Early Seger Vol. 1
Encyclopedia
Early Seger Vol. 1 is a compilation album
by American
rock
singer–songwriter
Bob Seger
, released in 2009 (see 2009 in music
). The album, which includes archival material from the 1970s
and 1980s
, was released exclusively to Meijer
stores on November 24, 2009. Since November 30, 2009 it has also been available for purchase at BobSeger.com, both on CD
and as a digital download
(in MP3
and FLAC
). Eventually Early Seger Vol. 1 became available at Amazon.com
on February 1, 2010. "Gets Ya Pumpin" and "Midnight Rider" are the first two singles from the album.
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. The compilation album was originally conceived to complement their collaborative book Travelin' Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger. 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. 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 features a collection of songs taken from three of Seger's pre-Beautiful Loser
albums, some of them remix
ed or re-recorded in parts, and also four previously unreleased tracks. 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. Initially Early Seger Vol. 1 would have been a compilation culled from just these three albums (hence the "Early Seger" tag), but when the project really started to take shape in September 2009, Seger made the decision to include some unreleased tracks from his archives. According to Punch Andrews, Seger worked on about a dozen unreleased songs and picked out his favorite four tracks.
Apart from "Gets Ya Pumpin'", which was written in 1973 and recorded in 1977, these unreleased songs originate from the mid-1980s and were originally considered for inclusion on the 1986 album Like a Rock
. The song "Wildfire" was about to be the title track of that album at one point, but finally it didn't even make the tracklist. "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 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 is available on Compact Disc
for the very first time. "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C." were available on CD in the early 1990s but have been out of print since soon after the release. All tracks have been remastered and/or remixed; additionally some of the recordings have been enhanced with overdubs, which were cut at Yessian Studios in Farmington Hills, Michigan
and Kid Rock
's Allen Roadhouse recording studio
in Clarkston, Michigan
in September and October 2009. Most notably The Motor City Horns, a Detroit based horn section
, which has worked with Bob Seger before, added horn arrangement
s to "Gets Ya Pumpin'" and "Long Song Comin'", a completely re-recorded version 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. Guitarist Marlon Young
and keyboard player Jimmie Bones, both members of Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band, also took part in the sessions. Bones is featured with a piano solo on "Gets Ya Pumpin'".
In the future there will likely be additional volumes in the Early Seger-series but so far no determination has been made.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer–songwriter
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
, released in 2009 (see 2009 in music
2009 in music
The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
). The album, which includes archival material from the 1970s
1970s in music
For music from a year in the 1970s, go to 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1970s....
and 1980s
1980s in music
For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89For a history of music in all times, see Timeline of musical events....
, was released exclusively to Meijer
Meijer
Meijer, Inc. is a regional American hypermarket chain based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept in 1962. About half of the company's 196 stores are located in Michigan, with additional locations in...
stores on November 24, 2009. Since November 30, 2009 it has also been available for purchase at BobSeger.com, both on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
(in MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and FLAC
FLAC
FLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...
). Eventually Early Seger Vol. 1 became available at Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
on February 1, 2010. "Gets Ya Pumpin" and "Midnight Rider" are the first two singles from the album.
On October 25, 2009, the album title and cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
were revealed by photographer Tom Weschler and music journalist Gary Graff
Gary Graff
Gary Graff is an American music journalist and author.-Biography:Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper The Taylor Allderdice Foreword. He received his Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri...
on WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
's Action News This Morning. The compilation album was originally conceived to complement their collaborative book Travelin' Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger. 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. 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 features a collection of songs taken from three of Seger's pre-Beautiful Loser
Beautiful Loser
Beautiful Loser is the eighth album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1975 .The album relied mostly on session musicians from the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, but the Silver Bullet Band members were used separately on some songs and together on "Nutbush City Limits," a...
albums, some of them remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed or re-recorded in parts, and also four previously unreleased tracks. The previously available material comes from the albums Smokin' O.P.'s
Smokin' O.P.'s
Smokin' O.P.'s is an album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1972 . The album was reissued on CD by Capitol Records in 2005. It is currently the earliest Bob Seger album available on CD. The cover art is a parody of the Lucky Strike cigarette logo...
(1972), Back in '72
Back in '72
Back in '72 is an album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973 . It was the first new album on Seger's label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros...
(1973), and Seven
Seven (Bob Seger album)
Seven is the seventh album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1974. It is currently out of print.Seven was the first Seger album to feature "The Silver Bullet Band" in which he would steadily rely on for the rest of his career. The album gained notorious recognition and is a...
(1974), only the former being still in print. Initially Early Seger Vol. 1 would have been a compilation culled from just these three albums (hence the "Early Seger" tag), but when the project really started to take shape in September 2009, Seger made the decision to include some unreleased tracks from his archives. According to Punch Andrews, Seger worked on about a dozen unreleased songs and picked out his favorite four tracks.
Apart from "Gets Ya Pumpin'", which was written in 1973 and recorded in 1977, these unreleased songs originate from the mid-1980s and were originally considered for inclusion on the 1986 album Like a Rock
Like a Rock
Like a Rock is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1986 . The title track is best known for being featured on Chevrolet truck commercials. "Fortunate Son" is a live track from 1983, which was added as a bonus to the CD release of the album...
. The song "Wildfire" was about to be the title track of that album at one point, but finally it didn't even make the tracklist. "Star Tonight" was written and recorded by Bob Seger in 1985 but initially released in a version by Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
, with Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
on backing vocals, on his solo debut album Heartbeat (1986).
The compilation album's opening song, a cover version of The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
's "Midnight Rider
Midnight Rider
"Midnight Rider" is a popular and widely covered song by The Allman Brothers Band, from their album Idlewild South. Written by Gregg Allman and Robert Kim Payne, the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard...
" from Back in '72, has been out of print for decades and is available on Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
for the very first time. "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C." were available on CD in the early 1990s but have been out of print since soon after the release. All tracks have been remastered and/or remixed; additionally some of the recordings have been enhanced with overdubs, which were cut at Yessian Studios in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Farmington Hills is a community in southeastern Michigan. It is the largest city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 79,740 at the 2010 census...
and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
's Allen Roadhouse recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
in Clarkston, Michigan
Clarkston, Michigan
Clarkston, known officially by the name City of the Village of Clarkston, is a small city located within Independence Charter Township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 882 at the 2010 census.-Overview:...
in September and October 2009. Most notably The Motor City Horns, a Detroit based horn section
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, which has worked with Bob Seger before, added horn arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s to "Gets Ya Pumpin'" and "Long Song Comin'", a completely re-recorded version 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
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
by Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Yardbirds and Renaissance.-Early life:...
of Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder
William S. Levise, Jr , better known by his stage name Mitch Ryder, is an American musician who has recorded over two dozen albums in more than four decades.-Career:...
's Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American rock group from Detroit, Michigan. They served as Mitch Ryder's backup band from 1964–1967, and played on all his most successful records.Their original members were:* Jim McCarty...
, The Rockets, Mystery Train and Helldriver. Guitarist Marlon Young
Marlon Young
Marlon Young is a guitarist from Pontiac, Michigan who became the new lead guitarist for Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band in 2007. He was in Kid Rock's live band in 1996. He left in 1997 and was replaced by Jason Krause so he could pursue his own goals. He become lead guitarist for the band...
and keyboard player Jimmie Bones, both members of Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band, also took part in the sessions. Bones is featured with a piano solo on "Gets Ya Pumpin'".
In the future there will likely be additional volumes in the Early Seger-series but so far no determination has been made.