Heavy Music

It's been fifty years since Bob Seger first put down tracks to wax as a young maximum R&B proselytizer straight outta Detroit, with a soulful and seductive voice that echoed up and down Woodward after hours. However, most people aren't aware of that period of his career, if they're aware of him at all. And it would be a shame if "Shakedown" -- his only #1 hit, driving and synthetic and coked-out and 97% 1987, from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack -- is the first thing on people's lips when Bob Seger eventually boogies off this mortal coil. Shit, the way this year is going, it could be sooner than you think.

If you're from Michigan, saying "Vernors" and "Bob Seger" in hushed tones acts as talisman and password alike, a secret and sacred code of authenticity. (If you say those to a stranger and get back "soda?" and "Old Time Rock & Roll" respectively, feel free to give them the mitten in return. When I was a seven-year-old kid living outside of Denver in 1978, the multi-platinum Stranger In Town was like a babysitter, reminding me that Michigan was only as far away as the FM dial.) Everyone of a certain age has a story about seeing Bob before he got big, as he zig-zagged across the state preaching the gospel, so when he went national in the mid '70s, there was an "about time" vibe from most of the locals who needed no persuading as to his greatness. (My parents saw him lay it down a few times at Kirtland Community College in the early '70s, which is about as legit as you can get.) But even those die-hards might be surprised by the non-stop all-killer-no-filler burst of attitude and talent contained on Never Mind The Bullets: Bob Seger 1966-1974. I mean, just look at this track listing:

 1. East Side Story
2. Persecution Smith
3. Heavy Music
4. Chain Smokin'
5. Sock It To Me Santa
6. Ballad Of The Yellow Berets
7. Vagrant Winter
8. 2+2=-
9 Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
10. Tales of Lucy Blue
11. Down Home
12. Death Row
13. Lonely Man
14. Innervenous Eyes
15. noah
16. Highway Child
17. Mongrel
18. Lucifer
19. Leanin on My Dream
20. Lookin' Back
21. Love the One You're With
22. Rosalie
23. Back In '72
24. I've Been Workin'
25. Get Out Of Denver
26. Cross of Gold
27. U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)

Every time I listen, I find a new favorite; for years, the chug of "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" was the ace in the hand, but now I'm torn between "Lookin' Back" or his version of "Love The One You're With." But no matter what you gravitate to, you'll be delighted by this sonic snapshot of a time gone by. Too bad Bob Seger doesn't feel the same way, as the material from '66 to '74 has been largely out of print for decades, with no sign that it will resurface anytime soon. (Never Mind The Bullets is what they used to call a bootleg, an unofficial compilation made by a ILXOR message board contributor a few years back. It's available here, if you're looking.) But Bob's reticence isn't warranted, as he should be as proud of this period of his long and lively career as he is of anything he's ever done. Let your ears be the judge.