Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band* – Greatest Hits

Sounds good, not happy the last two songs are cut from the vinyl though.

Vocals sound awful on my copy. I can imagine all of these tracks sounding much better under different conditions.

Re-cataloguing collection and this one came up for a listen. Been awhile but I can report my copy is very quiet and sounds amazing. I enjoyed revisiting this greatest hits. It's easily a record I would put on when I have visitors!

I was somewhat hesitant in purchasing this title; let’s face it, Seger is one of the greats. Can report that the record sounds fantastic - warm, detailed and spacious. Ron McMaster has done a great job in mastering these recordings to a level I’ve never heard. Track listing is messy, but the main bits are here for the casual fan. Vinyl is vey noisy - hopefully a ultrasonic wash will fix this, though I suspect it is low-grade vinyl or a badly cut lacquer.

Very happy with this pressing. Quiet, clean and analog full vinyl range and warmth all the way.

Excellent pressing. They could have easily put this all one record, however they split it all on two. Really nice package.

Very pleased with the copy I got. Sound floor is sooo quiet and the sound is full. Great pressing on this one - standard 120g black. Should be even better after a nice ulatrson cleaning.

In the same manner as his fellow Detroit rock adherents, Bob Seger greatly appreciated the collaborative effort that went into a live show, hence his initial propensity for assisting or performing alongside various bands under many monikers apart from solely his own. In 1972, he formed the Silver Bullet Band and together they toured extensively outside of his home city before finally hitting big four years later with the concert recording "Live Bullet". It was at this point that the balance of power within the band started to change. In addition to being criticized for using session musicians as much as the Silver Bullet players, Seger was consciously moving towards sufficiently transformable melodic studio material which would then be punchily reproduced and stretched out in concert. ittedly, showing audiences old and new different sides of their personae inevitably hurt their credibility since it meant compromising their image as a hard-rocking musical unit, but such fluidity and versatility did help Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band to break into the mainstream. Without delay, Seger focused on producing increasingly radio-friendly singles to promote his consistently high-quality studio albums, and as he became more visible and popular on his own , his resolve to take back control as a solo artist and songwriter was justified.

Contrary to popular belief, despite being credited on almost every one of Seger’s records subsequent to 1972, the Silver Bullet Band was not his customary band. In actuality, he was more often than not backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on the bulk of his best-selling albums. In contrast to the rough-and-ready Silver Bullet Band who specialised in giving a much-needed forceful, spunky and earthy sonic wallop to acoustic and bluesy numbers, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section would accordingly vitalize and elevate Seger’s straightforward, radio-ready rockers. It was a tried-and-tested method and stylistic pattern that invariably paid dividends. Between 1976 and 1982, Seger competently maintained momentum across four of his multi-platinum-selling records, all of which were built around the same blue-collar themes and consecutively improved with tighter arrangements and higher production values, adding maturity, substance and depth to his increasingly outdated aesthetic.

A mainstay of jukeboxes and classic rock radio across three decades, Seger is also widely considered to be a national treasure, though not so as you would notice since he does not tend to be mentioned in the same breath as other high-profile heartland and roots rockers. And what credibility and accolades he has received can be attributed to several factors, namely his ionate, raspy vocals and inspired, observant lyrics, not to mention the hard-edged, blistering instrumentation of the Silver Bullet Band (or the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section). Thusly, an anthology of some sort should have been a natural progression, especially when one considers the substantial and celebrated body of work at the disposal of Capitol Records. Latterly, Seger had been far less prolific as a recording artist and the stimulus and sales generated by such a collection would have been very welcome indeed, but for reasons unknown, Capitol Records respectfully waited until Seger was ready to approve of and assemble it. Nevertheless, “Greatest Hits”, in spite of its belated release in 1994, proved to be a perfectly adequate, some might say wholly incomplete, overview of his commercial phase, containing all the durable standards you would expect - “Hollywood Nights,” “Turn the Page," "Old Time Rock & Roll," "Night Moves" - leaving ample room for the inclusion of other sizable hits - “Katmandu,” “Against the Wind,” “Shame on the Moon,” and “Shakedown” to name but a few - that possibly ran counter to the surrounding tracks and were then calculatedly held back for a predetermined second volume (released in 2003). Aside from said deficiencies and omissions, the set itself is an engaging and satisfying listen, which is enough to make this single-disc gathering of reflective mid-tempo ballads and ferocious mainstream rock & roll a concise, cohesive threshold for those seeking to apprehend Seger’s somewhat daunting legacy.

Rating: 4.5/5

Love the material on this compilation but it’s worth mentioning that the track order is slightly different than the original release. The original pressing of the vinyl has the same order as the CD.

Really let down by this one, Sounds compressed and "generic" - no better than streaming bluetooth from Apple Music. That's not why I "invest" in vinyl these days. Doesn't contain a couple of my fav 'deep cut' album tracks (or R&R Never Forgets) so I guess I'm SOL on "greatest hits" versions.