Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Stranger in Town
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Free Music Notes for Stranger in Town
Free Music Review: A Stunning Album........
Hit: 5 Stars
If I were to compile my Top 100 all-time favourite albums, then this Bob Seger effort would definitely appear in the upper echelons of that chart. Sadly, Bob Seger never received the recognition he deserved for this, or any other album he released in the UK, so chances are most people don't know much about the man who was running head-to-head (Stateside) in the popularity stakes with Bruce Springsteen in his pre-"Born In The USA" days.If people compared Seger to Springsteen, "Stranger In Town" likened Seger to the Eagles. The music on this CD was maybe not as 'country rock' as the latter was better known for, but it's certainly similar in style and in mood - qualities that saw Seger guest appear with the Eagles on tour in the 70s. In other words, "Stranger In Town" typifies the musical genre known as 'middle of the road'.
Quite remarkably for a studio album - and I don't normally say this except for a 'greatest hits' collection - there aren't any substandard tracks on this CD. It's a rather short album, but the nine songs featured have stood well against the test of time - and are all bona-fide 'classics' on your favourite 'easy listening' radio station.
'Hollywood Nights' kicks off the CD - a track taken from the same musical mould that produced The Eagles' 'Life In The Fast Lane' - a tale of living the high life in 70s California. Other upbeat radio-friendly rock tracks follow with (the classic) 'Old Time Rock And Roll', 'Feels Like A Number' (another Eagles-like song) and 'Ain't Got No Money'.
But it's the ballads that really make this album. 'Still The Same', 'Till It Shines' and 'Brave Strangers' were all destined to elevate Bob Seger into the mainstream. However, there's two tracks that should've elevated Seger into superstardom. 'We've Got Tonight' - probably the best known song on the CD - is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful ballads I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. With all it's heart-wrenching emotion, sung and performed to such perfection, it seems almost blasphemous to listen to any of the countless - and let me say, inferior cover versions that have been recorded over the years.
My own personal favourite track on "Stranger In Town" is the one used to end the album. 'The Famous Final Scene' - a song about the end of a relationship - ranks alongside Meat Loaf's 'For Crying Out Loud' as one of the most thought-provoking ballads that will tug at the heart-strings of even the most cold-hearted person on the planet. And the last few seconds of the song are guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine!
The Eagles had their "Hotel California", Springsteen had his "Born To Run". For Bob Seger, his definitive studio album was "Stranger In Town". Forget about his 'Greatest Hits' CD - a collection that didn't do the man justice - if you want to hear the real talent behind this criminally ignored artist, then this is the album you need to buy. I promise you won't regret it.
Jon.
Free Music Review: Bob is no "Stranger"
Hit: 4 Stars
Bob Seger followed up his classic breakthough 1976 album "Night Moves" with the solid "Stranger in Town," which solidified his position as the best blue collar American rock and roller not named Bruce Springsteen. A number of these songs have become classic rock staples, particularly the anthemic "Old Time Rock and Roll," "Hollywood Nights," "Still the Same," and the ballad "We've Got Tonight." First rate album cuts also include the rocking "Feel Like a Number," "Ain't Got No Money" and another good ballad in "The Famous Final Scene." Though it is a bit more polished (and therefore not a powerful) as "Night Moves," "Stranger in Town" is still a first rate album that will be enjoyed by any classic rock fan.Free Music Review: This time they got it right!
Hit: 5 Stars
Stranger In Town is one of Bob Seger's all time best studio albums. But anyone will tell you that, and the proof is in the music: superb songs like "Hollywood Nights", "Feel Like A Number", and "The Famous Final Scene", as well as the perenially popular "Old Time Rock & Roll".So how is the remastering? Wasn't the remastering of Live Bullet a disappointment? Yes, but there is a different team in place here. Robert Vosgien has done a superb job on this remastering, and the packaging includes the insert photos that were missing from the original release.
What you get in this release that was missing in the original CD are nuances and inflections - lots of them. Listen to all the things Bob does with the lyrics to "Brave Strangers". Hear the remarkable hi-hat work of Dave Teegarden in "Hollywood Nights." Delight in the resonance of the acoustic guitar strings on "Still The Same."
Yes, there is some tape hiss, but that is a good thing. This is the type of album where removing all the hiss would remove much of the music along with it. Thank goodness that mistake has been avoided here.
What we have is a classic rock album, in all senses of those words, restored to all its magnificent glory. Don't miss it!
Free Music Review: Old Time Seger
Hit: 4 Stars
Stranger In Town follows Night Moves in tone, but Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band up the ante. The album's opener, "Hollywood Nights" is a blazing rocker with a soaring chorus that has a powderkeg energy. "Still The Same" slows things down and with a melancholic piano riff that reminds you of a guy singing the blues in some piano bar. The song became Mr. Seger's second top ten hit. "Old Time Rock & Roll" has become a parody of itself as you can't go to a wedding or other similar events without hearing it. It's an okay song that has taken on more notoriety than it deserves. "Feel Like A Number" is a great song that nicely captures the feeling of being a small cog in a big wheel. "We've Got Tonight" is a beautiful song that Mr. Seger's sings with heartfelt earnestness and is nothing like the retched version by Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton. The album's closer, "The Famous Final Scene", is one of his most ambitious songs and is great capper for the album.Free Music Review: A Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
In my opinion, this is Bob Seger at his best. This is great all the way through, a real quality piece of work indeed. When are we going to see a remaster for this?? There's a remaster for "Night Moves" but not this one - we are way overdue!