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.

The Power of Bob Seger's Singing

Bob Seger is an iconic American rock singer. He has a deep, powerful voice which can be intense & aggressive on rock songs and gentle & soft on ballads. In this article, I’ll be giving my thoughts on the power of Bob Seger’s singing referring to some of his songs. The YouTube official audio will be embedded for five of these songs discussed further down.

In his popular song “Old Time Rock & Roll”, he gives a real rock singing voice. He almost shouts while maintaining a melodic voice. He sings gently and intimately on “We’ve Got Tonight”. At the halfway point during the bridge, he suddenly changes his singing into an aggressive style which is very effective. Following the bridge, he goes back into the gentle, intimate singing. In “Katmandu” he sings so loud and does the creative stuttering “K-K-K-K-Katmandu” throughout the song.

In the heartland rocker “Even Now”, he sings so soulfully. I like how he sings both the lead and backing vocals in the chorus which would have been achieved by overdubbing. In this song, he creatively extends the words “now” and “somehow”. In the second verse, there is a good back and forth between his powerful singing and Roy Bittan’s piano notes. He closes out the song with good vocalising and saying the title.

I’ll now talk about a few of Bob’s later songs recorded in the 21st century. In his 2003 blues song “Satisfied” released in his late 50s, you can tell he’s much older than his prime, but he still sings powerfully. The lyrics “I can still snarl with the best” seems to have a double meaning that he can still sing his heart out. He sings that line so intensely. In the rock ballad “I’ll Remember You” recorded in the early 2010s and released on his last album “I Knew You When” in 2017, he sings so passionately. His singing on this track is so impressive for his senior age.

Bob often gives good vocal interjections during an instrumental section like a guitar solo or a piano solo. This could be saying something, singing the song title, ad-libbed lyrics or non-lyrical sounds. Examples of this are saying “hey” in the middle of Rick Vito’s first “Like A Rock” slide guitar solo & singing a vocal effect in the middle of the second solo, singing “ooooo” just before Pete Carr’s guitar solo in “Mainstreet”, saying “oh yeah” in Steve Nathan’s first piano solo in “Satisfied” & singing it with some vocal effects in the second piano solo.

Katmandu (1975)

Old Time Rock & Roll (1978)

We’ve Got Tonight (1978)

Satisfied (2003) 

I’ll Remember You (2017)

These are my thoughts on the powerful singing of Bob Seger. He is an expressive singer who made a great contribution to rock music. I consider him to be one of the world’s best singers.

The Original Version of Old Time Rock & Roll

Bob Seger’s song “Old Time Rock & Roll” is one of his most popular songs. The song was written by songwriters George Jackson and Thomas Earl Jones III. The song was pitched to Bob Seger by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of Alabama session musicians that Bob Seger recorded with in the 1970s and 80s. Bob Seger re-wrote the lyrics, but didn’t ask for credit (which he regrets) so he isn’t credited. George Jackson’s demo of “Old Time Rock & Roll” appeared on the compilation album “All Because of Your Love”. I’ll be embedding the official audio of George Jackson’s version followed by Bob Seger’s version. 

George Jackson’s Original Version

Bob Seger’s Version

George Jackson’s demo opens with the piano intro that’s played only once. Bob Seger has the intro played twice. According to Jimmy Johnson of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who was mixing the demo that was handed to Bob Seger, he made a mistake mixing the song featuring the piano intro played twice which is how it ended up that way in Bob Seger’s version. The lyrics of the first verse are similar with some changes. George is singing about how his girlfriend likes old time rock & roll, unlike Bob who sings that he likes old time rock & roll. The differences in the first verse and chorus are based on the girlfriend. There’s a contrast in how George sings about when he takes his girlfriend to a disco and Bob’s singing saying not to try taking him to one.

The second verse is completely different. I remember Bob Seger mentioning in an interview that the original lyrics referred to Little Richard & Jerry Lee Lewis and you hear references to them here. There is a more intense guitar part in this version including two guitar solos. The second guitar solo seems to be accompanied by the same piano notes that accompany Alto Reed’s saxophone solo in Bob’s version. The backing vocals are the same as the ones backing Bob. Interestingly, George Jackson is one of the backing vocalists on Bob Seger’s version. I would imagine that George is also one of the backing vocalists on his version. 

I enjoy listening to George Jackson’s demo of “Old Time Rock & Roll”. It’s good to hear what the song was originally like which shows the changes that Bob Seger made. It’s fun to hear how different the original version of a song you love is. Bob Seger improved the lyrics which flow better and fit more naturally to the melody. Bob singing praise for rock & roll from his perspective sounds more organic than George singing praise for rock & roll from his girlfriend’s perspective. Comparing the two, Bob’s version is better produced. He sings with such power and passion. I like the fact that Bob’s version is longer. He features a production choice not in the original demo where he sings the chorus accompanied with only drums and backing vocals. Bob got his Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed to record an overdubbed solo in place of the demo’s second guitar solo.

For my article about the making of Bob Seger’s “Stranger in Town” album that featured this song, bassist David Hood said ““Old Time Rock & Roll” was recorded for our publishing company demo with the writer, George Jackson singing the original version. George didn’t have a traditional “rock” voice so we overdubbed a young white singer named Dennis Gulley on the track to give Bob the right idea about finishing the recording.” As Bob’s attempts to record the song with both the Silver Bullet Band and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section wasn’t working, he ended up using the demo as his version of the song and recorded his voice over it. 

I am not so sure that George Jackson’s demo which is embedded in this post is the same demo that Bob Seger used as most of the guitar parts sound so different. Jimmy Johnson says that the song was slowed down and says that the part in the song where Bob sings with the drums and backing vocals was achieved by muting the other instruments. This does explain some of the differences between George Jackson and Bob Seger’s versions including its speed and length, but they don’t feel like the same recording. My theory is that George Jackson’s version released is an alternate take of the song to the demo that Bob Seger used. As Bob Seger and his manager Punch Andrews bought the demo, I suspect that those compiling George Jackson songs for the album “All Because of Your Love”, would have only had access to alternate takes of George Jackson's “Old Time Rock & Roll”.

Old Time Rock & Roll is one of the most iconic rock & roll songs in the history of music. George Jackson and Thomas Earl Jones III made a great contribution to music with this song. They are a big part of the popularity and success of Bob Seger. I’m pleased to hear that George Jackson considers “Old Time Rock & Roll” as his favourite song he’s written. If you enjoyed this post, you might like my post “Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock & Roll Live” where I embed the official video of Bob Seger performing “Old Time Rock & Roll” at his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction 18 years ago in March 2004 and give my thoughts on it. 

Bob Seger GIFs

Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com

GIFs are video images which are popular online. I decided to write a blog post featuring GIFs of American rock singer Bob Seger whom I’m a fan of. They come from his official profile on the site GIPHY. I’m dividing the GIFs into three sections which are Studio, Hits and Live & Beyond where I give my thoughts on them. 

Studio

Beautiful Loser - 1975

via GIPHY

This album came out a year before Bob Seger became a rock star. Its most famous songs are the title track, “Katmandu” and “Travelin’ Man”. It’s cool how this GIF has a white flash through Bob Seger’s name and the atmospheric colour effects in the background. Bob has an unusual posh look in this picture with his top hat, cane and costume. He looks like Doctor Strange which is fitting as the 2016 “Doctor Strange” film referenced the “Katmandu” song with this album mentioned.

Night Moves - 1976

via GIPHY

This album came out during the time that Bob Seger made it big. This is his first album credited with the Silver Bullet Band. My favourite songs from it are “Mainstreet” and “Sunspot Baby”. Mainstreet is a rock ballad featuring an incredible guitar part. Sunspot Baby is a piano and guitar driven rock song using those two instruments very well. It’s fitting that the sun’s brightness is one of the effects of this GIF due to the album’s two songs “Sunspot Baby” and “Sunburst”. Sunburst has the unique combination of alternating between a soft rock piano ballad and an intense hard rock song.

Stranger in Town - 1978

via GIPHY

This album has Bob Seger’s hit songs “Old Time Rock & Roll”, “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Still The Same” and “Hollywood Nights”. It’s the first Bob Seger album I listened to and I consider it to be his best album. This GIF has text effects like the previous two, but it’s unique as the album’s title appears and disappears giving the effect of it being handwritten by Bob himself. It’s cool to see the Los Angeles lights go off and on in the background. 

Against the Wind - 1980

via GIPHY

This is Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind” album which is his only number 1 album in the US. Its title track is one his most famous songs with it having the other hit songs “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” and “Fire Lake”.

Hits 

Greatest Hits - 1994

via GIPHY

Bob Seger’s “Greatest Hits” album is his most successful album. This is the first album GIF to feature both the artist & the album’s name text appear and disappear. 

Ultimate Hits - 2011

via GIPHY

Bob Seger’s “Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets” album came out ten years ago and was his first 2-disc CD hits album. This GIF has interesting flashing lights and there are subtle effects with the blue light and steam. I like the fact that this album is the first Bob Seger compilation album to feature his first hit song “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” from 1968 and his version of “Little Drummer Boy” from 1987.

Live & Beyond

Nine Tonight - 1981

via GIPHY

This is the 1981 live album “Nine Tonight”. The lighting effects on this GIF are so cool. One song on this album that stands out to me is “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” which has a more energetic piano part than the studio version. The 2011 Remaster features the bonus track “Brave Strangers” where Bob plays rock piano. He rarely does this and I’d like to see him do it more. 

Roll Me Away - 1982

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

These GIFS are taken from a live performance of “Roll Me Away”. This live performance was featured in the song’s music video which was produced and remained unreleased until last year on Bob Seger’s YouTube channel. Roll Me Away has incredible rock piano by Roy Bittan.

Like a Rock -1986

via GIPHY

As I featured the “Roll Me Away” music video GIF, I’m including one from the “Like a Rock” music video. Like a Rock comes from the album of the same name and the album cover for “Ultimate Hits” seen above was taken during the filming of this music video. I love the slide guitar playing by Rick Vito on this song. Interestingly, the GIFs of the last two songs come off the two albums that followed “Against The Wind”. 

So this was a fun way to look at the music of Bob Seger. I hope you enjoyed the GIFs. Feel free to say which GIF is your favourite.

Elton John & Billy Joel's Rocking Rivers of Gospel

In the 1990s, there were two similar songs dealing with rivers in the gospel rock style. One song was from America and the other was from England. They were by popular piano playing singers Billy Joel & Elton John. They both came out in significant periods of their careers as in Billy’s case “The River Of Dreams” was the title track of his last studio album of popular music and in Elton’s case his song “If The River Can Bend” came out shortly after his releasing the most popular worldwide single “Candle In The Wind 1997” for Princess Diana. That single was paired as a double A-side with “Something About The Way You Look Tonight”. If The River Can Bend comes from the album “The Big Picture” that features “Something About The Way You Look Tonight”. I recently featured Billy’s song in my article “Ten Great Non-Relationship Rock Songs by Ten Different Singers”. I’m embedding the official YouTube audio of the songs below and will discuss and compare them. 

Billy Joel - The River Of Dreams (1993)

Elton John - If The River Can Bend (1997)

The River Of Dreams opens with percussion, but soon a common opening forms with “If The River Can Bend” once the keyboards come in. Both songs’ opening features them singing sounds alongside keyboards and percussion with Billy going “ooohhoo ahahhhaa ...” and Elton going “oh oh …”. They both bring in their piano following this. Just after the middle section of each song, there is a rocking piano solo. Both feature a gospel choir. The protagonists of both songs have things they don’t know, such as where their destination is going.

I’ll now go into some of the differences. The River Of Dreams was a hit song, whereas “If The River Can Bend”, released as a single, was not a hit song. It did reach a modest Number 32 in Elton’s native UK. Elton’s song seems to relate to a relationship or friendship unlike Billy’s song. Billy sings about “searching for something” and Elton sings about finding someone waiting “if the river can bend”. The River Of Dreams obviously deals with dreams unlike “If The River Can Bend”. If The River Can Bend has an orchestra. While the guitar parts are similar on both songs, they are more prominent in Elton’s song, especially towards the end. A well-known difference is the songwriting of each singer as Billy writes both the music and lyrics while Elton writes the music with lyrics by a lyricist who for this song is his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. 

As I Christian, I find the gospel music and themes in these songs interesting. Unlike Elton John, Billy Joel makes some clear Christian references in his song. As Bob Seger is one of the topics I write about on this blog, I like the fact that Billy sometimes plays part of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll” in the middle of “The River Of Dreams” in his concerts. Infact, my previous blog post was about “Old Time Rock & Roll”. I was pleased to find out that Elton & Billy sang “Old Time Rock & Roll” together in their show on the 13th of October 2002 in Uniondale, New York. Similarly, it’s interesting to note that for Elton John & Billy Joel’s 1998 European tour, each singer performed their river song in their solo setlist. It was unfortunately only a few shows with Billy Joel in Europe due to Billy’s illness.

This is a similarity between Elton John and Billy Joel which I don’t believe has been mentioned before. Feel free to give your thoughts on these songs. I’d be interested in hearing people’s thoughts on the song meanings of these two river songs. I hope to write about other similar songs in the future.

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.

Elton John & Bob Seger Live in Concert

Elton John & Bob Seger are my two favourite singers and I see similarities in their music. I

would love to see them performing together, so I decided to write an article imagining them

performing together in concert featuring songs by both singers. I envision a mix of supporting

musicians that work with each singer as the backing band. It would comprise Bob’s backing band the

Silver Bullet Band: Chris Campbell (bass, backing vocals), Alto Reed (saxophone, percussion,

guitar) & Craig Frost (organ, keyboards) and Elton’s original band members Davey Johnstone

(guitar, backing vocals) & Nigel Olsson (drums, backing vocals) who are part of his current

band. The current line-up of Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band is only these three members, as his

other backing musicians don’t appear to be official members. Elton would of course play piano and

Bob would play guitar, piano & tambourine. When Bob plays piano, he would play a second

piano in addition to Elton’s piano. I did in fact envision Elton & Bob perform with this backing

band in my previous blog post “Toto Tribute Album” imagining them performing a duet of “Rosanna”.

I gave an equal amount of songs that belong to each singer. I’m aware that there are some major

hits belonging to both of them not included here. The way I determined this list is by focusing on

songs of theirs I like looking mostly from their hit songs and thinking of ones which sound good in

collaboration. I’m including some of their hit songs that they haven’t played in concert for a while,

and there are also a few of their album tracks. I’ll now list how I see their songs played together.

Crocodile Rock (1973)

This is one of Elton’s biggest hits. It’s influenced by 50s rock & roll music, which was a big

influence on both singers. The song has a prominent farfisa organ sound on the original. In this

version, replace that organ sound with the one that Bob uses to be played by Craig and have Alto

play saxophone (an instrument not featured on the original recording).

Old Time Rock & Roll (1978)

This is Bob Seger’s signature song. It’s included after “Crocodile Rock” as the two songs are a bit

similar. Have Bob play electric guitar on this, with Davey playing lead. Have an added organ part by

Craig on this.

Candle in the Wind (1973)

Bob would play acoustic guitar and Davey would play electric guitar. This version would have the

added organ played by Craig. Alto would play percussion. Have Elton sing the first verse &

chorus, Bob sing the second verse and chorus and they’d share lines of the third verse with the third

chorus sung together.  

Mainstreet (1976)

This song is placed after “Candle in the Wind” due to the similarity it has to that song. The studio

version has this brilliant electric guitar riff played throughout that’s replaced with Alto’s saxophone in

live versions. Bring back the electric guitar riff for this version to be played by Davey and have Bob

on acoustic guitar. Have Alto on percussion.

Rocket Man (1972)

Have Bob play acoustic guitar and Davey play slide guitar. Craig would play the synth parts from the

original on keyboards. Alto would play percussion.

Hollywood Nights (1978)

Have Bob on electric guitar. The piano parts on the studio version starts in the middle of the first

verse, with it starting from the beginning in Bob’s live versions. Have the piano start from the

beginning on this version. Elton would keep most the special piano moments in the song while

putting his unique spin on them and adding a few of his own piano parts. The piano would be more

prominent on this version. The section at the end of the song has the backing vocalists singing

“Hollywood Nights, Hollywood Hills, Above All The Lights” with Bob responding to them. Have Elton

sing the backing vocalists part at the end in full lead vocal (without any contributions from the

backing vocalists onstage) with Bob’s part at the end being the same.

I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (1983)

Have Bob play the harmonica solo that was played by Stevie Wonder on the original version. Alto

would play percussion.

I Can’t Save You Angelene (1995)

I included this song after Elton’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” as it’s similar to that

one. I think this song sounds a lot like Elton John. I pointed it out in my previous blog post “Ten Great

Bob Seger Songs By Ten Different Piano Players” including its similarity to the previous song. Part of

it is the fact that Bob played piano on the original recording. Thus have Bob and Elton play piano

together on this version. Have added organ by Craig. Alto would play percussion.

Philadelphia Freedom (1975)

Alto would play the added sax. There would be no strings on this version. Craig would play added

organ.

Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (1974)

This is placed before “We’ve Got Tonight” due to the two songs’ similarities. Elton and Bob would

again both play piano. They would use the George Michael duet version vocal arrangement, where

Bob would sing George’s lines and Elton would sing his lines from that version. Alto would play

saxophone as there were horns on the original. Craig would play organ on this version.

We’ve Got Tonight (1978)

Elton and Bob would both play piano on this. Bob would sing the first verse and chorus, the bridge

& the fourth chorus and Elton would sing the second verse & chorus. Elton and Bob would sing

the third and last chorus together. Alto would play percussion. This version would rock more than the

original as after the line “still here we are” the string parts would be played as a rock guitar part by

Davey.

Sunspot Baby (1976)

There would be the additional organ by Craig. Alto would play percussion. Following the last guitar

solo have an extended jam where Elton would incorporate a piano solo.

Island Girl (1975)

Bob would play acoustic guitar. The original has the electric guitar parts only in certain sections of

the song. In this version, have the electric guitar throughout the whole song. Alto would play the

added saxophone. Craig would play its mellotron and synthesizer parts on the keyboard including

the mellotron solo. Davey would play some rocking guitar riffs in the mellotron solo.

Still The Same (1978)

Elton and Bob would both play piano, as Bob played piano on the original version. Alto would play

acoustic guitar alongside Davey.

Love’s The Last To Know (1982)

This is included as Elton’s guitarist Davey played acoustic guitar on the original track. Craig and

Chris were also on the original recording. Alto would play percussion.

Honky Cat (1972)

Alto would play sax as there were horns on the original. The original’s stringed instrument was a

banjo played by Davey. Davey would still play that, but there would be the addition of electric guitar

on this version played by Bob. Have Craig play electric piano sounds on the keyboard as Elton also

played electric piano on the original.

Healing Hands (1989)

This is my favourite Elton John which he unfortunately no longer plays in concert. Craig would play

organ instead of the keyboard sounds on the original. Alto would play percussion.

Even Now (1982)

I thought it would be good to follow my favourite Elton John song with my favourite Bob Seger song,

which Bob too no longer plays in concert. In the original recording, Bob sings both backing and lead

vocals in the chorus. It’s not possible to sing both in a live context, so have Elton sing the backing

vocal lines in full lead vocal (without any of the backing vocalists on stage contributing). Bob would

sing his lead vocal part in the chorus like how he did on the studio version. Bob would also play

tambourine. Elton would also sing the second verse. This song has a brilliant piano part in it by Roy

Bittan. It’s different to Elton’s style, and Elton should both stay close the original part and add his

own spin on it.

England & America (2016)

This song is from the Deluxe Edition of Elton’s most recent studio album “Wonderful Crazy Night”. It

follows “Even Now” as it has musical similarities to it. Also, “Even Now” is from the 80s and “England

& America” has a real 80s rock sound. This song also sounds different to Elton’s usual style,

where it actually sounds more like a Bob Seger song than an Elton John song. Bob would play

electric guitar as this is a harder rocking song. Alto would play percussion.

Against The Wind (1980)

The backing harmony vocals in the studio version are sung by Bob Seger & late Eagle Glenn

Frey. Have Elton sing the backing vocal parts at the end solely by himself, and of course sing part of

the lead vocals with Bob. Bob would play acoustic guitar and Davey would play electric guitar. Alto

would play percussion.

Club at the End of the Street (1989)

Have Elton play acoustic piano (unlike the electric piano of the original recording) like how he did on

his 2000 concert/DVD One Night Only. Alto would play saxophone as there was one on the original.

I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That (1988)

Craig would replace the synth parts on the original with new keyboard parts on the organ. Alto would

play percussion.

The Fire Inside (1991)

This song is chosen to follow “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” as both songs are a bit

similar, from the same period and feature good rock piano parts. Also, both songs are rock songs

whose guitar part is acoustic and not electric. This song has fabulous piano work on the original that

was played by Roy Bittan. It would give Elton a great opportunity to showcase his piano playing skills

and be a challenge to play something that’s outside of his normal style & a rock piano piece

even more complicated than his normal work. Elton would both stay close to Roy’s original piano

part and add his own spin on it. Alto would play percussion.

Fire Lake (1980)

This is going from one Bob Seger “Fire” song to another, but it’s much slower than the previous one

as it’s a ballad. Have Bob on acoustic guitar and Davey on electric guitar. Alto would play percussion.

The Encores

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting (1973)

In the intro Craig would play the added organ alongside the guitars before Elton’s piano comes in.

Bob would play electric guitar. Alto would play added sax.

Rock & Roll Never Forgets (1976)

This song is included after “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” as it sounds similar to it. It’s

chosen to conclude the show as Bob has been ending his concerts with it.

I hope you enjoyed my selection of songs Elton John and Bob Seger could perform together in a

hypothetical concert. It’s fitting as the concert opens with an Elton John song and closes with a Bob

Seger song. I’d be interested if you have any songs of theirs that you’d like to see them perform

together. Feel free to comment with those ideas. I think these two singers fit well together and am

sure this band would be performing great songs together.