Early on in his career, Bob Seger looked like he would have the
\nworld by a string. His first album,
\nRamblin’ Gamblin’ Man<\/i>, brought him early fame and success.
\nHowever, subsequent efforts failed to do as well, and Seger was on
\nthe brink of leaving the music industry completely.<\/p>\n
In 1975, he gave it one last chance with
\nBeautiful Loser<\/i>, an album he poured his heart out on,
\nfiguring he would never get this type of an opportunity again. Much
\nto people’s surprise, listeners connected with the album, and Seger
\nagain had achieved some semblance of fame, eventually leading to
\nsuperstardom with his backing group the Silver Buller Band.<\/p>\n
Listening to this album 23 years after it came out, one can hear
\nboth a sense of desparation in the music, as well as an acceptance
\nof the possibility of failure in the music. It was almost as if
\nSeger was expecting the worst, and decided to put his whole being
\nand emotions into many of the songs. In some cases, it worked,
\nthough the album begins to lose steam near the end.<\/p>\n
The title track seems to say the most about the situation,
\nalmost as if Seger is taking on the role of the title character.
\nThe track (often paired with “Travellin’ Man” when performed live),
\nis a powerful autobiographical tale that still is amazing to listen
\nto. And, when “Travellin’ Man” is listened to, one can understand
\nhow these two songs can easily be paired together.<\/p>\n
The true feelings that Seger had can be heard on the song
\n“Katmandu,” one of the hits off of
\nBeautiful Loser<\/i>. Although he goes through a listing of all
\nthe benefits of each area of the country, he seems to be ready to
\nleave the U.S., declaring, “Nobody here loves me, anyway.” I
\nhonestly don’t think I’ve heard a more telling lyric than those
\nwords regarding a person’s anger at a situation – and it still is
\npoignant today.<\/p>\n
The remainder of
\nBeautiful Loser<\/i> is comprised of the rockers and ballads that
\nwould eventually make Seger a superstar. The rockers (“Black
\nNight,” “Nutbush City Limite”) are for the most part solid, though
\nthe ballads are a little more hit-and-miss. Cuts like “Jody Girl”
\nand “Momma” are interesting experiments for Seger, while the
\nalbum’s closers “Sailing Nights” and “Fine Memory” just don’t fly
\nthat well.<\/p>\n
The whole album is a very short listen – only 33 minutes in
\nlength – but the overall emotion and power that Seger packs into
\nthat short a time is enough to give the listener reason to think.
\nOne has to wonder what would have happened with Seger had
\nBeautiful Loser<\/i> not been the success it was. Something tells
\nme that Seger would still have slugged it out, even if it was only
\non the bar circuits – I think the rock was too much in his blood.
\nBut there’s no denying that this album is both one of the angriest
\nand the saddest the rock world has ever seen.<\/p>\n
Even with the few minor mistakes on it,
\nBeautiful Loser<\/i> is an album that defined Seger’s future as a
\nmusician, and paved the way for many of the songs we all know and
\nlove. While this isn’t one of the easiest listens you’ll ever
\nexperience in Seger’s catalog, it is one that could be called
\nrequired listening.<\/p>\n
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