''Back in '72'' is the sixth studio album by American
rock 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 ...
, released in 1973. It was the first new album on Seger's manager
Punch Andrews' label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the
Reprise division of
Warner Bros. Records and one of three early Seger albums that has never been reissued on CD.
Recording
The album was recorded partly with the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or a ...
, a renowned group of
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s who had recorded with the likes of
J. J. Cale and
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
.
[Segerfile.com: Back in '72](_blank)
"Working With Muscle Shoals". (excerpted from Chris Cioe, Musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...
. "Bob Seger: Hymns from the heartland." According to Seger, there was a financial misunderstanding with the musicians: they offered to record him "for $1500 a side", which he took to mean $1500 per album side. When he found out that they meant $1500 per song, he left after recording three songs but resolved to work with them in the future.
The album contains the original studio version of "
Turn the Page", a live recording of which would be released on ''
Live Bullet'' in 1976 and would become a staple of
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
radio. It's believed that much of the influence of this album is a result of his brief experience as a member of the
Theta Delta Chi
Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...
fraternity at Michigan State University.
The song "Rosalie" was written in tribute to
Rosalie Trombley
Rosalie Trombley (September 18, 1939 – November 23, 2021) was a Canadian music director of AM Top 40 radio station CKLW, also known as "The Big 8". She was known for her ability to select songs that would later become big hits. At the time, ...
, the music director of
CKLW-AM in
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
, which was an important
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...
radio station in the 1960s and 1970s. The song was made more famous by the Irish rock band
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...
, who originally recorded it for their 1975 album ''
Fighting''; another recording, included on their live album ''
Live and Dangerous'' in 1978, became a hit single in the UK in the same year.
Reception and legacy
''Back in '72'' only reached 188 on the US charts and has since faded into obscurity. Even so, the album and its supporting tour mark the beginnings of Seger's long-time relationships with future Silver Bullet Band saxophonist
Alto Reed, powerhouse female vocalist
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and ra ...
, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...
of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
retrospectively gave the album 4.5/5 stars, calling it "not only the finest of
eger's/nowiki> early-'70s albums but one of the great lost hard rock albums of its era," and "a testament to great rock & roll, thanks to Seger's phenomenal songwriting and impassioned playing."Allman Brothers Allman may refer to:
Music
*The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman
*The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman
*The Gregg Allman Band
People
* Allman (surna ...
cover "Midnight Rider
"Midnight Rider" is a song by the American rock band the Allman Brothers Band. It was the second single from their second studio album, '' Idlewild South'' (1970), released on Capricorn Records. The song was primarily written by vocalist Gregg ...
" which appears on the album was later released on Seger's compilation record ''Early Seger Vol. 1
''Early Seger Vol. 1'' is a compilation album by American rock singer–songwriter Bob Seger, released in 2009. The album, which includes archival material from the 1970s and 1980s, was released exclusively to Meijer stores on November 24, 200 ...
'' in 2009. The song was remixed and remastered from the original vinyl LP version, and it was shortened by fading out at the end. The original version did not fade out but instead broke down to where Seger "scat sang" before the final beat.
In 2005, shortly after the reissue of ''Smokin O.P.'s'', there were rumors of the album to be reissued onto a CD. Seger denied these rumors saying that he did not like the vocals on the album and probably will not release it for quite some time. This marks the album as an extremely rare and unheard of Seger gem much like 1969's ''Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...
'' and 1971's acoustic solo album '' Brand New Morning'' which Seger has also often stated that he may never reissue.
This album has turned out to have inspired several bands: Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...
's Rock'n Me
"Rock'n Me" (also known as "Rock 'N Me" or "Rock 'N' Me") is a song by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released in 1976 from the band's ninth studio album ''Fly Like an Eagle'' (1976). It was written by primary band leader and songwriter ...
has a similar melody as "Rosalie", Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ...
's version of "Silent House" is similar to "So I Wrote You A Song", and "I've Got Time" led to "More Than A Feeling
"More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American rock band Boston, released as the lead single from the band's 1976 debut album by Epic Records in September 1976, with " Smokin' as the B-side. Tom Scholz wrote the whole song. The single peaked ...
" by Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
.
Track listing
''Back in '72'' has never been rereleased on vinyl or CD.
Personnel
*Bob Seger – guitar, vocals
*Jack Ashford
Jack Ashford (born May 18, 1934), known to his friends as Jashford, is an American musician widely known as the percussionist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the 1960s and early 1970s. Ashford is most famous for playing the ...
– maraca
A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair.
Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...
s, marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbr ...
, tambourine
*Barry Beckett
Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in the ...
– organ, piano, electric piano, RMI electronic piano
*Philip Bliss – steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
(A2)
*Eddie "Bongo" Brown
Eddie "Bongo" Brown (September 13, 1932 – December 28, 1984) was an American musician born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. Brown played congas, bongos, the gourd and claves for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brother ...
– conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...
* J. J. Cale – lead guitar (A1)
*Pete Carr
Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr (April 22, 1950 – June 27, 2020) was an American guitarist. Carr contributed to successful recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, The Staple Singers, R ...
– guitar
* Tom Cartmell – flute, saxophone
* Roger Hawkins – drums
*David Hood
David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone. He is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
Hood was born in Sheffield, Alabama and attende ...
– bass guitar
* Jimmy Johnson – guitar
*Marcy Levy
Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut ...
– background vocals (A2)
*Bill Mueller – guitar (A4)
*Jamie Oldaker
James Oldaker (September 5, 1951 – July 16, 2020) was an American rock music, blues rock and country music drummer and percussionist.
Biography
James Oldaker was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the first bands that he was a member of wa ...
– drums (A2, A4, B1)
*Sergio Pastora – conga, tambourine, timbales
Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfi ...
*Scherrie Brown – background vocals (A2)
*Dick Sims – organ, piano, clavinet, pedal bass (A2, A4, B1)
*Luke Smith – background vocals (A1)
Production
*Engineers: Jim Bruzzese, John LeMay, Jerry Masters, Greg Miller
*Mixing: Punch Andrews, Jim Bruzzese, Bob Seger
*Design: Bob Seger, Thomas Weschler, Christopher Wharf
*Photography: Thomas Weschler
Charts
Album – ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' (United States)
References
{{Authority control
1973 albums
Albums produced by Punch Andrews
Albums recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Bob Seger albums
Reprise Records albums