Active since 1961, Bob Seger signed some of the great records of the 70s, probably his most inspired decade.
And although it is fair to acknowledge that Seger has not been a successful musician for a long time, the fact that he is still active and, as they say, offering good live shows is another example of his greatness. In case you don’t know where to start, here is a little help as we Break Down The Love Songs From Bob Seger:
‘Rosalie’ (“Back in 72”, Palladium/Reprise Records, 1973)
We could have chosen to include in this list all the loves songs from “Back in 72”, but we must hold back. Of course, we can not ignore this ‘Rosalie’, dedicated to the Canadian DJ Rosalie Trombley. A song that Thin Lizzy made a hit in 1975, within her album “Fighting”.
‘Turn The Page’ (“Back in 72”, Palladium / Reprise Records, 1973)
Could we leave ‘Turn the page’ out? Unclear. Of course, we are going to take the version of “Live bullet” and so it does not show so much, right? Also, the live review is acceptably better than the studio review. A sublime theme. Wonderful. Of course, because of “his fault”, many began to consider Seger just a ballad. Gross mistake. If this doesn’t give you goosebumps, you have a problem.
‘Night Moves’ (“Night Moves”, Capitol Records, 1976)
The song that gives title to this new studio work published almost in unison of “Live bullet”, and perhaps obscured by the greatness of it, is another delight. Seger speaking of his adolescence with a writing style that he himself recognized was strongly influenced by Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee”. A master class on how halftime is composed and interpreted.
‘Against The Wind’ (“Against The Wind”, Capitol Records, 1980)
Another huge topic in which, in addition, the voices of three members of The Eagles appear: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Timothy B. Schmit. A letter that, by theme, could be associated with Springsteen’s ‘Born to run’. The strength to keep going above all else in song form. With a wonderful and recognizable melody, there are many who consider it the best song of Seger’s career.
‘Shame The Moon’ (“The Distance”, Capitol Records, 1982)
Like so many others, Bob Seger stopped making good records in the eighties, but, unlike some, he did not fully recover. Surely “The Distance” is his last great album and from it, we have extracted his single, a song by Rodney Crowell that our Seger took to number 1 in Canada and number 2 in the United States.