Page 37 - the NOISE January 2014

circa 2013, with evie Brenan, who emerged from a coma wanting to see him in concert
is great.”
Patriotism comes in many forms. Bruce
Springsteen has traveled much of the same road Bob Seger has (there’s only a four-year age difference) and both have an affinity for the working class because that’s who they are, their families and friends as well. It’s ironic that Seger is often considered “Spring- steen-lite,” when Bob was unleashing clas- sics like “East Side Story” and “Heavy Music” while The Boss was still in high school and 6-7 years away from putting out a record (the year Bruce released his first LP, Bob was on his sixth).
Yet Springsteen surprised many who had him pegged as a conservative when he per- formed at Jackson Browne’s “No Nukes” ben- efit concerts in 1979, alongside Crosby Stills & Nash, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, and other hippie-ish acts.
During the “Born In The USA” tour in 1984, President Reagan appropriated the song and The Boss’s name for one of his reelection speeches (apparently Ronnie hadn’t studied the lyrics that closely). Onstage that night, Bruce angrily told his audience that he had never given permission for his song to be used and that in no way did he support Ron- ald Reagan for president. The next day, he told the press the same thing.
Around this time, Chevrolet had offered Springsteen handsome sums of money to use the song, which Bruce repeatedly turned down. So Chevrolet went ahead and made a commercial with a “Born In The USA” sound- alike tune sung by an ersatz Boss. Spring- steen immediately sued, and the ad was yanked. “I’m not for sale,” he stated.
Bob Seger admits to voting for Reagan in 1984. He claims that “Like A Rock” was sold to Chevrolet in 1987 to aid the Detroit Auto Workers’ Union. A fine sentiment, but that’s
not what it smells like.
Is Bob Seger embarrassed by his past? Is
he purposely sitting on the greatest music of his career because he’s ashamed of the way he viewed the world as a young man? Does he think anyone cares? Who is he hiding it from, his children? His fans? His in-laws? His poker buddies? His neighbors? The PTA? The Republican Party? The Democratic Party? Garth Brooks? The Boss? Kid Rock? Us?
Was Bob Seger ever a liberal, or just a good songwriter who knows what people like? Isn’t it strange that once any political content was removed from his records, they sold like crazy? Whose fault is that, his? Ours? His label’s? If Capitol had promoted his early
music better, if “2+2=?” and “Lookin’ Back”
and the others had been smash hits, would “Like A Rock” ever have been written?
Anyone notice that Seger’s politically- charged tunes were all composed during the LBJ/Nixon era, and that post-Watergate, he clammed up about society’s woes and stayed that way all through Carter’s term AND the Reagan/Bush regime?
What HAPPENED to Bob Seger? Why didn’t he use his success to create more bitchin’ rock and roll? Did Capitol make him sign some Faustian pact guaranteeing millions of dollars and mass adulation but at the hor- rible price of slowly turning into a bearded cheeseball like Kenny Rogers?
Is true rock and roll the sound of rebellion? And if so, does your music cease to be rock and roll when it ceases to be rebellious?
Those of us who love Bob Seger’s Heavy Music don’t love it for the politics. If a band’s songs are terrible, it doesn’t matter what they’re singing about, the whole thing just sucks. Unless you’re not a rock fan, the records Bob Seger and Punch Andrews made from 1966-1974 do not suck. They’re loud, fast, and to the point, like great rock & roll should be. Most of them barely make it past 2:30.
All we want is for people to know. And it would be nice for that to happen while the man is still here, not after he’s gone.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
ALBuMS:
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (Capitol 1969) Noah (Capitol 1969)
Mongrel (Capitol 1970)
Brand New Morning (Capitol 1971) Smokin’ OPs (Palladium 1972) Back In ‘72 (Palladium 1973) Seven (Palladium 1974) SiNGLeS:
“East Side Story” (Hideout 1966) “Persecution Smith” (Cameo/Parkway 1966) “Sock It To Me Santa” (Cameo/Parkway 1966) “Vagrant Winter” (Cameo/Parkway 1967) “Heavy Music” (Cameo/Parkway 1967) “2+2=?” (Capitol 1968)
“Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” (Capitol 1968) “Ivory” (Capitol 1969)
“Noah” (Capitol 1969) “Innervenus Eyes” (Capitol 1970) “Lucifer” (Capitol 1970)
“Lookin’ Back” (Capitol 1971)
— tony BallZ
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news
• january 2014 • 37