In the early 2000s I was turned on to a website that was solely devoted to providing a history of Michigan’s, and more specifically, Detroit’s early rocknroll and garage rock scenes from the early-mid 60s. I have the site to thank for my first taste of early Bob Seger; and by that I mean the raw primordial shit that was a far cry from the spit-shined, ready for prime-time, Silver Bullet Band of the 1970s. Which brings us to 2010′s Never Mind The Bullets: 1966-74, a fan-made 27 track compilation that rounds up Seger’s early days in Detroit banging around solo, with various pick-up bands and with the Bob Seger System. Stylistically the set varies (a lot) from era-appropriate psychedelia, obligatory blatant Dylan ripoffs (“Persecution Smith“) to parody(?) (“Ballad of The Yellow Berets“). But it’s the rock ‘n roll that’s worth the price of admission – or in this case, seeking out the bootleg online.
Here’s a little taste. 1966′s “East Side Story ” – Seger’s first single with his group The Last Heard. A fuzzy mix of, say, Them’s “Gloria” – if Ray Manzarek were on loan – fronted by…well, Bob fucking Seger. Dig it.
Not expecting this. Tight.
1 | Kyp August 23rd, 2012 at 12:55 pmYeah man, early seger is GNARLY business.
2 | JohnnyT August 23rd, 2012 at 1:11 pmthat’s a solid comp, but it’s worth tracking down the complete albums of Smokin’ OPs and Back in ’72. Seven is good, but kinda over-rated, and if you’re going to pull a track from Mongrel it should be “Evil Edna.” That one totally smokes.
3 | Mark August 23rd, 2012 at 2:25 pmThis rocks.
4 | -Rupe August 23rd, 2012 at 3:07 pmHave you heard “Sock It To Me Santa”? Dylan played it on an episode of TTRH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3tJXb3mGT4
Anyone care to provide a non-buggy link to the whole enchilada?
5 | David August 23rd, 2012 at 6:03 pmI grew up listening to radio-friendly Seger and unapologetically love it all (“Like a Rock,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Against the Wind” etc). But this….this is something else. I NEED to find this comp. I miss you Captain Crawl.
6 | Arthur2sheds August 23rd, 2012 at 6:59 pmSeger slays them all. My fave jam has always been “2+2=?”, but I wanted to say that I, too, would love to hear that “Sock ItToMeSanta.”. Heard it once, but have never been able to find it.
7 | John August 23rd, 2012 at 7:31 pmI’d like to hear the single “Heavy Music”…not the version from Live Bullet but the original. It got some airplay of CKLW back in the ’60s and a Cleveland area band back then did a solid cover..but I can’t find it….
8 | Kurt August 24th, 2012 at 6:32 amcan we get a link to the Detroit garage site?
9 | Amy August 24th, 2012 at 7:42 amahem: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/20241194822/never-mind-the-bullets-bob-seger-1966-1974-q
10 | tylerw August 24th, 2012 at 12:03 pm@Amy – that site is long lost to the dusts of the internet I’m afraid. nothing turned up in a google search. – AD
11 | Satisfied '75 August 24th, 2012 at 12:34 pm@TylerW – thanks for sharing that here (I can’t do it in the post proper). was stoked to see you pimping the set awhile back on your tumblr page too. – AD
12 | Satisfied '75 August 24th, 2012 at 12:35 pmNo prob! The photo’s amazing too — a friend of mine had a print of it randomly and gave it to me. Makes for a perfect cover!
13 | tylerw August 24th, 2012 at 12:44 pm@TylerW – Yeah, it’s 150% better than the cover that was on the original CD-R download or whatever from last year. Big ups.
14 | Satisfied '75 August 24th, 2012 at 1:39 pmThere’s another pic from the same show which would work as a back cover, too
15 | tylerw August 24th, 2012 at 2:52 pmhttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5418966623_20e5973738_z.jpg
This is nothing short of a treasure trove. I don’t care what people say, you freaks are AAALLLL RIIIGHT!!
Noobs, Mongrel is far and away the best of the old Seger albums, plan accordingly. I was in junior high when “Against the Wind” came out and I was sort of into it, then sort of meh as time went by. One day I picked up Seger System for a buck, then I had to run the table on the rest.
Now can we have some love for real old Steve Miller?
16 | TypeAzen August 25th, 2012 at 2:09 pmDon’t have much to add to this excellent conversation, but I will say the first seven Seger albums are all worth checking/seeking out. Someday (I hope) this stuff will get proper reissue treatment, but from what I’ve heard, Seger isn’t interested. The early stuff really puts him back into musical/historical context—instead of deifying him as the classic rock radio playlists have.
For more of the same, I love his write-up on Smokey & the Miracles: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/smokey-robinson-and-the-miracles-19691231
17 | J. White August 26th, 2012 at 12:46 pm[...] Click here to go to Aquarium Drunkard to check some early Bob Seger when he was in the Last Heard “East Side Story” Share this:TwitterStumbleUponFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. [...]
18 | Early Bob Seger Band…The Last Heard “East Side Story” « Rock God Cred October 2nd, 2012 at 7:50 pm