Early Seger, Vol. 1

What the hell is a Meijers? I'm pretty excited about the unreleased stuff, so I'm going to pick it up.

 

If three out of the four unreleased songs are 'Like A Rock'-era Seger as I read elsewhere, how can they call this "Early Seger"... this album is a mystery for sure, but am still anticipating it with some interest.

 

Meijers is a full service store. Similiar to a Super Target, in that carry groceries, clothing, etc.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I think this is a really half-assed way for Seger to deal with his pre-"Beautiful Loser" catalog. Even if it's cheap (and at only 10 tracks, it better be), I just don't see it selling a lot of copies. I wish they had gone the deluxe route, and instead released a box set (or even two) compiling all of his 60s and early 70s recordings. At the very least, they should have licensed the early catalog to a label like Collector's Choice or Sundazed, so we could at least get complete albums.

I just don't get the logic of this release. Is there really anyone out there who's interested in buying a CD of long out-of-print Bob Seger material -- but only if it's part of a budget compilation? For crying out loud -- this guy is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! Is this really the best they can do?

 

This is really screwed up. I don't know how many copies they are pressing, but I can't imagine they will cover their costs with this release. Who knows - maybe it will be on CD-Rs?

This is the wrong way to do this. It should be a box set with all the original albums included. Bonus tracks of whatever else would be fine too. Until they give me what I want, I'll stick with my needledrops of the early albums. Sorry Bob - no sale here.

 

I can't believe for any reason why Seger would not at least want his first album out on CD again. It's his best album imo. My Mom loved it when she was in college. It's a great album!

 

This strange release will be available here:

http://www.meijer.com/custserv/store_locator.jsp

 

Hey, I wish there was a box set, original album re-releases, a longer collection, etc. too. But the advantage of something short and simple is it gets out there quick! The re-recording sessions apparently happened just a month or so ago. Anything that helps Bob realize the value of his earlier work is goodness, if not as much goodness as we would like.

And to those complaining about re-recording: have you actually *listened* to the new Long Song Comin' song clip? Compared to the original on Seven? This is the type of re-recording that gives a good song the performance it never had originally. If Bob wants to do more of these at this level of quality, that's fine by me!

- Joe

 

Punch noted in an interview with one of the Detroit papers that those tracks were not legitimately reissued. According to the terms of the licensing agreement between Cameo and Hideout, Cameo was supposed to make annual payments for the masters, which they stopped doing. Punch sued ABKCO after the C-P box was released and an out of court settlement was reached (not disclosed). I'll venture a guess that ABKCO doesn't have exclusive rights to those tracks.

Derek

 

More info from Billboard Magazine: ... and it still sounds like a strange hodge-podge of tracks.... Arnie

Billboard: Bob Seger is raiding his vaults for a 10-song set dubbed "Early Seger, Vol. 1" that will be released Nov. 27 exclusively via Meijers stores in the Midwest before becoming available on Seger's official web site three days later.

Highlights of the collection are four unreleased tracks, three of which -- "Star Tonight," "Wildfire" and "Days When the Rain Would Come" -- were written during the early '80s; "Star Tonight" was recorded by Don Johnson for his "Heartbeat" album in 1986. "Gets Ya Pumpin'," meanwhile, began life as a song called "Pumpin' " originally for Seger's "Seven" album in 1973 and was recorded again in 1977 before being revisited for "Early Seger." In all cases Seger enhanced the original tapes with fresh vocals, horns and/or other new instrumentation recorded during September at Kid Rock's studio in suburban Detroit.

Seger also did some extensive re-recording on "Long Song Comin' " from the "Seven" album, while the set's other five songs -- a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" and Seger's own "Someday" from 1972's "Smokin' O.P.'s," a gospel-flavored rendition of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" from 1973's "Back in '72" and the "Seven" Tracks "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" -- were remastered from the original tapes.

Snippets of the songs are currently streaming at BobSeger.com. There's no word yet on whether the album or individual songs will be sold as downloads when "Early Seger" becomes available at the web site; Seger has so far kept his catalog away from online sales.


"Early Seger" is the Michigan rocker's first since "Face the Promise" in 2006. He's not planning any live appearances to promote the album but is said to be considering additional volumes of the collection but no determination has yet been made.

The track listing for "Early Seger, Vol. 1" includes:

"Midnight Rider" (from "Back in '72," 1973)
"If I Were a Carpenter" ("Smokin' O.P.'s," 1972)
"Get Out of Denver" ("Seven," 1973)
"Someday" ("Smokin' O.P.'s")
"U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" ("Seven")
"Long Song Comin'" ("Seven")
"Star Tonight" (previously unreleased)
"Gets Ya Pumpin'" (previously unreleased)
"Wildfire" (previously unreleased)
"Days When the Rain Would Come" (previously unreleased)

 

"Bob Seger is raiding his vaults.."

Wonder if he'd like any help with that

 

Snippets of the songs are currently streaming at BobSeger.com

Arnie

 

Seger

"Why Seger is so uphappy with his 60s/early 70s output, when it's clearly his best material, is one of the great mysteries."

++++++++++++++++++++

I have never understood this either. Here in the twilight of Bob's career I have no idea why he won't release his early material when so many other groups release their early catalog of unreleased, alternate takes and the like. Even the Beatles have released Rarities and Past Master to give fans music that wasn't on the well known albums that they already know or own.

If anything I only see the release of his early albums and singles as an important way to generate interest and sales of his existing catalog.

Scott

 

Meiers is a Michigan super-dooper market chain of stores. It may also operate in other midwestern states. They sell everything from food to building materials.

 

Think Walmart, only a bit more upscale.

What I don't get about this release is, why the tracks from Smokin' O.P.'s? What's so rare about those? Isn't that CD still in print, or at least still very easy to find?

 

I assumed that Seger's Michigan roots were the reason for the Meijer's exclusive.

That said, I'll pass on this one. I would buy complete albums in a minute. Back in '72 , in particular, needs to be available on CD or dowload in its entirety.

 

The story I've heard is that the early music reminds Seger of the early days when he really struggled as an artist. He supposedly doesn't want to relive it. I have no idea whether there's any truth to that story though.

Derek

 

If that's true--and I hope it isn't--it's the goofiest rationale I can imagine.

I prefer to think that it's some copyright issue--yeah, I'm going to go with that.

 

Aren't the rights to the pre-Capitol stuff owned by Punch Andrews/Hideout Records/Cameo-Parkway? Could be holding out for serious dough, Dave Clark-style.

 

Yes, Punch owns Hideout. The only question is whether the Cameo license is still valid after the lawsuit settlement. I'm betting it's no longer an exclusive license, but only Punch, Jody Klein, and their lawyers know for sure.

Derek

 

goodness, I thought I'd heard that Punch Andrews had died a while back...Isn't he the same guy who started A2 Records?

 

Why???? Because Punch Andrews is a *****. They are only doing it now, is to get it on CD before the medium is dead. IMHO, Heavy Music and 2+2 are anthems.

 

Well, if they decide they are going to put the original albums on CD, we all need to hope that Punch doesn't master them and screw them all up like he did with "Live Bullet".

 

Wikipedia on the album:
Early Seger Vol. 1 is an upcoming compilation album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, consisting of archival material from the 1970s and 1980s. The album is due for release on November 24, 2009 and will be sold exclusively at Meijer for one week. Starting November 30, it will also be available at BobSeger.com.[1] The album might find a wider release in January 2010, said Seger's long-time manager Punch Andrews.[2]
On October 25, 2009, the album title and cover art were revealed by photographer Tom Weschler and music journalist Gary Graff on WXYZ-TV's Action News This Morning.[3] The compilation album was originally conceived to complement their collaborative book Travelin' Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger.[4] The photograph of Bob Seger used for the cover of the album was taken by Weschler at Detroit's Cobo Arena in September 1975 and is also featured in the book.[5] A few days after its public revealing, the cover art for Early Seger Vol. 1 was published alongside the album's tracklist on Seger's official website.
The album will feature a collection of songs taken from three of Seger's pre-Beautiful Loser albums, some of them remixed or re-recorded in parts, and also four previously unreleased tracks. Apart from "Gets Ya Pumpin'", which was recorded in 1977, these unreleased songs originate from the mid-1980's and were originally considered for inclusion on the 1986 album Like a Rock. There is one song, "Wildfire", which at one point was about to be the title track of that album, but finally it didn't even make the tracklist.[6] "Star Tonight" was written and recorded by Bob Seger in 1985 but initially released in a version by Don Johnson, with Willie Nelson on backing vocals, on his solo debut album Heartbeat (1986).
The previously available material comes from the albums Smokin' O.P.'s (1972), Back in '72 (1973), and Seven (1974), only the former being still in print. The compilation album's opening song, a cover version of The Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" from Back in '72, has been out of print for decades and will be available on compact disc for the very first time. All tracks have been remastered and/or remixed; additionally some of the recordings have been enhanced with overdubs, which were cut at Kid Rock's recording studio in Clarkston, Michigan in September and October 2009.[7] Most notably The Motor City Horns, a Detroit based brass section which has worked with Bob Seger before, added brass arrangements to "Gets Ya Pumpin'" and "Long Song Comin'", a completely re-recorded version[4] of a song originally released on Seven in 1974. From the same album comes "Get Out of Denver", which now features a reworked guitar solo by Jim McCarty of Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels, The Rockets, Mystery Train and Helldriver.[7]
In the future there will probably be additional volumes in the "Early Seger"-series, but so far no determination has been made.[8]

 

Yep. I had no idea they had even come out and managed to luck into a cutout bin copy of Seven after it went OOP. Would have loved to have found a copy of OPs sitting next to it, but as it was, it still made my weekend .......

As far as Vol 1. Well. It's a start...a way too short one but a start.