The Silver Bullet Band was formed in 1974. Its original members were:
* Drew Abbott, guitar
* Charlie Allen Martin, drums
* Rick Mannassa, keyboards
* Chris Campbell, bass guitar
* Alto Reed, saxophones, flutes, acoustic guitar, keyboards and percussion.
Seger himself did all lead vocals and plays guitar and piano.
In 1975 Mannassa was replaced by Robyn Robbins on keyboards, who in 1980 was replaced by Craig Frost. Around 1977 Martin was replaced by Dave Teegarden on drums, who in 1983 was replaced by Don Brewer. In 1982 Abbott was replaced by Dawayne Bailey on guitar.
Seger has almost always used session musicians, most notably The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, on his albums as well.
In 1974 Seger formed the Silver Bullet Band and released the album Seven (credited to Bob Seger), which contained the Detroit-area hard rock hit "Get Out of Denver". This track that was a modest success and charted at #80 nationally.
In April 1976 Seger and the Silver Bullet Band had an even bigger commercial breakthrough with the album Live Bullet, recorded over two nights in Detroit's Cobo Arena in September 1975. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 168 weeks, peaking at #34 which was Seger's highest charting album at the time. It also contained Seger's hit rendition of Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" (#69 US) as well as Seger's own classic take on life on the road, "Turn the Page", from Back in '72. It also included his late 1960s successful releases — "Heavy Music" and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".
Critic Dave Marsh later wrote that "Live Bullet is one of the best live albums ever made ... In spots, particularly during the medley of 'Travelin' Man'/'Beautiful Loser', Seger sounds like a man with one last shot at the top." An instant best-seller in Detroit, Live Bullet quickly began to get attention in other parts of the country. In June 1976 he was a featured performer at the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit in front of nearly 80,000 fans. Only three nights before in Chicago, Seger had played before 50 people in a bar.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band achieved a commercial breakthrough with their 1976 album Night Moves which featured several hits including the highly evocative title song. Subsequently Seger had success with rockers such as "Hollywood Nights" and mellower mid-tempo ballads such as "We've Got Tonight", "Fire Lake" (recorded 1979, and featured Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Glen Frey on backing vocals) and "Against the Wind". His most recognizable songs are almost certainly "Old Time Rock & Roll" (featured in the film Risky Business) and "Like a Rock" (most familiar to many younger Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign).
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band released The Distance in 1982. Critically praised for representing a tougher sound than some of Seger's recent material, the album spawned hits with Rodney Crowell's "Shame on the Moon" (which also did moderately well as a country music song), "Even Now", and "Roll Me Away". But perhaps because Seger and his band were ill-equipped to exploit the new MTV era, Seger's album sales dropped noticeably, with The Distance only selling approximately 1 million copies. The following year country music superstar Kenny Rogers would team up with pop singer Sheena Easton to cover "We've Got Tonight". This version was a world wide hit and was so successful Rogers used it as the title cut to one of his own albums. In 1984 Seger wrote and recorded with his band the power rock ballad "Understanding" for the "Teachers" movie soundtrack. The song was a mild Top 40 hit in 1985.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band were no longer as prolific and four years elapsed before their next studio album, 1986's Like a Rock emerged. The fast-paced "American Storm" garnered both pop and rock airplay, and "Like a Rock" became yet another successful Seger ballad. Later it would become familiar to many Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign (something Seger explicitly chose to do to support struggling American automobile workers in Detroit). Seger's 1986-1987 American Storm Tour was his self-stated last major tour, playing 105 shows over 9 months and selling almost 1.5 million tickets. Like a Rock sold over a million copies and went platinum.
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's next record was 1991's The Fire Inside, at a time when glam metal, grunge and alternative rock were all taking the forefront. Seger's new music found little visibility on radio or elsewhere. The same was true of 1995's It's a Mystery, however the album was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold). In between, however, his Greatest Hits compilation was a major success, achieving sales of over 8 million units through late 2006. Seger did go back on the road again for a 1996 tour, which was successful and sold the fourth-largest number of tickets of any North American tour that year.
Seger and his band has recently released his first new album in 11 years, titled Face the Promise (credited to Bob Seger) (with guest appearances from Patty Loveless and Detroiter Kid Rock). In its first 45 days, the album sold more than 400,000 copies, according to Soundscan. The album has sold over 1 million copies to date and stayed on the Billboard chart for months. His supporting tour has also been eagerly anticipated, with many shows selling out within minutes. Showing that Seger's legendary appeal in Michigan had not diminished, all 15,000 tickets available for his first show at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena sold out in under five minutes; three additional shows were subsequently added, each of which also sold out.
The Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll stated that "His throaty, authoritative delivery is a pleasure to listen to, and the Silver Bullet Band is superb."
Events in late March of 2007 suggested that Seger may move on from Capitol Records because those who had worked with him to this point are now gone from the label. The same press release also confirmed Seger's intention to release a live CD/DVD package chronicling his Face the Promise tour at some point in the fall.
"Face the Promise" Tour 2006-2007 Lineup:
# Chris Campbell, Bass Guitar, since 1969
# Alto Reed, Saxaphones, since 1972
# Craig Frost, Keyboards, Piano, 25 years
# Mark Chatfield, Lead Guitar (Rythm Guitar 1983, 1996 Tours)
# Shaun Murphy, Backing vocals, since 1973
# Laura Creamer, Backing vocals, since 1968
# Don Brewer, Drums, (also 1983 Tour)
# Jim "Moose" Brown, Guitar and Keyboard
# Barbara Payton, backing vocals
Sightseeing
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A castle older than a redwood tree
Once lived in by royalty
Who taxed and raped the land
Mostly now it was stone and dust
Long damp halls and smells of must
Faded walls and ancient rust
And I wanted I wanted I wanted
To smash that sucker down
It was a marvelous sight to see
A redhead workin' in a brasserie
Five foot nine built to a tee
Eyes so blue and bright
All the drunks were just circling round
I drank water and held my ground
Later on we did the town
And we caught every sight
Cause I wanted I wanted I wanted
To follow her down
Sightseein' freein' my soul
Sightseein' leavin' my soul
It was a magical sight to me
And Yves Tanguy in a gallery
The 30's looking back at me
As if he really knew
I marveled at the artistry
Predating or technology
The vision there for all to see
Bold and strong and true
And I wanted I wanted I wanted
To take that painting home
I wanted I wanted
I wanted to take that vision home
The song "Sightseeing" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band talks about three different sights that have captured the singer's interest. The first sight is a castle, which is described as old and dusty with faded walls and ancient rust. The castle, which once housed royalty, is now deserted and abandoned. The singer, however, finds it curious and wants to smash it down. The second sight is a woman, a redhead working in a brasserie. She is described as tall and beautiful with bright blue eyes. The singer is drawn to her and wants to follow her down, sightseeing and freeing his soul. The third sight is a painting from the 30s, created by Yves Tanguy, which captures the singer's imagination. The painting's bold and strong vision is something the singer wants to take home.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is on a journey, both physically and mentally, seeking something more than what he currently has. He is mesmerized by the sights he sees and wants to experience more of them. The castle, the woman, and the painting are all symbols of different aspects of life that he wishes to explore. The castle represents history and tradition, while the woman represents beauty and vitality. The painting represents the artistic vision that can inspire and transform.
In summary, the song "Sightseeing" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band is about the singer's desire to explore new things and find meaning in his life. The castle, the woman, and the painting are all symbols of different aspects of life that he wishes to experience more fully.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a curious sight to me
I was intrigued when I saw this place
A castle older than a redwood tree
A really old and ancient castle
Once lived in by royalty
This castle was previously occupied by royals
Who taxed and raped the land
The royals used to exploit the land and its inhabitants
Mostly now it was stone and dust
The castle is now mostly in ruins
Long damp halls and smells of must
The halls inside the castle are now wet and musty
Faded walls and ancient rust
The walls have lost their colors and are now rusty due to age
Built on shifting sand
The foundation of the castle is not stable
And I wanted I wanted I wanted
I really desired something after seeing the castle and its surroundings
To smash that sucker down
I wanted to destroy the old castle
It was a marvelous sight to see
Something really amazing caught my eye
A redhead workin' in a brasserie
A beautiful woman with red hair was working in a restaurant
Five foot nine built to a tee
She was the perfect height and figure
Eyes so blue and bright
She had beautiful, bright blue eyes
All the drunks were just circling round
Everyone else was too drunk to notice her beauty
I drank water and held my ground
I stayed sober and didn't let the crowd sway me
Later on we did the town
We went around town and explored
And we caught every sight
We saw every interesting thing there was to see
Cause I wanted I wanted I wanted
I had a strong desire for something else that night
To follow her down
I wanted to spend more time with the beautiful woman
Sightseein' freein' my soul
Exploring the different places was rejuvenating for me
Sightseein' leavin' my soul
Seeing new things allowed me to forget about my problems
It was a magical sight to me
Something really enchanted me
And Yves Tanguy in a gallery
Artwork by Yves Tanguy was on display in a gallery
The 30's looking back at me
The artwork was from the 1930s
As if he really knew
As if Yves Tanguy knew the future and painted accordingly
I marveled at the artistry
I was amazed by the skill and creativity in the paintings
Predating or technology
The artwork was created before modern technology existed
The vision there for all to see
The artwork was displayed for everyone to appreciate
Bold and strong and true
The artwork was impactful and honest
To take that painting home
I wanted to own one of the paintings
I wanted I wanted
I really desired something else again
I wanted to take that vision home
I wanted to keep the memory of the artwork with me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB SEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind