Passings
I caught up a little with Bob Seeger a while back here, and
need to do more [though I have – just didn’t write about it].
This latest seems more of the fine same to me, and that’s an
accolade because he has his signature and this is it, though opener Gracile is a dirty swamp-rock that is a
stand-out track.
Indeed, for me this album’s strength is its signature sound
throughout – basically upfront, straight rock that avoids complexity and is informed
by Seger’s distinctive voice – but the fact it is bookended by Gracile and, on the deluxe edition,
closer Glenn Song dedicated to his
great friend Greg Frey gives it a memorable edge. The percussive beated simplicity of this song’s pace
and its foreground lyrics in terms of rhyme are perfect as a fond, unadorned
lament, the violin providing its plaintive accompaniment. I think it is superb.
The album also reflects on other passings with covers of Lou
Reed and Leonard Cohen, this latter’s selected song Democracy [a rousing cover] so the album is reflecting on more than recent musicians’
deaths. We’re going to get more of this over coming years, sadly, but when it
is as honest and self-reflecting as this, the music becomes the truest empathetic
obituary.
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