Greatest Hits 2

by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Overview

Although Bob Seger has been out of the spotlight for a number of years, this retrospective shows that the Motor City rocker hasn't lost any of his abundant heartland appeal. The 16-song set picks up where Seger's first hits collection left off, touching on both his plaintive balladeering (best represented by the radio staple "Beautiful Loser") and his sly party groove (evinced on the percolating "Shakedown"). It's not exactly a chronological set, since it takes in both older rockers like "Katmandu" and more middle-of-the-road material, such as his duet with Martina McBride on the fireside classic "Chances Are," but it does make a nice companion piece for the multi-platinum first volume. Seger offsets the classics with a pair of new recordings -- his first in nearly eight years -- that fit nicely into the warm, slightly gruff tone of his latter-day work. The burnished "Satisfied" reflects its title well, with Seger's throaty musings chafing only slightly against a thick, smooth melody that's flecked with pastel guitars. "Tomorrow," on the other hand, is slightly more aggressive, with an insistent chiming melody that's not a million miles away from George Harrison's "Brainwashed." Sure, the bulk of Greatest Hits 2 is within easy reach of anyone in shouting distance of a classic rock radio station, but the taste of newer material alone is reason enough for any Seger supporter to dip into these grooves.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/04/2003
Label:	Capitol
UPC:	0724385277207
catalogNumber:	52772
Rank:	1620

Tracks

1. Understanding
2. The Fire Down Below
3. Her Strut
4. Beautiful Loser
5. Sunspot Baby
6. Katmandu
7. Shame on the Moon
8. Fire Lake
9. Tryin' to Live My Life Without You
10. Shakedown
11. Manhattan
12. New Coat of Paint
13. Chances Are
14. Rock and Roll Never Forgets
15. Satisfied
16. Tomorrow
17. Turn the Page

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band   Primary Artist
Don Henley   Background Vocals
Matt Rollings   Piano
Pete Carr   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Rhythm Guitar
Keith Forsey   Percussion
Pamela Moore   Background Vocals
Martina McBride   Vocals
Bobbye Hall   Percussion
Drew Abbott   Guitar,Electric Guitar
Eddie Bayers   Drums
Barry Beckett   Organ,Synthesizer,Piano,Electric Piano,Piano (Grand)
Roy Bittan   Piano
Larry Byram   Guitar
Harrison Calloway   Trumpet
Chris Campbell   Bass,Background Vocals
Laura Creamer   Background Vocals
Ronnie Eades   Baritone Saxophone
Harold Faltermeyer   Synclavier
Glenn Frey   Background Vocals,Vocal Harmony
Craig Frost   Organ,Piano
Bob Glaub   Bass
Roger Hawkins   Percussion,Drums
Richie Hayward   Drums
David Hood   Bass,Bass Guitar
Dann Huff   Guitar
Jimmy Johnson   Guitar,Rhythm Guitar
Russ Kunkel   Drums
Randy McCormick   Organ
Shaun Murphy   Percussion,Background Vocals
Buell Neidlinger   Acoustic Bass
Spooner Oldham   Organ,Electric Piano
Dean Parks   Electric Guitar
Bill Payne   Piano
Alto Reed   Saxophone,Alto Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone
Charles Rose   Trombone
Timothy B. Schmit   Background Vocals
Bob Seger   Acoustic Guitar,Harmonica,Electric Guitar,Vocals,Slide Guitar,Soloist,Vocal Harmony
Joan Sliwin   Background Vocals
Harry Stinson   Drums
Fred Tackett   Acoustic Guitar
David Teegarden   Percussion,Drums,Background Vocals
Harvey Thompson   Tenor Saxophone
June Tilton   Background Vocals
Jeffrey "C.J." Vanston   Keyboards
Maxine Willard Waters   Background Vocals
Luther Waters   Background Vocals
Oren Waters   Background Vocals
Waddy Wachtel   Guitar
Michael Hart Thompson   Guitar
Julia Waters   Background Vocals
Kenny Bell   Guitar
Charlie Allen Martin   Drums

Technical Credits

Rodney Crowell   Composer
Yusuf (Cat Stevens)   Composer
Tom Waits   Composer
Keith Forsey   Composer,Producer
Jim Bruzzese   Engineer
David Campbell   String Arrangements
Greg Edward   Engineer
Harold Faltermeyer   Composer,Producer
David Hewitt   Engineer
Jimmy Iovine   Producer
Jerry Masters   Engineer
Steve Melton   Engineer
Thom Panunzio   Engineer
Rik Pekkonen   Engineer
Bob Seger   Composer,Producer
Greg "Frosty" Smith   Engineer
Bill Szymczyk   Producer,Engineer
David Thoener   Engineer
Don Was   Producer
Eugene Williams   Composer
Shelly Yakus   Engineer
Caroline Greyshock   Cover Photo
Terrence Bert   Inlay Photography
Ryan Freeland   Engineer
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section   Producer
David Cole   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

In 2003, when "deluxe editions" and "definitive collections" were the name of the game in reissues, it was refreshing to see Bob Seger's defiantly retro Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 hit the shelves. The title and the approach hark back to the days when a hits compilation was followed a few years later by a supplement, covering roughly the same territory and adding a few new singles. Seger's first Greatest Hits had all the big hits, from "Night Moves" to "Old Time Rock & Roll," and while it was very effective at that level, many of his big hits were ballads, so by extension the hits collection downplayed his rock & roll, which is was kind of odd for a singer/songwriter known as a passionate rocker. And while there was no arguing with what was on Greatest Hits, it left off many songs that illustrated his depth as a songwriter -- and that's not even counting that it left his handful of non-LP singles and songs unaccounted for or the fact that it ignored his early Cameo/Parkway singles, the Bob Seger System, or his first seven albums. Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 solves a lot of these problems and is a stronger album than the first Greatest Hits because of it. While it's still frustrating that Seger ignores his early material (the Cameo/Parkway songs are owned by somebody else, but he certainly could dip into the first seven albums, at least for "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"), it's also true that they're of a different aesthetic than the anthemic blue-collar rock that he first etched out on 1975's Beautiful Loser. That is the music that made him a star, and that's the music that fuels this collection, all the way through to the lesser-known latter-day sides "Manhattan" and "New Coat of Paint," as well as the brand-new cuts "Satisfied" and "Tomorrow," two hard-rocking songs that are some of his best music in years. These are good, but they are naturally overshadowed by the songs that form the heart of this collection: the terrific plea for compassion "Understanding," previously only available on the soundtrack to Teachers; grinding hard rockers "The Fire Down Below," "Her Strut," and "Sunspot Baby"; the delrious Chuck Berry homage "Katmandu," one of his funniest and toughest songs; the country-tinged ballads "Shame on the Moon" and "Fire Lake"; the aching elegy "Beautiful Loser"; the life-afirming "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," one of the best songs about aging within rock & roll. In this context, even the too-produced heavily synthesized "Shakedown" -- his contribution to 1987's Beverly Hills Cop II and his only number one hit, never available on a Seger album until now -- turns into a good time. Sure, there are a few songs that probably should have made the cut -- most notably "Feel Like a Number" and "Even Now" -- but as it stands, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

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