘) decorated with thumping drums and upfront organ. On the roster of Creedence Clearwater Revival it would have been heralded a classic, but as a turn-of-the-decade Bob Seger single it sank without trace everywhere except on his home soil.
Accepting the sequencing at face value, on one of their two-night stand Seger closes the main set with a propulsive run through of ‘Get Out of Denver.’ More a homage to Chuck Berry than pastiche, lightning-fast guitar work and squealing keyboards illuminate episodes from a story where Seger and his girlfriend are being chased from state to state in their 60 Cadillac for presumed political allegiances:
‘Get out of Denver, cause you look just like a commie and you might just be a member/Get out of Denver.’
At times the words are indecipherable and on occasion hard to fathom, but hell that never stopped The Clash, one of the numerous fledgling UK punk bands who got wind of the song and performed it – the best known cover on that side of the Atlantic done by Eddie & The Hot Rods, whose no-pause-for-breath version emerged during the summer of 1976 on an EP entitled ‘Live at the Marquee,’ an early landmark in the stirrings of punk.
At the Cobo Hall Seger and his pals play ‘Denver‘ hard and fast but retain a sense of melody, the audience already in a state of frenzy when they return to perform Berry’s ‘Let It Rock’ – Seger imploring the crowd to ‘take it easy up front here, let’s not get anybody hurt.’ Presumably said in reaction to surging at the front of the stage, the encore number incorporates introductions of the Silver Bullet Band, (each one a Michigan boy) and more input from the faithful, Seger at times singing what seem the first words that come to mind, the on-the-spot phrasing just adding to the immediacy.
With Seger, his manager/producer Ed ‘Punch’ Andrews and the band enthused by what had been captured on tape, they took the recordings to Capitol only to meet with apathy from the label who were reluctant to release a double live album into a marketplace where Peter Frampton’s ‘Frampton Comes Alive‘ was breaking sales records. Due to Andrews’ persistence and difficulty of Seger in completing lyrics to a song everyone in the Silver Bullet camp felt convinced was a hit, Capitol, anxious not to lose the momentum generated by ‘Beautiful Loser‘ eventually relented.
Gaining immediate commercial and critical recognition ‘Live Bullet‘ was described by Dave Marsh in Rolling Stone as ‘one of the finest live albums ever made,’ while at the same time it raced toward the upper reaches of the US album charts – although of the first 500,000 sold it was reported 300,000 were bought in Detroit. Such was the repute becoming attached to the record it also began generating interest in the UK, Seger suddenly finding himself talked about in the same tones as emerging New Jersey rock messiah Bruce Springsteen and up and coming English new wave maestro Graham Parker.
For once the fates had conspired with Seger. ‘Live Bullet‘ not only cemented his reputation as a major talent but bought the time required to complete the troublesome composition already earmarked to be the title-track of his next album.
Soon after being finished, the masterpiece that is ‘Night Moves‘ (a glorious ode to innocence giving way to experience), ensured Bob Seger took his place in the pantheon of great artists, a status he deserved long before it was attained.
On the two studio albums – ‘Night Moves‘ (1976) and ‘Stranger in Town‘ (1978) – he would go on to release before the 70s were out, Seger continued fighting the good fight on behalf of honest, affecting heartland rock, mainstream music blessed with intelligence and integrity.
Such were the enormous sales of both, he went from touring in station wagons to superstar status in time that must have seemed the wink of an eye compared to his years of struggle.
Indeed, his credentials might have been established before ‘Live Bullet‘ but that was the album that left nobody in any doubt what Bob Seger was about in 1975 – top notch singer, at least half a dozen brilliant songs to his name and first-class stage performer to boot, Seger, in explaining what made this live album so special, perhaps offering insight on what separates good ones from the rest.
‘I made a snap decision two nights before to record those shows,’ he told Rolling Stone in 1976, ‘and we decided not to play to the tapes but to the audience – and it worked.’
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND – ‘LIVE BULLET‘ (Released April 12 1976 – recorded September 4 & 5 1975 at Cobo Hall, Detroit);
Nutbush City Limits/Travellin’ Man/Beautiful Loser/Jody Girl/I’ve Been Working/Turn the Page/U.M.C/Bo Diddley/Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man/Heavy Music/Katmandu/Get Out of Denver/Let It Rock;
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