Music review: Bob Seger – 鈥楻ide Out鈥�
You鈥檒l certainly get the urge to take those old Bob Seger albums off the shelf after listening to the 69-year-old鈥檚 latest effort.
鈥淩ide Out鈥� finds the ramblin鈥� man in fine form as Seger proves that rock 鈥榥鈥� roll truly never forgets. I certainly won鈥檛 forget the first time I heard the gravelly-voiced artist deliver his 1975 gem 鈥淏eautiful Loser.鈥�
Songs like 鈥淜atmandu,鈥� 鈥淭ravelin鈥橫an鈥� and 鈥淣utbush City Limits鈥� instantly won me over to the Michigan native鈥檚 swaggering style. Seger鈥檚 first album in eight years recalls the days when he was a leader in mainstream rock with weighty albums like 鈥淣ight Moves,鈥� 鈥淪tranger in Town鈥� and 鈥淎gainst the Wind.鈥�
When I think of Seger, I鈥檓 always drawn to that memorable Tom Cruise scene from the film 鈥淩isky Business鈥� as the actor lip syncs 鈥淥ld Time Rock 鈥榥鈥� Roll鈥� in his tidy whities. While Seger鈥檚 black flowing locks are now much shorter and more gray, he delivers his signature style on the opener 鈥淒etroit Made.鈥�
The arrangement penned by John Hiatt is a rousing hometown tribute powered by Seger鈥檚 weathered vocals, fiery guitars and plenty of attitude. Blues rocker 鈥淗ey Gypsy鈥� follows and is fueled with a Stevie Ray Vaughan vibe and smoldering guitar work. The country flavorings of Steve Earle鈥檚 鈥淭he Devil鈥檚 Right Hand鈥� are comfortably suited to Seger鈥檚 heartfelt storytelling on the tragic anthem.
鈥淎dam and Eve鈥� finds longtime Seger backup singer Laura Creamer sharing the vocals and delivering a compelling performance on this simplistically organic arrangement. Seger is at his best on the fragile and passionate ballads 鈥淎ll of the Roads鈥� and 鈥淵ou Take Me In.鈥�
The latter number is my personal favorite track as it evokes memories of classics like 鈥淎gainst the Wind鈥� and 鈥淲e鈥檝e Got Tonight.鈥� With 鈥淩ide Out,鈥� one can only hope that Seger doesn鈥檛 ride off into the sunset after successfully offering up absorbing arrangements about finding a secure and comfortable place in this complicated world.
Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.