Lookin’ Back: Capitol, UMe Reissue, Remaster Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band’s “Live Bullet”
Bob Seger catapulted to national stardom in October 1976 with the multi-platinum LP Night Moves, after a string of regional hits in the Detroit area and throughout the Midwest. Just before that commercial breakthrough, Seger and his Silver Bullet Band were captured in their live prime at Detroit’s Cobo Hall for the 2-LP set Live Bullet. Now, the album is returning to its original vinyl format to mark its 45th anniversary. The new reissue, remastered by Robert Vosgien, will arrive on June 11 from Capitol and UMe.
Recorded in September 1975 and released in April 1976, Live Bullet showcased the formidable Silver Bullet Band: Drew Abbott (guitar/vocals), Alto Reed (saxophone/percussion/vocals), Robyn Robins (organ/clavinet/mellotron/piano), Chris Campbell (bass/vocals), and Charlie Allen Martin (drums/vocals). Seger drew on a high-powered setlist drawn from his varied discography to that point. The Bob Seger System’s 1968 “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” his only top 20 hit until “Night Moves,” was featured. So was 1967’s “Heavy Music,” from Bob Seger and The Last Heard which “bubbled under” the Billboard Hot 100 but attracted the singer-songwriter-bandleader enough attention to garner him a Capitol contract. “Beautiful Loser” and “Katmandu” were considerably more recent, drawn from Seger’s last pre-Night Moves album, also entitled Beautiful Loser. Live Bullet was also peppered with rock and roll favorites rendered in Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s rousing style, including Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits,” Van Morrison’s “I’ve Been Working,” Bo Diddley’s eponymous tune (incorporating “Who Do You Love”), and Chuck Berry’s “Let It Rock” (incorporating “Little Queenie”).
Live Bullet went Gold by the end of 1976, and is currently 5x Platinum. It reached the top 40 of the Billboard Top LPs and Tapes chart, and yielded a moderate hit single with Seger’s cover of “Nutbush City Limits.” To date, it remains one of only two live albums from Seger; 1981’s Nine Tonight was also (partially) recorded at Cobo Hall and featured the hits that made him a superstar including “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Against the Wind,” “We’ve Got Tonight,” and “Night Moves.”
The reissue will be released on both standard black 150-gram vinyl with a lithograph, and on translucent orange and red swirl vinyl only available at independent record stores, Bob Seger’s online store, and the Capitol/UMe store. The lithograph reproduces the Live Bullet taken by Detroit photographer Robert Markliwitz. Capitol notes that “this double LP was cut for playback on a stacked turntable spindle, which means that after Side 1 ends, the second LP drops and starts playing, technically making that Side 2. The side numbers below represent the ‘sequenced’ side.” Look for the remastered Live Bullet on June 11 at the below links!
Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band, Live Bullet (Capitol LP SKBB-11523, 1976 – reissued Capitol/UMe, 2021)
2LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP Orange and Red Swirl Vinyl: uDiscovermusic.com / Bob Seger Online Store
LP 1 Side 1
- Nutbush City Limits
- Travelin’ Man
- Beautiful Loser
- Jody Girl
LP 1 Side 4
- Lookin’ Back
- Get Out Of Denver
- Let It Rock
LP 2 Side 2
- I’ve Been Working
- Turn The Page
- M.C. (Upper Middle Class)
- Bo Diddley
LP 2 Side 3
- Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
- Heavy Music
- Katmandu
Why would they press the reissue with the old side 1/4 side 2/3 sequence? That’s just annoying. Normally I’d get the color pressing but this one is double the price so standard black it is!
So is this LP reissue being cut from an analog tape or a digital file? if a digital file, is it a hi resolution file (and if so, will this file be available on hi res streaming services or for purchase)?
As this hasn’t been identified as an audiophile reissue with an all-analog chain, my best guess is that Robert Vosgien has remastered from a hi-res digital transfer of the original Capitol tapes. It’s very possible that a hi-res digital version will become available. We’ll keep an eye out for it.
Luckily I kept all my albums and babied them so most of these expensive reissues have no interest. Alternate takes I would have been all over that.
This group was fantastic. I saw them open for Kiss on their Destroyer tour in Oakland in ‘76. Before the show they played Aerosmith’s new album, “Rocks”, in near entirety before the show through the sound system. What a perfect concert that was!.
Show of hands, who still has and USES a stackable turntable spindle??? That’s the dumbest move I’ve seen for a reissue!
Was the original release pressed this way? If so, great nostalgia value for the 3 or 4 people still out there with spindle-equipped vintage turntables that still work!
I thought it was a bad idea anyway for one disc to land on top of another. PLOP
LOL! Especially when one disc was spinning when the stationary one dropped on top of it. PLOP and SCRAPE!
or when the second album drops before the tone arm has cleared!
So that’s why some double albums, like Beach Boys Endless Summer, were pressed sides 1 and 4 on one LP, then 2/3 on the next, to benefit those with drop spindle players? I had no idea! Definitely learn a thing or 2 on this site. Glad ELO’s Out Of The Blue wasn’t like that.