Bob Seger's Old Time Rock & Roll Live

In 2004, American rock singer Bob Seger was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. One of the two songs he performed with the Silver Bullet Band at his induction ceremony was his iconic hit “Old Time Rock & Roll”. The song comes from his 1978 album “Stranger in Town” and I wrote an article about the making of it for its 40th anniversary three years ago. I recently discovered an official video of him performing that song that was uploaded by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year to YouTube on Bob Seger 75th birthday. I’m pleased that they uploaded this video as I had been wanting to see this performance for years. In this post, I’m embedding the video below with my thoughts on it afterward.

This version has similarities to the live version on his 1981 live album “Nine Tonight” which includes the rockier guitar solos by Drew Abbott, Alto Reed’s saxophone solos and Craig Frost’s piano. I’m pleased that this version has the original piano intro which is played by Craig Frost unlike the “Nine Tonight” version that uses a long guitar intro. A new component in this version is the more intense guitars which probably comes from Mark Chatfield who plays guitar alongside original Silver Bullet Band guitarist Drew Abbott. I’m glad that Drew reunited with the Silver Bullet Band for Bob Seger’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. 

You can see Bob’s enthusiasm and happiness in his performance. It’s evident when he calls and points to Drew Abbott before Drew’s first solo. This solo is Drew’s own creation taking inspiration from the song’s original solo by Forrest McDonald. About a minute later Alto performs his solo which is a more soulful variant of his original solo that’s been heard numerous times the world over. It’s special to see Alto as he sadly passed away in December 2020. 

I like how this version is longer than the original as there is an extended section near the end of the song. This section includes another guitar solo by Drew that takes elements from the guitar notes towards the end of the studio version. Alto also plays his saxophone solo a second time. It’s great to see Craig play prominent rock & roll piano notes in the middle of Alto’s solo. Old Time Rock & Roll is a globally popular classic rock song which is a celebration of the power of music, specifically rock & roll music. While Bob is singing about 50s rock & roll, to me this song is a celebration of his and other great rock & roll from his generation.