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The Reviews Are In -- Letters from Seger Listeners
Yee hah!…I'm sure glad GH2 doesn't end with the backward glance of Rock and Roll Never Forgets. It's so much more powerful to follow that up with the double bill of Satisfied and Tomorrow. It's not just for the symbolism, the new material, and the lyrical journey, but to close with three great rocking songs after the slow set. Michael Good
I was blown away! Some of the songs that we forget about like Shakedown, it is a natural High, the vocals that comes out of that man are so unbelievable…this is one truly great C.D. and now we need to start in on getting him to put out a GH3 or even a Box set. HEY, I can dream!!! Charlie Keegan
It's like seeing an old friend after many years apart… "Satisfied" reminds me of "I Can't Save You Angeline" -- a song I really liked in the It's a Mystery lineup. "Tomorrow" is a rocker and doesn't really remind me of anything Seger has done. I like it...like it A LOT. The guitar seems familiar but I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of...perhaps BTO? The track list is JUST INCREDIBLE. The studio versions of Beautiful Loser and Katmandu alone make it worth the price. If only other artists wouldn't be afraid to release early gems on their greatest hits collections. Chip Stewart
First of all, the art work, with the exception of the cheesy way they handled Bob's girls on the bullet, the artwork is incredible. The first pic (aside from the cover) being the back shot of BNM. The middle spread a great shot of Bob rockin' with the fans. The back page is from Beautiful Loser, and another great shot of Seger rockin' on the back cover. I love it. Secondly, the songs. The fact that Understanding, Shakedown and Chances Are are all on here is impressive to me. Way back when the first Hits came out, I heard Bob in an interview with Jim Johnson (JJ) here on WCSX (94.7 Detroit). Bob told JJ that he wanted to put Understanding and Shakedown on the collection, but he went on to talk about keeping the cost down, etc. I remember just feeling frustrated. I know that he is the working man's singer, with the key word being "working". We could afford the extra 4 bucks. Anyway, at the time, Bob said that he would put it on the next one. -- True to his word, here they are! And they sound great. The song that seems to have benefited the most from the remastering job to my ears, is "Beautiful Loser". I hear the organ on this song when I never did before. The video is beautifully done. The whole retro thing is awesome. If it wasn't for other Seger fans, I would never have had the opportunity to see this, so kudos to Bob for putting this on here. "Satisfied" - "...I heard the angels, they could not be denied..." I love this song. It has that great bluesy feel to it. Excellent selection for Bob and Punch to pick. This one isn't somewhere in between good and so-so, like I would say "In Your Time" was, for example. I never quite sunk my teeth into that one. This one has some substance to it. "Tomorrow" - I don't know that I hear any AC/DC here, but I do hear one helluva good tune. I love the lyrics and how true they are, as far as the lines about traffic and such "...no more pretending that things are real tough..." I love that line. Great beat throughout the song. This one rocks. I am glad at 58 Seger is still kicking ass. Here's hoping this catches on, ...and to the little things ;) Paul Dunn
I found myself with some free time and the car just kind of leaned [toward the CD store]. I had been promising myself that I would pick up Ben Harper's latest. As I walked up to the counter, CD in hand, sitting like a beacon in the corner by the cash register was a pile of Greatest Hits Two. They had obviously just unpacked the box and hadn't even stickered them yet. "New Seger?" I asked, the crack in my 40 year old voice giving away any hint of calm. The human pin cushion behind the counter looked up at me like I'd just spoken Swahili. "Huh?" "Is that a new Bob Seger album?" I asked, any notion of acting cool now as far gone as this kid's fashion sense. He looked in the direction I was pointing, picked up the CD, read it carefully and after what seemed like an hour (it was probably only 10 or 15 minutes.....) he nodded his shaggy head. Thank God by this time, an older sales clerk was on his way out of the back room. He took over and actually gave me the sale price as opposed to the $21.99 that Junior was insisting on charging me. The great thing about CD's and new cars is listening to your brand new purchase on the way home. I called my wife while I was listening to Understanding to let her know what I'd discovered. "Can you hear the music?" I asked her "Yes" "Do you know who it is?" "Sounds like Robert" I laughed at her obvious hesitance to forgive Bob for his refusal to sign an autograph as well as his unnecessary and somewhat cruel rebuke back in '96. But then I was overwhelmed by something I can only compare to the feelings you get when you see an old, dear friend. Here I was in my car, talking to the woman I've loved for more than 20 years and listening to a song that I haven't heard since I bought the Teacher's Soundtrack in the mid 80's. It was the last step in sorting out the man from the music. As I've said before, I gave up hoping for a new tour a couple of years ago… I had hoped to [take my son to] a Seger show but I firmly believe that ship has sailed. He has since moved on to Linkin Park, Nickelback and Creed and good for him, he needs to develop his own musical taste. I guess the point I'm veering towards is that I don't feel like I've lost something by never seeing Seger on stage again. I feel like I've found his music again with all the strength and conviction of my youth. Sincerely, Gord Hunter
Oh my God. Like....wow. I'm almost speechless about these two new tracks...almost, heh heh... As I've told you before, I grew up in Cleveland, and have since moved to L.A. about 14 months ago. About a year before I did, I met the greatest woman I've ever known…Consequently, I burn a lot of CDs that remind her of how I feel about her. Now, after hearing "Satisfied," I know I've gotta cough up a few more so I can make it the centerpiece of the best CD yet. This track is pure Seger--is it a remnant off "The Fire Inside"? It sure sounds like it is. What makes me feel so instantly comfortable with this song is that it's simply vintage Seger--like a song I've heard before and forgotten about until now. This song would make the career of virtually anybody else who could have recorded it, yet it's just Seger doing what he always does. If that doesn't tell you you're in the presence of greatness, nothing will. What I love about it most right now are the keyboard solos. Craig Frost sounds like he's playing on an upright piano in the corner of an Old Western saloon. For all the masterful engineering that is Seger's trademark (and curse on occasion), the track still has a welcoming rough edge to it because of its raw honesty and simplicity. As for "Tomorrow"...if this is what we've been waiting for for eight long years, then it was well worth it. Knowing the song now (and completely memorizing the lyrics and having the song in my head all day today), I can now say I would have gladly waited eight more for it (although I'm glad to finally hear the song I wrote my little scientific dissertation on neutrinos for a few months back). Tim Mitchell is such a great fit for the newest incarnation of the Silver Bullet Band. (That is him on rhythm guitar, is it not?) I can totally see how you can play this song over and over, and even at a low volume it sounds LOUD. That crunching guitar baseline, the hard-stomping drums, the tough lyrics...I remember a quote from Seger on your website saying that he was going for some new songs with a harder edge and a big beat, and I'll be damned if he didn't accomplish it on this track. I could easily listen to this song if it were twice the length it was, and I'm kind of surprised he got out of it as quickly as he did--a verse and a half, a couple quick solos, and a coda--not the Seger formula by any means. I guess it leaves no room for the song to get old within itself, but it's not even close to doing that before it's over. My pipe dream is that there's a five-minute version coming out on the new album. I think it was the right decision to add these tracks at the last minute. Without them, I think the album would have been significantly weaker. (Incidentally, "Always In My Heart" is going to be played during the first dance at my wedding...I decided that about 5 girlfriends ago, and none of them ever tried to change my mind. They just left me.) Overall, I'm just happy to have Seger back on the scene. I hope he's happy to be back, and I hope it gets his blood up to do more. There's lots of promises according to the press you quoted on the Segerfile--a veritable deluge of new or unreleased material--and I just hope Seger really wants to follow up on it. A boxed set is certainly overdue, and no number of discs could make it too big or too costly. Although, I wouldn't mind taking it all an ablum-a-year at a time, either. Bill Wolski
PS: Most of the time we focus on that gritty, booming quality of his singing voice, but something that often gets overlooked is that he also sings with a diction and elocution that's uncommon for most rock artists... It was nice to read what you had posted to the site concerning Alto Reed's thoughts on touring in support of this album. Chris Campbell might be Seger's right hand man where longevity is concerned, but Alto Reed is to Bob Seger as Clarence Clemons is to Bruce Springsteen...for lack of a better comparison. However, if you look back over the third age of Seger's career-- from "The Distance" to present--Reed seems to figure much less prominently. The only songs from this era where he's really gotten a chance to stand out, in my opinion, are "Comin' Home," "Miami," "In Your Time," and "Yesterday Rules," which most people have never even had the opportunity to hear. It makes you wonder if Seger's songstyling still leaves room for Reed's saxophone to fit in. Moreover, does rock n' roll? Has the music industry in general outgrown this once celebrated instrument? Has it fallen into the category of Novelty, having to sink to the depths of the triangle and castanets? I mean, the sitar gets played more these days. Obviously, I don't expect to hear an answer on this matter, but it was something I thought about. Maybe it's something you've thought about too.
Love the new cd, but my favorite is SATISFIED. Best new song he has come out with since THE FIRE INSIDE, in my opinion. Todd
Hello, my name is Nych, a Bob Seger fan. I enjoy looking through your Seger website-vault; it's good to know that Mr. Seger's recorded but unreleased bucketloads of music have not gone unnoticed. What torture it is not having them, as I fiend for every Seger song I have not heard. I hope he releases these hidden songs someday very soon, because I bet they are real gems. If there's one thing the world needs, it's the music of Bob Seger, both old and recent. He's the best. Nych Hansen
I bought the new CD last night. I listened to Satisfied about 6 times in a row until my daughter made me shut off the sterio. That's the greatest new tune I've heard in 10 years! Richard Rosner
"Satisfied" is a sweet little shuffle makes me think that Seger would LOVE to perform this one LIVE! I can easily imagine a huge crowd clapping right along and cheering wildly during the break just before he sings, "You are the reason that I was born." On "Tomorrow," there's a missing Seger 'grunt' that ain't there and really should be. You know, three or four beats before the song ends, as the war drums are pounding, I definitely could hear Seger give off one of his classic and cheeky 'grunts' to punctuate the song's statement-but he didn't do it. But that's alright. Maybe he'll do it LIVE. Marty Carlisle
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