Seger Single Shakedown

Look, I enjoy Bob Seger's music, but I'm not a collector or even close to a completist. A lot of his 70's stuff is great, but as Seger moved through the 80's, things got a bit dicey, and I don't really spend much time with it. These two singles from '86 and '87 are outside of my comfort zone for the man, but they were free, and the songs aren't terrible, so I'll keep 'em in the collection. Why not?

The first Seger single on deck I received from a Discogs seller as a freebie. I'd ordered a few Japanese singles from him, so he tossed this one in for me. Okay, I'll take it. The song itself is Shakedown, from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack. As a kid, the first Beverly Hills Cop movie was a favorite. It was one of the few VHS videos that my family bought, and watched that this over and over. The sequel, I don't remember a damn thing about right now. I do remember this song though, and I found it was a fun one to spin today.

I've got a few odds and ends that are still sitting in a pile from a collection that I inherited from my mom's boyfriend when he passed away four years ago. It is stuff that isn't too interesting or exciting, so I haven't bothered to do anything with it... but this seemed like a good time to pull out the Bob Seger single from the pile. The song, It's You, is from the Like A Rock album, which I am completely unfamiliar with. The song is okay. Not sure that I'd actively reach for it, but if I'm spinning some Seger, it isn't something that I'd skip.

Strangely enough, both singles happen to have the same b-side song, The Aftermath.

Night Moves

A few years ago, we lost a member of our family, and when all was said and done, I ended up with his small record collection. I took it home, and spent some time flipping through it...deciding what I might want to keep, and what was most likely going to end up getting dropped at the nearest Goodwill. While the majority of Steve's albums weren't of any interest to me, there were a small handful that I was excited to add to the collection, and I blogged about these back in 2017 and early 2018...and then there was a small stack that I wasn't overly excited over, but I still felt the need to hang on to them anyway. These records have just been sitting around gathering dust in the corner, but I recently dropped a couple of them onto my turntable, so let's get them up on the blog, so I can finally stick them on the shelves and officially make them part of the collection.

I love the early Bob Seger records, but I haven't been too excited to get into his later 70's-era stuff when he added in the Silver Bullet Band. Still, Steve had a couple of those albums, and so I finally decided to give them a shot.

Night Moves was the first album with the Silver Bullet Band in '76, and I regret ignoring it for so long. Pay no attention to the beautifully feathered hair and giant mustaches, this record is full of 70's rock hits. Great stuff.

The cover for Against The Wind is so balls deep in 70's cheese with that horse artwork and the cursive script for the band name, and then the album starts with The Horizontal Bop with those saxophones, and you are reminded of Huey Lewis And The News, and you know that Seger has moved into the 80's here. Things start off a little cringe worthy with that opening song, but once the songs started flowing, I was surprised to find that I was kind of digging the record. Not too bad.

While things weren't too exciting with these records, I still enjoy them, and I'll happily add them to the collection.

Last Heard From Seger In '67

A couple of years ago, my friend Jeff purchased some Michigan garage rock comp that he'd found, and discovered some songs from Bob Seger back in '66 and '67. I'm a huge fan of early Seger, so I was thrilled to hear those old, raw tunes. I wasn't interested in that double album comp that Jeff had, but I still wanted those songs on vinyl, so I hit Discogs to find out what the story was. It looked like my only options were some old original 45's, but they weren't originally released with picture sleeves, so I wasn't too interested...and then there was a bootleg LP that collected all those old songs, but since it was an unofficial release, it wasn't available on Discogs.

A couple weeks back I was messing around online, and discovered that all the Bob Seger and the Last Heard material was recently released on the Heavy Music compilation. Perfect timing! I checked my local store, and they had it in stock, so I quickly snatched it up.

This is some cool shit. The songs are just what I'm looking for when I want some dirty late 60's rock, and the packaging gives a full history of the band. Great stuff.

Record Store Day 2014 Part 2: Smokin' O.P.'s

After my spending spree for Record Store Day releases, I drove into Portland to check out the used vinyl at Enterprise Records. The store had recently moved, and the selection seemed smaller, but it still felt good to get out and support this record store.

I'm always game to check out some new Bob Seger. By "new" of course I mean, stuff that I haven't heard from the 70's, and not really new material. I've been wanting to check out the Smokin' O.P.'s record for a while now, and didn't hesitate to grab it when I saw this German pressing for $4.50.

The majority of the songs on this album are covers, hence the name Smoking Other People's.

I've been hesitant to venture into the Seger stuff with the Silver Bullet Band. This was the era that spawned those radio hits that you feel like you never need to hear again. Thankfully, Live Bullet was recorded before the band exploded, and this record is just some great live rock and roll...and while there are a bunch of strong songs missing from this set (what!?! nothing from Mongrel!??), but it does have some fantastic stuff like Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, U.M.C., and Get Out Of Denver. For someone that doesn't pay much attention to live albums, I'm really digging this one.

My last find of the day was a still sealed copy of Motörhead's Orgasmatron. I think this was my first Motörhead album, bought on cassette when I was a kid. It's good to finally have this on vinyl.

Solid day out buying records.

70's Seger > 80's Seger

I've got a soft spot for early Seger. I never expected it to happen, but there are some things that you shouldn't fight. Guilty pleasures be damned.

A couple of months back, I found myself in an early 70's state of mind. I happened to give Seger's Mongrel album a spin on the iPod, and I was reminded how amazing that album is. I've wanted to own a copy of this, with the original Capitol labels, for a while now, but I've never been inspired enough to put forth the effort to hunt one down. After blowing my load over the Vertigo swirl pressing of Sabbath's Vol 4, I was hot to cross another first pressing off my Want List.

It was tough trying to find a copy that wasn't a cutout, but I won't tolerate saw cuts or holes. I found one with a cover that was a little more beat up than I would have liked, but for a record that can sometimes go for over $50, I was happy to grab this for just over $10.

I didn't put a lot of effort into my search for the Ramblin' Gamblin' Man LP that I bought a few years ago, but for Mongrel, first press with the gatefold cover was a must.

Check out those strong 70's mustaches.

I love everything about this album. The songs have got a great raw edge to them. I'm even captivated by the live photo on the back cover. I'm not sure what it is...rock concerts from the 70's just looked cooler. Look at that crowd pressed right up to the stage! Fuck today's 15 foot barriers.

Admittedly, I was on a bit of a Seger high after buying Mongrel. I'd never ventured outside of his early 70's work, but when I saw The Distance LP in the dollar bin of my local record store, I figured that I'd take the risk.

This record from 1982 is just okay. It isn't nearly as strong as Seger's earlier work, but it isn't terrible...just not something that I'll be reaching for very often.

Holy shit. Those dudes from the 70's should kick the shit out of you for looking like this.