Nothing left for Seger to do but play it for some people, spend a few hours doing his first interview in 18 months and then hit the town with Bruce Springsteen. After that, back home. And Seger knew what it was like for the average kid growing up in the Midwest. With Stranger in Town , he wrote about coping with his new stature; it sold better than Night Moves had. On Against the Wind , he sang about growing old, and he had his first Number One album.
At the same time, though, the wistful ballads became more pat, the rockers more rote. Critics who loved him when he was a raw, gutsy underdog, who celebrated his breakthrough and first tentative steps as a star, began to sour on Seger. He was taking the easy way out, some charged. Of course, he sold a lot more records than Springsteen. Some of that has changed with The Distance. The record cost him one, possibly two, members of his band, and it may well disappoint lots of fans who are waiting for the kind of assembly-line midtempo reminiscences that filled Against the Wind.
But for once, Seger went into the recording sessions determined to stand up for a few things and make some changes, regardless of the consequences. For one thing, he decided to enlist Iovine as producer rather than do it himself, the way he and manager Punch Andrews had done on the last two LPs. But Seger had gotten tired of spending a week recording half the album in Muscle Shoals, then sweating for six months to finish the other half with his band. Sure-fire hits.
He's a writer who's consistently had something to say, working on a wide canvas, which he continues to expand. In fact, Seger's songs have always taken aim at the status quo. In addition to social commentary, he's also a great storyteller. Lyrically, he aims for the heart, and when he goes deep, it's always genuine. He's best known, perhaps, for the story of young lovers "working on mysteries without any clues" "Night Moves".
Less well known is how a somewhat jealous Prince studied Seger's songwriting moves to come up with a hit of his own: "Purple Rain. And yes, as a rocker, Seger can make you smile so hard your face hurts. No argument there. But despite "Old Time Rock and Roll," written by others, though Seger redid the verses , one of his biggest themes is loneliness—especially the yearning for connection, never quite realized or maintained.
As evidence: The first song he ever wrote was called "The Lonely One. His characters often get what they want, yet get no peace of mind. They say love is blind, but somewhere along the line the eyes open and the truth sets in and when it does, it hits so hard and you certainly feel like you are "running against the wind.
This song is definitely a testament to Seger's ballad writing genius. The first verse reminds me of spending time in the back seat of my car with my high school girlfriend, with the radio playing low.
We swore to stay together forever, now I have to look her up in my yearbook just to remind myself what see was like. If I knew then, what I know now, it would sure have taken all the powerful emotions out of the way we felt then. Verse two makes me think about how years passed and I traveled away via enlisting in the military in the mid 70's. I met a lot of people around who swore to be friends forever, only to be gone in a few months. That was also a time of rampant drug use. Many of the military personnel were recently back from Vietnam and neighboring countries.
Amphetamines like white cross, speed balls, crystal-meth and other powders were causing many to 'lose their way'. Running was a way to use the drug and how also a person acts when taking amphetamines.
Moving very fast and staying awake for weeks, months at a time was typical. Now to do all this, you must break many rules, which will get you kicked out of everywhere. Then in verse three you grow up and conform back into society, stop drifting and get a job. But you remember where you have been. I really enjoy the song and many of Bob Seger's music.. However, I have heard this song is actually about hell..
This is one of my all time favorite songs. I think because I relate to the lyrics so much. Life doesn't always turn out the way we planned. For a lot of us we at some point in our life get way, way sidetracked. I am a 56 year old american male. I have been listening to Bob Seger and the silver bullet.
Always thought he was the greatest. Still listen too him now. Still think he is grest. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Best Songs. Top 20 Bob Seger Songs. Prev Article Next Article. Related Posts. Jim Barclay November 9,
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