All righty, we’ve had a lot of Seger-hatred show up at our ‘Non-Classic Rock’ poll party. And I’ll admit, I would’ve joined right in five years ago, as I fancied myself one of the premier Seger-haters in the country. That is, until I discovered Bob’s early Motor City rock-scene days with the Bob Seger System. So, it’s been a very long time since I did one of these Cases For (Phil) Collins, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to shed some light on an artist who may get a bad rap for a lot of the work he did later in his career (get it, like Phil Collins). So here’s my Case for Seger…
Seger started playing in bands as early as 1961, but it was in 1968 when he put together the Bob Seger System, which became a major live band on the Detroit music scene in the late-60′s and early 70′s…a dirty garage-rock scene that would later inspire the punk rock movement. The Detroit music scene in those days was one that was set completely apart from any other rock scene in the country…it was rough, gritty, and full of soul. With bands like the Stooges, the MC5, The Frost, SRC, Alice Cooper, and The Amboy Dukes, the scene was in stark contrast to the San Francisco hippie scene or the sexy L.A. music scene or even the NYC post-folkie scene. Detroit’s Grande Ballroom became one of the most important rock dungeons in the country.
But, to get to the point, Seger toiled for 10 good years, from 1966 to 1976, to very limited local success before he put out the Night Moves album with his newly-formed Silver Bullet Band and began his rise to super-stardom…and for many of ya’ll, his rise to super-suckdom. But if you hear some of the records made during that 10 years leading up to that, you just may be surprised. I certainly was when I started hearing this stuff over the past year or two. Let’s see…
Here’s the Bob Seger System’s “Noah” from their second album, which was released in 1969…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s25lpvoJ9fY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01]
And you’ve gotta love the early performance and lack of facial here on “Ramblin Gamblin Man”…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2aBOTNGWMY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
And here’s an mp3 of the Thin-Lizzy covered “Rosalie” from Seger’s Back In ’72 album (from ’73)…
[audio="http://www.frannysilverman.com/NewmRadio/04%20Rosalie.mp3"]
So, has my Case for (Bob) Seger convinced anyone or swayed anyne’s opinion of Seger? See, he’s not all bad. In fact, he quite rocked for a quite a long time! Let me know if you wanna test drive a full early Seger album, and perhaps I can dub a cassette for you.
One more smokin’ Tube after the jump…
All right, we all knew this was coming, after the ‘Stay The Night‘ rape-song post. It’s the Chicago Edition of The Case for (Phil) Collins! Now we all know that Chicago has made some cheesy music as most all of us were conscious during the 80′s (‘You’re the Inspiration’, ‘Hard Habit To Break’), and Cetera solidified his place in cheesedom, and solidified his bank account, with the Karate Kid theme song! And I’d say that most of us realize that they had to be at least somewhat cool back in the day since they have those 60′s-70′s hits that you can’t help from getting stuck in your head (‘Saturday In the Park’, ’25 or 6 to 4′).
But I think that in the ironic post-everything pop musical society that we find ourselves in now, most of us would find it easiest to write-off Chicago as pure cheese. But as a non-ironic musicologist, I set out to prove that Chicago was definitely once a band to be reckoned with. If those killer hits with the super-sheened horns weren’t enough, I dug up a killer track from Chicago’s first album, when they were still named Chicago Transit Authority. The song is ‘Liberation’, a live in-studio performance with no overdubs, and it is as much a testament to what a find rock band Chicago was, as a testament and tribute to late Chicago guitarist Terry Kath. He was certainly one of the best. So here it is, dig in…
mp3 audio: Chicago Transit Authority – Liberation 
And here’s your palate-cleanser, if you need the taste of Chicago removed from your ears, from a man whose cool will never be called into question, despite Tin Machine and his fascination with the Nazi party in the late 70′s… allegedly! This song is great. Thanks, Mo!
AAC audio: David Bowie – All the Madmen 
All right, I think I’ve got our next musical scapegoat. Thanks to everyone who voted, but I felt most inspired by Matt’s suggestion for ol’ Ace Greybeard Ratboy himself…Bobby Weir.
Bob is a prime example of someone who never fully got their due, or just became known for the cheesy things they did over a massive 40-year music career. Bobby always had to take a backseat to Jerry, and it would be hard to argue that Bob was more talented than Jerry because he just wasn’t. BUT, was Bobby a necessary and captivating part of the Grateful Dead? Yes! Bobby was the palette-cleanser for Jerry songs…on the records and especially at shows. And most of the time, Bobby had some great songs that could inject a little more energy into a Dead show (…think “One More Saturday Night”). And shit, in the final years of the Dead, Bobby was just about the only member that was still playing with any kind of fire.
So I present to you some primo rockin’-out Bobby from his 1972 solo album, Ace, on which all of the Grateful Dead members play, oddly enough. And then there’s a jazzy Bob bonus from Kingfish’s first album in 1976. Bob was a member of the band, Kingfish on their first two albums. Both of these tunes show the power of what Bobby could bring to the table. So do yourself a favor, and hear out this case for Bob Weir…
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mp3 audio: Bob Weir – The Greatest Story Ever Told
mp3 audio: Kingfish – Lazy Lightnin’
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And here’s some relief for the super-cool if you just almost got sick sitting through two Dead-related songs. A little Can should pacify you…
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AAC audio: Can – She Brings the Rain
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All right guys. I’ve been having a hard time figuring who should be spotlighted in our next Case for Collins segment. There have been a few ideas rolling around my little mind, but nothing I was really sure would entertain you. So I’m putting the power in your qwerty hands.
That said, what if I throw out a few of the names that have been coming up and you’s all can vote on which you think would make an interesting episode? Or you can also write in your candidate. No matter which you pick, and however much muck their name has been drug through, I will guarantee to find some redeeming shining-diamond of a song to present you with, so that we can all try to eek some respect out of this artists’ recently frowned-upon repertoire.
So read on for the list of candidates that I’ve been hesitating to expose and to vote…
That’s right! From all the guilty lists that you all posted, I chose one from Dave’s to be the next Case for Collins entry today. This one just spoke to me especially since Michael McDonald has made somewhat of a comeback in popularity, although much of it seems to be for irony’s sake; unless perhaps there was a true reverence for Mr. McD’s original blue-eyed soul vocals in the Yacht Rock series, or even in the movie The 40-Year Old Virgin. Whatever the case may be, many of us NewmRadio subscribers dig us some Mike McD-era Doobie Brothers, so that’s what I gots for ya today. Orinially from the 1976 album Takin’ It To the Streets, the first album with Mr McDonald. Dig the smoooooothhhh….
The Doobie Brothers – It Keeps You Runnin’
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And now for something completely different…
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Leave your thoughts and song reviews below…
Well, I’ve got a new music feature here for you and as you’ve noticed it’s called “The Case for (Phil) Collins”. What I aim to do hear is showcase some great songs by artists who have become music’s whipping boys and girls due to career missteps, changes in trends, shitty later-material, lack of listener-knowledge, Disney soundtracks, inability to dress, or any other number of reasons. So leave your hipness behind and kick back to some unfairly frowned-upon jams. To help it go down better, I’ll follow it up with something indisputably kick-ass. Be sure to leave your thoughts on these selections…
How could I not start this off with a Phil Collins song? He’s the shining example of the fantastic songwriter who made the mistake of staying alive and having a super-popular solo career. Sins accused of include always tucking in shirt, khakis, baldness, Tarzan soundtrack, ‘I Can’t Dance’, and you can add more in comments if you like. But Phil’s first solo album in 1981, Face Value, is a solid bit of work. I had a hard time choosing between this song and an instrumental called ‘Hand in Hand’, but I chose this one since it’s more representative of Mr. Collins to hear him singing. I’ll play you ‘Hand in Hand’ in an upcoming edition though. So here’s ‘Behind the Lines’. Dig it (you gotta love that Phil C. drum sound!)…
Phil Collins – Behind the Lines
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And as a palate cleanser, I give you some refreshing wafer-thin Pere Ubu…
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Leave your reviews for both songs below….
