# The Strange Magic of: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Now I distinctly remember, way back when, that somebody here posted that they didn't like--maybe they said "hated"--Bob Seger et al. Well, that's not the case here, now. Ol' Bob, along with the likes of John Mellencamp, a bit of Tom Petty, a touch of Bruce Springsteen, even a smattering of Billy Joel, gave voice to the worlds of a lot of Middle America--working class, blue collar, some rural, Midwestern. And every now and then one of them would come up with a song of almost haiku-like compression, hinting at larger, maybe darker, worlds beyond. Seger penned several such, of which _Fire Lake_ is the classic example. Much of it is enigmatic (those eights and aces are the legendary Dead Man's Hand, held by Wild Bill Hickok while shot in the back of the head); some is easily grasped, like those bronze beauties lying in the sun. Springsteen's Hungry Heart is a similar bit of compression, but Seger has given us more, like Night Moves and Still the Same. Yay Bob!


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Absolutely love Still the Same. One of the great "bad woman" songs. 

Some other good songs (Beautiful Loser), and then some stuff such as Like A Rock and We've Got Tonite which just don't do it for me. I think he did mid-tempo better than slow, and made good use of background vocalists.


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

I was never an active fan of Bob Seger, but I did buy one of his LP's once on the strength of a single track I heard on the radio.

My favorite Bob Seger. I get a kick from this every time I hear it.

With a nod to Chuck Berry's Tulane.






Best wishes
Metairie Road


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I grew up in Detroit. Seger was like Springsteen there and I always thought that should be the pecking order. Seger has better songs a better voice and a better band


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

What are one or two of his best albums? I've only heard Ride Out plus the smash hits that are on classic rock radio.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

bharbeke said:


> What are one or two of his best albums? I've only heard Ride Out plus the smash hits that are on classic rock radio.


Can someone answer this question? I am not an album person, and know only individual songs gleaned from radio, borrowed LPs or CDs, etc.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I am not a Seger fan but recognize he did some great music that many appreciated and he is from my home town, Detroit, as are so many rockers. But this may be one of his greatest albums, or at least the one with the most clever title:


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

bharbeke said:


> What are one or two of his best albums? I've only heard Ride Out plus the smash hits that are on classic rock radio.


Live Bullet is a classic! A well recorded live set with high energy performances and great tunes. And right after that he released Night Moves. This has some of my favorite Seger songs including Main Street, Sunspot Baby, Fire Down Below, and the title track.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

starthrower said:


> Live Bullet is a classic! A well recorded live set with high energy performances and great tunes. And right after that he released Night Moves. This has some of my favorite Seger songs including Main Street, Sunspot Baby, Fire Down Below, and the title track.


I've still got a few on vinyl (they're for sale if anyone's interested) and Live Bullet is the best. Wonderful version of Turn the Page on there (although Metallica did a great cover too).


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks for the responses. I will prioritize those two. I also want to try Stranger in Town, as I love the song Old Time Rock and Roll.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Here's Bob doing _Night Moves_ live, audio only, sad to say. Workin' and practicin' those Night Moves. Wore me out. A similar song, strongly suggesting an equally pleasant learning experience, is Journey's _Stone in Love_......


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Triplets said:


> I grew up in Detroit. Seger was like Springsteen there and I always thought that should be the pecking order. Seger has better songs a better voice and a better band


I'm a Seger fan, but saying that Bob had better songs or band is baffling to me. They had similarities, but I put Springsteen up there with the greatest poets of Rock & Roll such as Dylan, Bono, Ray Lamontagne, David Gray amongst others. Bob Seger had some great songs too, but can't compare with the depth of Springsteen.

Voice? Absolutely. Having a better voice than Bruce is no big accomplishment, but Bob did have a great Rock & Roll voice. His band? I give the nod to E Street. Outside of Roy Bittan (one of the best rock pianists), no one was really a virtuoso, but the sum was much greater than it's individual parts. They just gelled.

V


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