Published on May 22, 1998
Bob Seger has long embodied the American spirit of success.
Despite many releases in his early days as an artist that didn’t
sell well, he continued plugging along until his “last gasp”
effort,
Beautiful Loser, hit the big time. His music has always
appealed to the blue-collar worker, probably because Seger was one
of them.
In 1981, Seger was quite possibly riding the peak of his
success, coming off his album
Against The Wind and the hits it contained. The time seemed
right to follow up his original live effort,
Live Bullet, with a recording of the early ’80s Silver
Bullet Band preserved for time. That album was
Nine Tonight, an album that contains many songs that please,
but like many live albums, it fails to convey all of the energy the
actual live show probably had.
Recorded over several dates in Boston and Detroit, Seger and
crew tear through some of their best-known songs of this time, as
well as through some surprises. After a solid opening with the
title track, Seger and crew kick into a cover of “Tryin’ To Live My
Life Without You,” and doing a pretty good job with it. One can
imagine Seger strutting the stage during this and many other cuts
on this set that do their best to turn the energy of a live show in
to an audio recording.
However, this has always been the most difficult challenge for
any artist who records a live set for mass consumption. And while
Seger and crew often sound like they’re giving it 110 percent
onstage, it’s not as convincing without being able to see them in
action. For example, his massive hit “Night Moves” occasionally
sounds like Seger is going through the motions on this one, and
would much rather be singing something else.
Some of the songs don’t translate as well to the stage from the
studio. “Old Time Rock And Roll” suffers without that familiar
piano opening, while “Against The Wind” and “Fire Lake” really do
lack something without Seger’s friends from the Eagles assisting
with background vocals.
This, fortunately, is not the case with all the songs on
Nine Tonight. “Rock And Roll Never Forgets,” “Her Strut” and
“Hollywood Nights” all rock with great ferociousness, and even the
ballad “We’ve Got Tonight” holds up well, especially with the
passage of some 17 years since this set was released.
The Silver Bullet Band is especially tight in this inception,
which included ex-Grand Funk keyboardist Craig Frost. Whatever you
think of Seger, you do have to admit he’s always surrounded himself
with top-notch musicians.
One word of warning: If you buy the CD instead of the cassette
or even the ancient vinyl, you will get a shortened version of the
album’s closer “Let It Rock”. (It would be nice to see Capitol
re-release this title with a restored version of “Let It Rock”. If
Metallica can go past the 74-minute limit of a CD and put out such
drivel as
Load, then Seger should be given his due.)
Live Bullet, in the end, is still an enjoyable listen, and
could be Seger’s best live release. But no matter how good this one
is, it definitely isn’t meant to be a substitute for the real thing
on a concert stage near you.