Ten Songs Produced by Barry Beckett

This article is my first collection of songs by a music producer. The producer I’m featuring is Barry Beckett. He’s a keyboardist who was part of a group of session musicians known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They worked with singer Bob Seger who I’m a fan of. In most of the songs I selected, Barry shared production credit with others. Barry played piano on some of the songs he produced. Sometimes albums Barry produced did not specify which tracks he played on. Therefore, I only mention Barry’s piano playing if I could verify that he played on the song. The songs cover a 20 year period beginning in 1973.

Turn Out the Light - Orleans (1973)

Barry produced the album with Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section drummer Roger Hawkins and plays piano. Barry’s piano opens the song and dominates. His playing is powerful. The start of the song is John Hall’s singing who also plays the guitar. We get a bit of guitar and backing vocals. After a while it becomes a full band song. This soft rock ballad has gospel influences. John gives a nice guitar solo followed by Barry’s powerful piano solo. This song is produced wonderfully as it’s clear sounding. It’s able to be both intimate in its sections dominated by piano and epic when it has the full band sound. It uses the full band to give power and energy to this ballad.

Smoke from a Distant Fire - Sanford-Townsend Band (1977)

The Sanford-Townsend Band consisted of Ed Sanford and John Townsend. They are both singer-keyboardists. This is a pop rock song with a southern rock feel. Barry produced this song with Jerry Wexler which is also the case for the next song. This song was a hit in the US. There is a warm saxophone part. John’s singing is soulful. Ed supports John with his good backing vocals. There are many elements in this song, acoustic piano, electric piano, electric guitar, organ and saxophone which the production balances very well. Sections of the song are driven by the electric piano while others are driven by the acoustic piano. There are two relaxing solos, one guitar and the other saxophone. This song has a good jolly feel.

Communiqué - Dire Straits (1979)

Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler wrote, sang and played lead guitar on this song. It opens with Mark’s guitar playing with it soon joined by Barry’s piano playing. Some of the notes Barry plays reminds me of his piano part in Bob Seger’s “Sunspot Baby”. His playing goes well with Dire Straits. Mark’s provides creative guitar playing. The production brings in southern American sensibilities to a uniquely English rock band. This is an epic rock song over five minutes long.

Paris - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (1979)

This is the first song on the list Barry produced by himself. Kevin Kavanaugh’s piano playing is powerful. Southside Johnny sings with passion. Horns are featured in parts of the song. There is a relaxing saxophone solo. Kevin’s organ plays a good supporting role. Barry’s production is true to Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes’ brand of rock as it features both heartland rock and soul sounds.

Lucretia - Levon Helm (1982)

Barry produced this song with Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section guitarist Jimmy Johnson. This is a solo song by Levon Helm who was in The Band. Levon sings powerfully. His singing of the line “hey Mister can you tell me where to go” reminds me of similar lines he sang in The Band’s song “The Weight”. The piano underpins this americana sounding rock song. The guitars bring in both country and rock vibes. The production does a good job of balancing the guitars and the piano.

I Got Love - Glenn Frey (1984)

This is a solo song by Glenn Frey who was in The Eagles. I’d classify it as soft rock with soul elements. Barry produced this song with Glenn & Allan Blazek and plays all the keyboards on it. The song opens with mainly Glenn’s singing, Barry’s piano and light drumming. Soon, the drumming gets more intense with all the instruments appearing. Barry plays some organ notes which make appearances during the chorus. Glenn sings very well. You can hear his emotion. The horns contribute greatly to the song. Barry plays a few rock & roll piano notes near the end. The production feels epic giving different instruments their moments throughout the song.

Southern Star - Alabama (1989)

Barry plays piano on this country song and produced it with the Alabama band. Southern Star has multiple instruments: piano, organ, acoustic and electric guitars. Lead singer Randy Owen sings very well. The band provides good backing vocals. There are some rock elements as Barry’s piano seems to give brief rock & roll sounds and the guitar solos sound a little rockish. The production feels epic with its full band country sound.

Go On - Delbert McClinton (1990)

Barry and Delbert McClinton produced this song. This song is in Delbert’s style which mixes country, blues and rock. There are two bluesy guitar solos. The piano provides a good base for the song. There are moments where the piano does some additional notes. The horns provide a good presence. The production gives a relaxed uptempo feel.

 

Always in My Heart - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1991)

This rock ballad Barry produced with Bob Seger. It came out 35 years ago in August 1991. The piano is played by Bob’s classic rock peer Bruce Hornsby. The opening section is dominated by Bob’s singing and Bruce’s piano. They pair well together. This song is an example of a great Bob Seger ballad. Bruce’s piano playing is epic. Bob sings incredibly. The production showcases the power of a Bob Seger ballad. It mixes this piano led song with its guitar and keyboard parts.

A Woman’s Needs - Elton John & Tammy Wynette (1993)

Barry produced this duet between Elton John and country singer Tammy Wynette. Elton wrote this country song with his lyricist Bernie Taupin. Tammy sings at the start. She sings well in her southern accent. Elton sings after that and comes with very powerful singing. Their singing styles are totally different yet work so well. They sing in conversation in the chorus. There are similarities in this song and the preceding one. Both are ballads featuring the musicians Don Potter (acoustic guitar), Dan Huff (electric guitar), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Eddie Bayers (drums). The difference is the country genre of “A Woman’s Needs”. Elton brings his signature brilliant piano playing in a country setting. Barry’s good production brings the guitars in and out of this Elton John piano ballad. He deserves credit for bringing a strong collaboration between an English rock singer and an American country singer.

Barry’s productions have an organic clear sound. He gives an important place for the piano whether it's his playing or someone else’s. Barry balances the different instruments well. He brings in southern sounds like country and blues into songs produced by rock artists. He did work in the country genre which I included. As I’m a classic rock fan, most of the artists I featured are rock artists. It’s interesting to note that the last four songs feature the rhythm section of drummer Eddie Bayers and bassist Michael Rhodes. Barry Beckett is a great producer and keyboardist who made a great contribution to popular music.

AI Bizarrely Got My Blog Wrong

"Artificial Intelligence - Resembling Human Brain" by deepakiqlect is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. 

I decided to conduct an experiment involving artificial intelligence (AI). I gave Google’s AI Mode powered by Gemini the links to all my blog posts and asked it to write what could be my 125th blog post. I requested it to be under 1000 words and use British spelling. This is an experiment I wanted to do for some time. Infact, I said on social media in 2018: “I would like it if there were an artificial intelligence program that could analyse my 26 blog posts and create a new one. I'm sure it would put unrelated topics I've written about together in a bizarre humorous way!” AI did put unrelated topics together and bizarrely got my blog wrong. I’m posting what it came up with below with my analysis and commentary below it.

“The S Synergy: When Heartland Rock Meets Star Trek Style Sci-Fi

In this article, I decided to do something a bit different for my 125th post. Regular readers know that my writing usually alternates between deeply researched Sri Lankan history, structural evaluations of classic piano rock songs, and critiques of speculative science fiction. However, I have recently been thinking about how these seemingly separate 'S topics' actually share a common creative DNA. Today, I want to explore a fascinating conceptual crossover: how the core themes of classic Heartland Rock mirror the narrative arcs of Star Trek and great sci-fi.

It might sound like an unusual pairing at first. Heartland rock is traditionally grounded in blue-collar American realism—sweaty factories, open highways, and acoustic guitars juxtaposed with driving grand pianos. Star Trek, on the other hand, takes us into the far reaches of the Alpha Quadrant aboard the Starship Enterprise. Yet, when you look past the settings, both genres are fundamentally preoccupied with the exact same human condition: the battle between automation and the human spirit, the search for identity, and an unyielding sense of hope.

The Fight Against Automation: Seger and the Borg

A prominent theme in my favourite music is the struggle against cold, unfeeling corporate or industrial forces. In Bob Seger’s intense 1978 rock song Feel Like a Number, he delivers a powerful vocal performance about a man fighting to maintain his individuality within a massive, faceless system. Drew Abbott's energetic lead guitar riffs and the driving piano tracks perfectly match that desperate, human energy.

Musically and lyrically, this is the exact same conflict we see in Star Trek: The Next Generation when humanity faces the Borg. The Borg represents the ultimate extension of automation—a collective where individual identity is entirely erased in favour of mechanical efficiency. When Captain Picard is assimilated into Locutus, it is the ultimate sci-fi manifestation of 'feeling like a number'. Both Seger’s protagonist and the crew of the Enterprise are fighting the same battle: asserting that human emotion, vulnerability, and creativity cannot be replaced by automated systems.

The Piano as the Sci-Fi Instrument of Empathy

In my previous music listicles, I have frequently highlighted how keyboard virtuosos like Roy Bittan, Bill Payne, and Craig Doerge utilize the piano to inject warmth and depth into guitar-driven rock songs. In heartland rock, the piano is often the emotional anchor. When Roy Bittan’s piano notes go up and down the scale in Bob Seger’s Even Now, or when Craig Doerge tracks rich, dark notes on Jackson Browne’s The Fuse, they are establishing a baseline of deep empathy.

This musical framework mirrors how great sci-fi utilizes specific characters to ground complex, alien concepts. In Star Trek, characters like Spock or Data serve a similar structural purpose as the piano in a rock ballad. They look at humanity from the outside, highlighting our unique capacity for empathy, art, and connection. Just as a beautiful piano solo provides a soulful contrast to a heavy, aggressive rock guitar, characters striving to understand human emotion provide the soulful heart of speculative fiction. We saw this execution brilliantly in Steven Spielberg's recent sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day, where the entire narrative arc ultimately relied on a message of global empathy to unite a divided world.

The Optimistic Journey

Ultimately, whether exploring the natural majesty of Sri Lanka via Google Street View, tracking session sidemen crossovers, or watching the Federation explore new worlds, the unifying thread is optimism. Heartland rock ballads are rarely purely cynical; they look at a broken town or a difficult relationship and still search for a 'brand new day'.

Star Trek has endured for decades precisely because of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of the future—a world where humanity has overcome internal division, poverty, and systemic corruption to work for the public good. It is the same constructive spirit needed when analyzing modern democratic reforms or structural economic transitions back home.

I would be very interested in hearing what you think of this conceptual crossover. Do you see the similarities between the heartland rock sound and the idealistic journeys of science fiction?”

This is a blog post I would never write. Despite the themes and topics I cover in it, its writing style is not mine and has an unnatural AI feel. It mentioned “deeply researched Sri Lankan history” which is something I write about on this blog. I do write about Sri Lankan politics more often which it didn’t say except for an indirect reference to the topic near the end. This post made some references to Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka is surprisingly underrepresented. It takes a lot of material from what I wrote recently.

The heartland rock comparison to Star Trek is an interesting one. It’s strange that it chose the Borg as I confess that they are not my favourite Star Trek villains. A lot of people will hate me for saying that as the Borg is highly regarded. They first appeared on “Star Trek:  The Next Generation” (TNG). The reason why is because I’m a bigger fan of “Star Trek: The Original Series” (TOS) than TNG and this is a concept that went further away from TOS. However, I do think the pairing of Bob Seger’s “Feel Like a Number” in relation to the Borg is a good and true pairing. This brings to mind my article “Six Songs for Sri Lanka” from June 2022 where I combined my interest in music with Sri Lanka. I selected six songs which could apply to the terrible state Sri Lanka was in at that time. One of them was Bob Seger’s “Feel Like a Number”.

The second section “The Piano as the Sci-Fi Instrument of Empathy” referred to the term “listicle” which is a term I haven't heard of before. That’s referring to my blog articles in list form. I’ve written listicles featuring a set of songs. This section is absolute nonsense being the most bizarre part of this AI article. It’s silly calling pianos a sci-fi instrument of empathy. Spock and Data in Star Trek are not like the piano in a rock ballad.

I really like the second paragraph of the concluding section that talks of “Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of the future” in Star Trek. That is something that is needed in the world right now. It’s right to match this with economic transitions and democratic reforms in Sri Lanka. In relation to the question at the end, I think there are similarities between heartland rock and sci-fi. I pointed out areas where the comparison worked for me. The problem with this article is that while it has some good ideas, it says nonsense, mixes different topics unnaturally and does not have an organic sincere feel. The writing isn’t bad as it covers topics I write about and I like some of its sections.

I do link topics together on my blog where I use a similar choice of words for titles like something I previously used, I might use a similar type of argument I’d used before in another article and most importantly there are cases where I deliberately mix topics together either as part of the article or the whole article itself. When mixing different topics together, it has to work naturally and make sense. It can’t be just mixed directly which would make it a bad article. There are some mixed topics I hope to cover in future articles.

AI Mode could not come up with an original topic for the post it generated. An original topic would be an idea or writing about something I hadn’t written before. It reused topics and points I’d said before in my blog. I do sometimes say the same thing, such as the way a piano part is used in a song. I don’t give them excessively like AI Mode did. The part linking Bob Seger to Star Trek’s Borg is original.

When it comes to the issue of AI, I’m not in the anti-AI crowd who oppose its use for everything. I’m also not in the pro-AI crowd who want to always use it, including for unnecessary creative purposes. AI is a useful tool and I think a healthy balance is needed. I use AI Mode. It can get fun when I feed it ideas to discuss films I’d like to see. I ask it questions and it gives answers. Some of the answers are valid and true. Others are invalid and not true.

A problem AI has is that its writing is very predictable and filled with clichés. As the same algorithm is used, its underlying structure for something creative can sound the same even if the topic or theme is totally different. The saying “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet” is true to a much greater scale with AI. It will say some things that are not true. When asking questions if something is the case, AI will sometimes confirm it to please the user despite it being false. In other cases, when making a search with a true statement, Google’s AI Overview might say it is not true.

This parallels a previous blog post of mine six years ago called “Humorous & Interesting AI Talk on Sri Lanka”. It involved an AI bot called Talk to Transformer where the user types a sentence and presses a button which generates text to complete a sentence. I posted my blog post just after Talk to Transformer was discontinued. It consisted of generated content about Sri Lanka on that service. A lot of what Talk to Transformer said was not true. Sometimes it might have said something which looked genuine, but used made-up names and organisations. A common thread was it being often funny. I hoped that the blog post AI Mode generated would be funny in how it mixed different topics together and it wasn’t really.

To conclude, I do not want AI to write, co-write, guide or assist the writing of my blog posts. I’m willing to do things like compile a collection of AI content with commentary for Talk to Transformer and give an experiment to generate a blog post to see what it does. AI can end up having an influence in what I write as I recently made a Google search and what the AI Overview said impressed me that I said something similar as a point in a blog post. I just don’t want AI writing my blog posts for me or being involved in it. This blog is about my interests and it needs to be organic and sincere. This 125th blog post of mine is coming out 10.5 years after I began The S Blog.

Heartland Rock Piano

As the piano is my favourite instrument and I listen to a lot of heartland rock, I decided to write an article discussing the heartland rock piano sound. I mention the use of piano in heartland rock songs ranging from big hits to album tracks. I’ll start with the song “American Storm” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Bill’s piano contributes wonderfully to the full band sound with his playing. The piano notes go up the scale in a very heartland rock way. In their other song “The Ring”, it’s led by the piano of Silver Bullet Band keyboardist Craig Frost. Craig brings an epic feel with his playing and has two solos. The Ring fuses heartland rock with pop rock.

The Ring - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1986)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had a piano-driven hit “Don't Do Me Like That”. Keyboardist Benmont Tench gives a memorable jolly piano part. Nearly a decade later, their song “Jammin’ Me” is a different type of heartland rock song. Benmont brings rock & roll piano sounds into a heartland rock setting. I love what the piano does in the chorus. In Billy Joel’s hit “Allentown”, he leads the song greatly with his piano playing. There is a great piano riff throughout the song.

Don’t Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)

Cleveland heartland rock singer Michael Stanley had released music both with the Michael Stanley Band and solo. When keyboardist Kevin Raleigh joined the band, he was a songwriter and co-lead singer. The songs I’m featuring have two keyboardists Kevin Raleigh and Bob Pelander. They both contributed piano and I don’t know who was the piano player for each song. I wonder if Kevin played piano on the songs he wrote and Bob played the piano on the songs Michael wrote. Last Night, written by both Michael and Kevin is opened by the piano which has a majestic presence on this song. There is a section in the song where the piano notes go up and down in an epic rocking way.

Last Night - Michael Stanley Band (1979)

Promises, a Kevin Raleigh written song has the verses sung by Michael with the choruses seemingly sung by both Kevin and Michael. The piano is lively and energetic. There is a nice glissando after the first chorus. The song “Lover” has a nice piano riff which comes in following the guitar intro. The piano part isn’t the loudest, but it contributes greatly to the song’s sound. My Town is an epic rocker about Michael’s hometown. While this is a guitar-driven song, the piano provides good support including prominent notes during the choruses. How Can You Call This Love written and sung by Kevin has powerful rocking piano playing. The piano goes fast with deep notes.

How Can You Call This Love - Michael Stanley Band (1983)

Bruce Springsteen’s piano player Roy Bittan played wonderful jolly piano on Bruce’s hits “Hungry Heart” and “Glory Days’. Roy gives those songs a great upbeat feel with his playing. Singer Southside Johnny’s song “It’s Been a Long Time” has three lead vocalists with the other two being Bruce and Bruce’s E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt. Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes keyboardist Rusty Cloud provides a good musical base with his piano. Bruce Springsteen wrote, was one of the producers and his E Street Band played on the song “This Little Girl” by Gary U.S. Bonds. Roy’s piano fuses rock & roll and heartland rock sounds. He brings a similar jolly sound to what he brought to the Bruce songs I mentioned. I’ll continue mentioning other artists Roy played for.

Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen (1984)

On the Dire Straits song “Skateaway”, Roy’s piano comes about a minute into the song. Roy alternates between slow playing and fast playing. In the choruses, Roy plays in an epic way with his piano rocking in sync with the drums. Roy is driving the heartland rock sound of this song. In Dire Straits' more popular song “Romeo and Juliet” from the same album, Roy plays melodically. Roy’s strongest moments in the song have a very heartland rock feel. He backs Mark Knopfler’s guitars (which are both acoustic and electric) very well. Michael Stanley did a very good cover of this song. He’s an American heartland rock artist covering a heartland rock song by an English band going back musically to where it came from. The piano by Bob Pelander is more prominent than the original. Some people will hate what I’m about to say. I think it’s better than the original.

Skateaway - Dire Straits (1980)

Even Now is my favourite Bob Seger song. It’s one of his forgotten US hits. Roy’s piano goes up and down the scale in an incredible way. The piano matches greatly with Bob’s vocals with there being sections where Roy’s notes seem to be a musical response to what Bob sang. On “Roll Me Away”, another hit from the same album, Roy gives us majestic rocking piano. Another song Roy played for Bob is “The Fire Inside”, an epic rock song nearly six minutes long. It’s led by the piano and the fact that the guitar part is acoustic gives more room for the piano to rock. Roy’s piano is incredible and detailed which includes two solos.

The Fire Inside - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1991)

On Jackson Browne’s “Here Come Those Tears Again”, Bill Payne plays piano in a warm way. The piano gives off its heartland rock vibes in the way the notes jump from one place to another. Jackson Browne’s epic rock song “The Fuse” has Craig Doerge play incredible heartland rock piano. Craig’s piano has deep dark notes that are so effective. The piano goes very well with David Lindley’s slide guitar. I love how Jackson fuses piano and guitar in a heartland rock setting in many of his songs. Jackson’s classic song “The Pretender” has rich piano from Craig. In parts of the song, the piano shifts from one note to another. 

The Pretender - Jackson Browne (1976)

Running on Empty is a faster rock song driven more by guitar, but Craig’s piano is still a big part of the song. It has an iconic piano opening. Craig incorporates rock & roll influences while maintaining the heartland rock sound. That Girl Could Sing is a case where Jackson played piano on one of his own songs. Jackson’s piano is catchy and has both slower and faster sections. In “For America”, the piano by Jai Winding has sections going back and forth between musical notes. It also has a few short parts led by the piano. Jai’s piano holds this guitar-driven song together very well. Jackson’s lyrics are thought provoking, especially in relation to America’s current issues and 250th anniversary.

That Girl Could Sing - Jackson Browe (1980)

So far these songs by classic rock artists were in the 20th century, with most of them being in the 70s and 80s. I’ll now feature three 21st century songs from classic rock artists. In Michael Stanley’s solo song “My Brand New Day”, Bob Pelander offers amazing, rich piano playing filled with depth. Elton John did a rare case of a heartland rock song in “England and America” ten years ago. Elton showcases his brilliant piano skills by playing different to the way he normally plays where he nails the heartland rock piano sound. Bob Seger’s “Forward Into the Past” is a guitar-driven song, but it’s supported well by Bill Payne’s piano. Bill brings out prominent piano notes in parts of the song which contribute greatly to its rock sound.

My Brand New Day - Michael Stanley (2009)

Companion Articles

I’m providing links to previous articles of mine which are companion articles as they discuss some of the same songs.

Ten Great Jackson Browne Songs by Ten Different Piano Players

Russ Kunkel’s Drumming for Bob Seger

Bill Payne’s Keyboards for Bob Seger

Ten Great Rock Songs Opening Albums

Ten Great Heartland Rock Songs

Six Strong Silver Bullet Band Work for Bob Seger

These songs show the prominent place piano has in heartland rock music. I like the fact that many of them feature a piano/organ combination. They cover a wide range on the rock spectrum going from soft to hard rock. Some of them fuse heartland rock with other styles such as rock & roll and pop rock. Most of the songs are by American artists, but I did include two English artists. They are Dire Straits and Elton John who fuse English rock with American heartland rock in the songs of theirs I featured. Elton’s song is apt for this as it’s literally about England and America. Heartland rock is a genre which has some epic long rock songs like “The Pretender” and “The Fire Inside”. I’d be interested in hearing what you think of the heartland rock piano sound.

Six Strong Silver Bullet Band Work for Bob Seger

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band are a very successful band in American classic rock. In this article, I decided to feature six songs of theirs focusing on a contribution on each one from a Silver Bullet Band member. I will give my thoughts on the importance of their part/s in the song.

Robyn Robbins - Organ on Live Version of Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (1976)

Keyboardist Robyn Robbins who was in the Silver Bullet Band in the 70s provides great rock organ playing in the live version of Bob Seger’s first US hit. He improves upon the instrument’s part in the original recording. Robyn’s organ is the lead instrument and gives a good musical base for this song. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man gives a unique sound fusioning rock and soul.

David Teegarden - Double Drums on Hollywood Nights (1978)

Drummer David Teegarden plays two sets of drums on “Hollywood Nights”. This provides a powerful rock beat with it frequently having the drum effects where it sounds like it’s going up and then down. David’s drums work very well for this intense rock song which has a hard rock feel.

Bob Seger - Piano & Acoustic Guitars on Still the Same (1978)

I wanted to feature an instrumental contribution from Bob Seger himself. He’s on double duty on this ballad playing both piano and acoustic guitars. His acoustic guitars contribute to the musical texture of this song. I’m focusing specifically on his piano playing. Bob’s piano playing suits this ballad well. His piano has detail and is the song’s lead instrument. Bob gives us a nice piano solo.

Alto Reed - Saxophone on Old Time Rock & Roll (1978)

This is probably Bob Seger’s most popular song which pays tribute to 50s rock & roll music. It’s interesting as Bob recorded his vocals to the original demo of the song by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (a group of session musicians Bob worked with in the 70s & 80s). Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed recorded his solo as an overdub. Alto’s sax part has a warm and soulful feel suiting a rock & roll song. It provides a good contrast to Forrest McDonald’s guitar solo which came earlier in the song.

Drew Abbott - Lead Guitar on Feel Like a Number (1978)

For this intense rock song, I’m focusing on original guitarist Drew Abbott. I don’t know if Drew is playing all the guitars, but he is definitely playing the lead guitar. There is an intense rock guitar which matches well with the piano. The opening guitar riffs are catchy. These riffs also appear throughout the song. Drew plays a powerful guitar solo which is recognisably his style. This solo is fast and has a lot of energy. This song showcases what a great rock guitarist Drew Abbott is.

Craig Frost - Piano & Organ on The Ring (1986)

Craig Frost who joined the Silver Bullet Band as the keyboardist in 1979 plays piano & organ on this song. His piano part is prominent, but his organ part is low in the mix. The Ring has a pop rock feel. The guitar parts are acoustic, which gives the keyboards more room to rock. Craig plays a powerful melodic heartland rock piano sound which Bob Seger uses in his songs. There are two incredible piano solos. When Craig’s piano rocks in this song, it’s in sync with the drums played by session drummer Gary Mallaber.

These songs show what a great rock band Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band are. They can rock very well and also deliver strong ballads. The songs above are musically diverse, reflecting their creativity.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bob Seger & the Silver Band’s breakthrough. The Silver Bullet Band had toured with him for a few years and appeared on his albums, but it was in 1976 that they started being credited with Bob on his albums. The Silver Bullet Band haven’t made an album with Bob Seger since 1995. I would like Bob Seger to make a new album with the Silver Bullet Band again. I would want an album to have the melodic songwriting and great piano use of their 1978 album “Stranger in Town”.

Sadly, Alto Reed passed away in 2020. The only remaining band members other than Bob are Chris Campbell (bass) and Craig Frost (keyboards). I’d like to see former members Drew Abbott (guitar), David Teegarden (drums) and Robyn Robins (keyboards) come back for this. Bob Seger can produce this album with his manager Punch Andrews as they produced some of his best work in many Silver Bullet Band recordings in the 70s and 80s.

Eight Elton John Different Types of Rock Songs

I’ve noticed that Elton John has recorded rock songs in many different types of rock. Examples of these include rock & roll, soft rock, pop rock, country rock, etc. I compiled a collection of eight Elton John songs which showcase his songwriting versatility as they are different types of rock songs. In all but one of the songs featured, Elton wrote with his lyricist Bernie Taupin. I’m going to start with the opening title track from Elton’s 1969 debut album “Empty Sky”.

Progressive Rock - Empty Sky (1969)

This song starts with a catchy conga beat and Elton brings in piano notes which come in and out of the song. Following this, it becomes a full band song with strong guitar. Caleb Quaye plays both the guitar and the congas. Elton also plays an organ which can be heard in some of the song’s sections. There’s a flute and a harmonica featured in parts of the song. In going with progressive rock, there are long instrumental sections. Close to the end of the song, the instruments go quietly and Elton sings in a whispering way. The instruments come back up powerfully with Elton playing a glissando. This is an epic eight and a half minute long progressive rock song.

Rock & Roll - Crocodile Rock (1973)

This is one of Elton’s most popular songs. It was his first Number 1 hit in the US. Elton plays both piano and farfisa organ. This song features Elton’s original band of Davey Johnstone (guitar), Nigel Olsson (drums) and Dee Murray (bass). This song is the style of 50s rock & roll. Davey’s guitar parts authentically bring that sound. While Elton does rock out on his piano, he doesn’t play the traditional rock & roll piano on this song. He brings rock & roll vibes through the piano & organ combination. Crocodile Rock is a rock & roll hit that continues to be played for over 50 years and counting.

Hard Rock - Hard Luck Story (1975)

This song opens with the band playing softly and the instruments slowly get louder. This track is from the “Rock of the Westies” album. Elton’s band for that album features both Davey Johnstone and Caleb Quaye (who worked with Elton at the start of his career). The combination of the band produces good results. They include Elton’s piano, the two guitarists, Ray Cooper’s percussion and James Newton Howard’s keyboards. Elton plays incredible rock piano towards the end of this song. This is a good example of Elton doing a hard rock song.

Country Rock - Strangers (1978)

This song is the only song not written with lyricist Bernie Taupin. The lyrics are by Gary Osborne who Elton was writing with at that time. It opens with Elton’s piano. He starts singing and it soon becomes a full band sound. Elton sings very melodically and I like how he sings in a country way. There are great guitars which are featured most prominently in the choruses. I’m assuming the guitars are played by Tim Renwick as he was the main guitarist on the “A Single Man” album. This song is a B-Side recorded during that album’s sessions and ended up as a bonus track on the CD version of the album. Both the piano & the guitars reflect the musical styles of country and rock. We get a tambourine that sounds like Ray Cooper near the end of the song. Strangers has the melodic country rock sound which was common in songs of the 70s.

Soft Rock - Nikita (1985)

We’re going to something softer which matches the soft rock style. This is a big hit which is one of Elton’s great electric piano ballads. He sings in a warm and soulful way. Two popular 80s English singers appear on this song who are George Michael on backing vocals and Nik Kershaw on electric guitar. I like the sound of Nik’s understated guitar. George makes good sounds with his voice near the end of the song. Elton plays both GS piano & synth. Elton’s then keyboardist Fred Mandel also plays synth. I’m assuming the great synth solo is played by Fred. The way I consider this song as soft rock is it being a relaxing ballad with a light rock feel.

Pop Rock - Cold (1995)

This is Elton’s signature piano ballad sound. Davey adds to the song with his guitar playing. There’s an orchestral arrangement by Paul Buckmaster. Davey plays a guitar solo which matches with the orchestra. Elton sings greatly expressing the strengths of his voice. Elton closes off the song well in a rock feel with his piano notes. This is Elton doing a pop rock ballad which he excels at.

Blues Rock - The Wasteland (2001)

This song opens with people talking in the studio and they count down the song. It’s about blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson. Davey’s guitar playing is incredible. Nigel Olsson’s drumming is powerful. Elton plays a melodic piano solo. Davey supports Elton’s solo well. We have a bluesy organ which matches with the sound. I like how Elton sings “yeah, yeah” near the end of the song. In keeping with the subject matter, Elton crafted a powerful blues rock song.

Gospel Rock - I Can’t Keep This From You (2004)

The opening is led by the organ played by Elton’s late keyboardist Guy Babylon. Elton’s piano goes with Guy’s organ. The gospel feel of this song is augmented by Davey’s guitars that bring rock vibes. Elton sings very soulfully and the choir backs him very well. We get Guy's organ solo followed by Davey’s rocking guitar solo. Elton sings a backing vocal part near the end of the song that works very well. Elton creatively fused gospel and rock with this song.

This set of songs showcase the diverse types of rock songs Elton John has written and recorded. They range from soft rock ballads like “Nikita” to hard rockers like “Hard Luck Story” and give an example of Elton’s music beyond the popular hits. Elton is an iconic rock artist who contributed greatly to that style including the piano’s place in it.