''I Knew You When'' is the eighteenth and most recent studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer-songwriter

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

. It was released on November 17, 2017. The album was recorded in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and produced by Seger himself. The first song that became available from the album was "Glenn Song", which was written by Seger as a tribute to his friend

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don ...

of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

, who had died one year before. On January 18, 2017—eight months before the album was announced—Seger released "Glenn Song" for free on his official website. The song recounts his long friendship with Frey that began in 1966. When the album's track listing was revealed on October 13, 2017, "Glenn Song" was listed as one of three bonus tracks that can be found on the deluxe edition of ''I Knew You When''. Along with the track listing, the album covers of both the 10-track standard edition and the 13-track deluxe edition were revealed as well, and the album became available for pre-order the same day. The standard edition is available on CD and 130-gram

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

, while the deluxe edition is available on CD, as a digital download, and via select

streaming services An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...

. Along with the announcement of ''I Knew You When'' on September 22, 2017, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

's "Busload of Faith" was released as the first single taken from the album. The song was originally released by Reed on his 1989 album ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

''. Seger recorded his version of the song at a studio session in Nashville during May 2017 and premiered it with his

Silver Bullet Band Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

at a concert in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

on September 21, 2017, as part of his ''Runaway Train'' tour. Besides Reed's "Busload of Faith", Seger included another cover song in the album, namely "Democracy", which was written by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

and originally released on his 1992 album '' The Future''. A number of Seger's own compositions for the album were written and originally recorded many years or even decades ago but remained unreleased at the time. The oldest one is the

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

rock song "Runaway Train", which was first recorded in 1993 for Seger's fifteenth studio album, 1995's ''

It's a Mystery ''It's a Mystery'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). As with his prior album, it is credited to the Silver Bullet Band, though many of the tracks feature a wide array ...

''. The upbeat "Blue Ridge", which has been compared to Seger's "Sightseeing" from 1991's ''

The Fire Inside ''The Fire Inside'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. The album was released in mid 1991 on the record label, Capitol. It was Seger's first album of entirely new music since ''Like a Rock'' in 1986. Though ...

'', and the album's title track, "I Knew You When", both date back to 1997 and were potential candidates for Seger's 2006 album ''

Face the Promise ''Face the Promise'' is the sixteenth studio album by the American rock musician Bob Seger. The album was originally planned to be released in 2004, was delayed to 2005, and was officially released on September 12, 2006. It is his first new stud ...

''. The anthem-like "Forward into the Past", a song in the vein of Seger's "

American Storm "American Storm" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was recorded with The Silver Bullet Band and released in March 1986 as the lead single from their album '' Like a Rock''. The single peaked at number 13 on the U.S. ' ...

" or "Even Now", is from 1999 and was once to be the title track of his sixteenth studio album, while the ballad "Something More" is from 2001. The two tracks "I'll Remember You" and "The Sea Inside", the latter of which Seger described as "very

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

", were mentioned in interviews with Seger as early as 2011. They were to be included on his then upcoming seventeenth studio album, 2014's ''

Ride Out "Ride Out" is a song by American rappers Kid Ink, Tyga, Wale, YG, and Rich Homie Quan, taken from the soundtrack of the American action film ''Furious 7''. It was released as a lead single of the soundtrack alongside the promotional single " G ...

'', but ultimately did not make it onto the album. Initially, the November 17 release date of ''I Knew You When'' would have marked the last day of the ''Runaway Train'' tour—named after the song of the same name from the album—that began on August 24, 2017, but Seger had to postpone all concert dates starting September 30 due to "an urgent medical issue with his

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

". Of the 32 scheduled tour dates, Seger could complete 13 and had to postpone 19.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References