Garage Sale Vinyl: Bob Seger
Night Moves / Capitol Records / October 1976
by Christopher Long
What an inspirational character! I met David in Orlando, circa ‘76. He was a grade ahead of me at Stonewall Jackson Junior High. When you’re 14, one year is a BIG spread and I kinda looked up to David like an older brother. Unlike many of my delinquent schoolyard pals, David was focused on academics and he never got into trouble (at least not that I know of). He played sports and earned money mowing lawns. David also was passionate about rock and roll — and I had a MAD crush on his younger sister, Donna. Hence, David definitely was a guy who I wanted to hang around with.
After struggling for months to prove myself as being at least kinda cool and slightly astute when it came to rock and roll, David finally invited me to his house one day after school — and yes, Donna was home. I remember first entering David’s bedroom and admiring his vast music collection. He had crates and shelves full of vinyl LPs, as well as stacks of both 8-track AND cassette tapes. David’s stereo system was equally amazing. It had AM and FM capabilities with TWO types of tape players and a built-in turntable. PLUS, his speakers were MASSIVE — way more impressive than ones we had attached to our rinky dink family hi-fi.
I don’t know if it was because he was cool, or that perhaps he was afflicted with some kind of attention deficit issue, but David only referred to musical acts in abbreviated terms. For example, he referred to Jethro Tull only as “Tull.” Aerosmith was simply known as “Smith” and so on. During my first visit, David revealed how he was gonna school me on an artist who he simply referred to as “Seger” — and he wasn’t talking about folk musician Pete Seeger.
Hot on the heels of his double-live 1976 breakthrough LP, Live Bullet, veteran Detroit rocker, Bob Seger, along with his Silver Bullet Band, had released the follow-up album Night Moves just a couple of months prior. And in early 1977 it was racing up the charts.
Also by this time, I’d become well-known at school as being an over-the-top, four-eyed KISS Freak. “Seger blows KISS away,” David informed me, posthaste and with a bit of snarl, as he removed his vinyl copy of Night Moves carefully from the album jacket and placed it gently onto the turntable.
As the (now) classic opening track, “Rock and Roll Never Forgets,” began blasting from the enormous speakers, I quickly got a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d never heard such blistering, authentic rock and roll. The (now) iconic title track also knocked me out. And I became more enraptured with each ensuing tune.
I soon sorta felt as if I was cheating on a girlfriend. I thought to myself, what would I say if KISS guitarist Ace Frehley actually walked in David’s bedroom at that moment and caught me listening to Bob Seger, with such delight? I could only imagine my defense. “Uh, Ace — you’re home early. This isn’t what you think! I swear it was only this one time. Seger means nothing to me!”
Then I was struck with an absolutely unspeakable, unthinkable notion. Could it possibly be that KISS was NOT in fact, “The Hottest Band in the Land?” Say it ain’t so! Be sure, I was unwilling to dethrone my kabuki-faced heroes. But I did have to concede by the conclusion of Night Moves that I would at least have to make room for TWO at the top of my “Hottest Band(s)” list.
I soon bought my own Night Moves LP. And over the years, the songs spoke to me even more loudly — a true classic rock slab, for sure. My vinyl copy disappeared decades ago, but I replaced it on CD back in the late ’80s. Don’t judge me.
Recently, I read an online music feature about how rare Seger albums are in the modern-day used vinyl world. Personally, I’ve never found locating his used catalog titles to be terribly challenging. In fact, I discovered my current LP copy of Night Moves not too long ago at a local thrift joint for just a couple of bucks. “Come to Poppa,” indeed!
(5/5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Night Moves Track List
SIDE ONE
- Rock and Roll Never Forgets (Seger) – 3:52
- Night Moves (Seger) – 5:25
- The Fire Down Below (Seger) – 4:28
- Sunburst (Seger) – 5:13
SIDE TWO
- Sunspot Baby (Seger) – 4:38
- Mainstreet (Seger) – 3:43
- Come to Poppa (Randle, Mitchell) – 3:11
- Ship of Fools (Seger) – 3:24
- Mary Lou (Jessie, Ling) – 2:56
https://www.bobseger.com
