Bob Seger Reissues His Live Albums with a Bullet

If you’re in the mood for that old time rock & roll, you just might be in luck!  Capitol and EMI have announced two remastered editions of classic live albums from Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.  1976’s Live Bullet and 1981’s Nine Tonight are both due in stores on May 17.

Bob Seger catapulted to national stardom in 1976 with the LP Night Moves, after a string of regional hits in the Detroit area and throughout the Midwest.  Just before that commercial breakthrough, Seger and his Silver Bullet Band were captured in their live prime at Detroit’s Cobo Arena for the 2-LP set Live Bullet.  Seger had already recorded six albums for Capitol by this point without gaining a significant national audience.  Night Moves would change all that just a few months after the release of Live Bullet.  The new, single-disc edition of the album adds one bonus track, a live take on “I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home.”  Bizarrely, the track listing supplied to retailers leaves off the album’s electric opening cut, a cover of Ike and Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits.”  Seeing as how “Nutbush” received considerable airplay and is an integral part of the LP, it’s doubtful that the song has actually been excised from the reissue, but we’ll report back as soon as more details are confirmed.  Both “Nutbush” and the bonus track should handily fit on one disc.

1981’s Nine Tonight drew on 1980 concerts at both Cobo Arena and the Boston Garden, and featured a U.S. Top 5 hit, “Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You.”  Nine Tonight features live renditions of many of Seger’s most enduring classics including “Night Moves,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Old Time Rock & Roll” and “Against the Wind.”  Previous CD incarnations of Nine Tonight have included an edited version of album closer “Let it Rock,” Seger’s cover of the Chuck Berry song, shortening it from 10:36 to 6:18.  It’s likely that this reissue may contain the same edit, as it adds one bonus track, a live version of “Brave Stranger.”

Hit the jump for pre-order links and track listings, with discographical information, for both Seger live releases.  Live Bullet and Nine Tonight will be released by Capitol on May 17.

Heavy Traffic: “The Jim Capaldi Story” Told On Upcoming Box Set

It’s time to clear a space on your shelf next to Steve Winwood’s 1995 box set The Finer Things or its 2010 counterpart Revolutions. The life and career of Winwood’s longtime collaborator Jim Capaldi (1944-2005) is being celebrated by the fine folks at Universal U.K. with a lavish new box set, Dear Mr. Fantasy: The Jim Capaldi Story. Set for release on June 27, Dear Mr. Fantasy is named after one of Traffic’s most beloved songs.  It encompasses Capaldi’s work with that group as well as early singles by The Hellions, Revolution and Deep Feeling, and of course his deep solo catalogue. Famous friends of Capaldi’s are present including Winwood, Dave Mason, Paul Kossoff, Eric Clapton and George Harrison, featured on a 2004 recording making its debut here.

Capaldi’s first group, The Hellions, initially consisted of Capaldi, Dave Mason and Gordon Jackson; they are represented on Dear Mr. Fantasy with “Daydreaming of You,” a single penned by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley. After attempting to relaunch themselves as Revolution, a disenchanted Mason departed the band; with Luther Grosvenor replacing Mason, they regrouped one final time as Deep Feeling. (One track by each incarnation of the band is included.) After disbanding Deep Feeling, Capaldi reached out to a friend he had met while on tour with The Hellions, Steve Winwood.  Free from his obligations as member of the Spencer Davis Group (“Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Keep On Running”), Winwood joined Capaldi, multi-instrumentalist Chris Wood and Mason (back on board) to form Traffic.  Capaldi wrote lyrics to Winwood’s melody for the psychedelic “Paper Sun,” Traffic’s first single in 1967. Despite a fluctuating lineup, with Mason coming and going with frequency, Traffic remained an ongoing concern through 1974, gaining fans for an intricate mix of rock and an improvisational jazz style. (The band would reform in 1993-1994 as well as in 2004 for its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. One rehearsal track from Traffic’s short set makes its first appearance here.)

Capaldi launched his solo career in 1972 with Oh How We Danced, featuring contributions from Paul Kossoff of Free. A 1975 cover version of “Love Hurts” went Top 5 in the U.K. but it wasn’t until 1982 that he cracked the lucrative American radio market with “That’s Love” from the album Fierce Heart, featuring old friend Winwood on keyboards. Capaldi continued collaborating with many artists throughout his career, including Eric Clapton (for whom he played on Rainbow Concert, a track from which is included on the new box), Carlos Santana and Squeeze’s Paul Carrack, with whom he wrote the Eagles hit “Love Will Keep Us Alive.”  An unreleased demo of “Love” should be a highlight of the new collection.

Capaldi’s final studio album, 2001’s Living on the Outside, featured Winwood, Paul Weller and George Harrison as guests. Harrison can be heard on Dear Mr. Fantasy playing guitar on “Anna Julia” as well as on one unreleased song, “Love’s Got a Hold of Me.”

Jim Capaldi passed away from stomach cancer in 2005 at the age of 60.  He will be remembered with Dear Mr. Fantasy, due from Universal U.K. and Island Records on June 27.  Hit the jump for the full press release plus a complete track listing with discographical annotation!

Second Disc Advisory: Joe Takes Over!

Hey there catalogue enthusiasts! Just a quick note that Joe’s got the reins of The Second Disc while I’m on vacation for a few days. We’ve made pretty sure that there shouldn’t be much problems in transition, so business will continue as usual – likely with less ’80s and soundtrack news, but still strong!

I’ll see everyone back here around Tuesday.