Listen: Ramblin' Gamblin' Man / Bob Seger System BobSegerRamblin.mp3
In ’68 this bordered on garage rock. Caught my ear the very first time it came on the air. I forever associate it with The Choir’s ‘It’s Cold Outside’, a terrific single despite it’s overflowing power pop sweetness. Probably Bob Seger’s finest moment. Mind you, this is coming from someone who never listened beyond to his other work, except when he got real traction years later and his stuff couldn’t be avoided. I would always cut him a break though, his heart seemed in the right place and despite his appearance, it appeared he loved to ‘rock’.
I was equally impressed when he showed a true card: even he wanted to be like The Cramps. His ‘Old Time Rock And Roll’ is the perfect corporate rock, cleaned up, MTV friendly version of the pure primal blueprint: The Cramps ‘God Damn Rock And Roll’. What a compliment. He got film usage, mainstream American ‘Rock’ radio play and a license to print arena tickets out of it – while The Cramps resided happily in the tunnels beneath hell. Yet another example of Lux Interior’s lyrical genius:
Jill’s bucket Jack had to hold,
Humpty dunked it ’til it done explode,
Even before Van Gogh had art
Adam & Eve did it in the park
They did that Goddamn Rock n Roll
The kind of stuff that don’t save souls
Ain’t nothin’ good about it that I know
I dig that Goddamn Rock n Roll
(lyrics reprinted without permission)
Listen: Goddamn Rock And Roll / The Cramps CrampsGodDamn.mp3