ARTIST: The Bob Seger System
TITLE: Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
YEAR RELEASED: 1969
CHART ACTION: #62
SINGLES: 2+2=?, Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (#17), Ivory (#97)
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Oh, probably not, not at all.
LINEUP: Bob Seger, Dan Honaker, Pep Perrine. Bob Schultz, Glenn Frey(!), and Michael Erlewine also guested on it.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Seger and his group rip through a heavy album that should have been loved and played all of these years as a prime example of heavy Detroit rock in 1969.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Playing with various groups, and then leading a band that released some singles on Cameo / Parkway, Seger signed on with Capitol records, and they changed the name of the band and made a pretty big push on the single, which hit the top 20.
The album is a pretty darn excellent representation of heavy rock circa 1969. Not as out there or deranged as his fellow Detroit musicians the Stooges or the MC5, it still is a heavy, sometimes political record. Seger plays some mean guitar (including some solid wah-wah on Side 2), while Honaker on bass and Perrine on drums are solid and loud.
It really doesn’t make a lot of sense to not have this streaming, and it’s hard to find anyway. But it’s quality and snag it if you can.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: The original name of the band he led was Bob Seger and the Last Heard.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE: A-: Solid rock and roll.