| I Knew You When | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 17, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 40:48 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Bob Seger | |||
| Bob Seger chronology | ||||
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| Deluxe edition cover | ||||
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| Singles from I Knew You When | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 61/100 [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| CountryMusicNews.de | [3] |
| Slant Magazine | [4] |
I Knew You When is the eighteenth and final studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was released on November 17,2017. [5]
The album was recorded in Nashville and Detroit and produced by Seger himself. [6] The first song that became available from the album was "Glenn Song",which was written by Seger as a tribute to his friend Glenn Frey of the Eagles,who had died one year before. On January 18,2017—eight months before the album was announced—Seger released "Glenn Song" for free on his official website. The song recounts his long friendship with Frey that began in 1966. [7]
When the album's track listing was revealed on October 13,2017,"Glenn Song" was listed as one of three bonus tracks that can be found on the deluxe edition of I Knew You When. Along with the track listing,the album covers of both the 10-track standard edition and the 13-track deluxe edition were revealed as well,and the album became available for pre-order the same day. [8] The standard edition is available on CD and 130-gram vinyl,while the deluxe edition is available on CD,as a digital download,and via select streaming services. [9]
Along with the announcement of I Knew You When on September 22,2017,a cover version of Lou Reed's "Busload of Faith" was released as the first single taken from the album. The song was originally released by Reed on his 1989 album New York . Seger recorded his version of the song at a studio session in Nashville during May 2017 and premiered it with his Silver Bullet Band at a concert in Cincinnati on September 21,2017,as part of his Runaway Train tour. [5] Besides Reed's "Busload of Faith",Seger included another cover song in the album,namely "Democracy",which was written by Leonard Cohen and originally released on his 1992 album The Future . [8]
A number of Seger's own compositions for the album were written and originally recorded many years or even decades ago but remained unreleased at the time. The oldest one is the uptempo rock song "Runaway Train",which was first recorded in 1993 for Seger's fifteenth studio album,1995's It's a Mystery . [10] [11] The upbeat "Blue Ridge",which has been compared to Seger's "Sightseeing" from 1991's The Fire Inside ,and the album's title track,"I Knew You When",both date back to 1997 and were potential candidates for Seger's 2006 album Face the Promise . [10] [12] The anthem-like "Forward into the Past",a song in the vein of Seger's "American Storm" or "Even Now",is from 1999 and was once to be the title track of his sixteenth studio album,while the ballad "Something More" is from 2001. [10] [11] [12] The two tracks "I'll Remember You" and "The Sea Inside",the latter of which Seger described as "very Led Zeppelin",were mentioned in interviews with Seger as early as 2011. They were to be included on his then upcoming seventeenth studio album,2014's Ride Out ,but ultimately did not make it onto the album. [13] [14]
Initially,the November 17 release date of I Knew You When would have marked the last day of the Runaway Train tour—named after the song of the same name from the album—that began on August 24,2017,but Seger had to postpone all concert dates starting September 30 due to "an urgent medical issue with his vertebrae". Of the 32 scheduled tour dates,Seger could complete 13 and had to postpone 19. [15]
All tracks are written by Bob Seger, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gracile" | 2:48 | |
| 2. | "Busload of Faith" | Lou Reed | 4:32 |
| 3. | "The Highway" | 3:38 | |
| 4. | "I Knew You When" | 3:53 | |
| 5. | "I'll Remember You" | 3:48 | |
| 6. | "The Sea Inside" | 4:14 | |
| 7. | "Marie" | 3:26 | |
| 8. | "Runaway Train" | Craig Frost, Tim Mitchell, Bob Seger | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Something More" | 3:47 | |
| 10. | "Democracy" | Leonard Cohen | 6:32 |
| Total length: | 40:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Forward into the Past" | Mark Chatfield, Frost, Seger | 4:12 |
| 12. | "Blue Ridge" | 3:50 | |
| 13. | "Glenn Song" | 2:49 | |
| Total length: | 51:39 | ||
Weekly charts
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Robert Clark Seger is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1969. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet (1976), recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.
Glenn Lewis Frey was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with whom he wrote most of the Eagles' material. Frey played guitar and keyboards as well as singing lead vocals on songs such as "Take It Easy", "Peaceful Easy Feeling", "Tequila Sunrise", "Already Gone", "James Dean", "Lyin' Eyes", "New Kid in Town", and "Heartache Tonight".
Ramblin' Gamblin' Man is the first studio album by American rock band the Bob Seger System, released in 1969. The original title was Tales of Lucy Blue, hence the cover art. In the liner notes, Bob Seger says (sarcastically) he later realized Lucy Blue was "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man", and so changed the title of the album. He then thanks "Doctor Fine" for this realization. The original cover design for the album featured the nude figure from Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, but this too was changed for the final release.
The Distance is the twelfth studio album by US-American rock singer Bob Seger. It was released in the final week of 1982. It peaked at #5 on Billboard's album chart and sold close to two million copies in the United States.
Like a Rock is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1986. The title track is best known for being featured in Chevrolet truck commercials throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
"I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album The Long Run. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song finished for the album and the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals. Released as a single in February 1980, it became a Billboard top 10 hit in April, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the group's last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Desperado" is a soft rock ballad by the American rock band the Eagles. The track was written by Glenn Frey and Don Henley, and appeared on the 1973 album Desperado as well as numerous compilation albums. Although it was never released as a single, it became one of Eagles' best-known songs. It ranked No. 494 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Night Moves" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was the lead single from his ninth studio album of the same name (1976), which was released on Capitol Records. Seger wrote the song as a coming of age tale about adolescent love and adult memory of it. It was based on Seger's own teenage love affair he experienced in the early 1960s. It took him six months to write and was recorded quickly at Nimbus Nine Studios in Toronto, Ontario, with producer Jack Richardson. As much of Seger's Silver Bullet Band had returned home by this point, the song was recorded with several local session musicians.
"Turn the Page" is a song originally recorded by Bob Seger in 1971 and released on his Back in '72 album in 1973. It was not released as a single until Seger's live version of the song on the 1976 Live Bullet album got released in Germany and the UK. The song became a mainstay of album-oriented rock radio stations, and still gets significant airplay on classic rock stations.
"Against the Wind" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Bob Seger for his eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the second single from the album in April 1980 through Capitol Records. Seger recorded the ballad during a two-year process that begat his eleventh album; it was recorded with producer Bill Szymczyk at Criteria Studios in north Miami, Florida. Sonically, "Against the Wind" is a mid-tempo soft rock tune with piano backing. It was recorded with Seger's Silver Bullet Band, and features backing vocals from Eagles co-frontman Glenn Frey.
"Fire Lake" is a song written and recorded by the American musical artist Bob Seger. He had planned to record "Fire Lake" for his 1975 album Beautiful Loser, but the track was not finished. The song had been partly written years before, in 1971, and was finally finished in 1979 and released in 1980 on Seger's album Against the Wind. The single reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. A live version of the song appeared on the album Nine Tonight, released in 1981.
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics by Bob Seger. It was recorded by Seger for his tenth studio album Stranger in Town. It was also released as a single in 1979. It is a sentimentalized look back at the music of the original rock 'n' roll era and has often been referenced as Seger's favorite song. The song gained renewed popularity after being featured in the 1983 film Risky Business. It has since become a standard in popular music and was ranked number two on the Amusement & Music Operators Association's survey of the Top 40 Jukebox Singles of All Time in 1996. It was also listed as one of the Songs of the Century in 2001 and ranked No. 100 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs poll in 2004 of the top songs in American cinema.
"Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album The Long Run and released as a single in 1979. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America representing one million copies sold. It was the Eagles' final chart-topping song on the Hot 100.
"Shame on the Moon" is a song written by Rodney Crowell and first recorded in 1981. It was covered by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band as the lead single from their 1982 album The Distance.
"Take It Easy" is the debut single by the American rock band Eagles, written by Jackson Browne and Eagles band member Glenn Frey, who also provides lead vocals. It was released on May 1, 1972, and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 22, 1972. It was also the opening track of the band's eponymous debut album and has become one of their signature songs, included on all of their live and compilation albums. It is listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The discography of Bob Seger, an American rock artist, includes 18 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums and more than 60 singles. Bob Seger's albums have sold over 50 million copies and received seven multi-platinum, four Platinum and two Gold certifications by the RIAA.
Early Seger Vol. 1 is a compilation album by American rock singer–songwriter Bob Seger, released in 2009. The album, which includes archival material from the 1970s and 1980s, was released exclusively to Meijer stores on November 24, 2009. Since November 30, 2009, it has also been available for purchase at BobSeger.com, both on CD and as a digital download. Eventually Early Seger Vol. 1 became available at Amazon.com on February 1, 2010. "Gets Ya Pumpin" and "Midnight Rider" are the first two singles from the album.
History of the Eagles is a 2013 two-part authorized documentary about the career of the American rock group the Eagles, directed by Alison Ellwood and co-produced by Alex Gibney. After screening at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January, it aired on Showtime in February, and was released in April on DVD and Blu-ray with a third disc containing eight songs from the band's performance at the Capital Centre in March 1977. A concert tour of the same name took place from 2013 to 2015, visiting North America, Europe, and Oceania.
Ride Out is the seventeenth studio album by American rock singer–songwriter Bob Seger. The album was released on October 14, 2014.
"Even Now" is a song written by Bob Seger that was first released on his 1982 album The Distance. It was also released as a single, backed with "Little Victories," and reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
