Back in '72

Back in '72
Studio album by Bob Seger
Released January 1973
Recorded 1972
Paradise Studios, Tijuana, Oklahoma
Pampa Studios, Warren, Michigan
Muscle Shoals Sound, Sheffield, Alabama
Genre Rock
Length 35:10
Label Palladium/Reprise
Producer Punch Andrews, Bob Seger
Bob Seger chronology
Smokin' O.P.'s
(1972)
Back in '72
(1973)
Seven
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Back in '72 is an album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). It was the first new album on Seger's label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records and one of several early Seger albums that has never been reissued on CD.

The album contains the original studio version of "Turn the Page". A concert recording of the song from Seger's Live Bullet album in 1975 would become a staple of classic rock radio.

The song "Rosalie" was written in tribute to Rosalie Trombley, the program director of CKLW-AM in Windsor, Ontario, which was one of North America's leading Top 40 radio stations of the 1960s and '70s. The song was made more famous by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, who originally recorded it for their 1975 album Fighting; another recording, included on their live album Live and Dangerous in 1978, became a hit single in the UK in the same year.

Despite being a fan favorite by many die-hard Seger fans, and including classic live staples and radio hits such as "Neon Sky" "I've Been Working" and the original studio version of the epic live ballad "Turn the Page", this album has never been reissued and is extremely rare to find on any format, even as a bootleg. However, the Allman Brothers cover "Midnight Rider" which appears on the album was later released on Seger's compilation record Early Seger Vol. 1 in 2009. The song was remixed and remastered from the original vinyl LP version, and it was shortened by fading out at the end. The original version did not fade out but instead broke down to where Seger "scat sang" before the final beat.

In 2005, shortly after the reissue of Smokin O.P.'s, there were rumors of the album to be reissued onto a CD. Seger denied these rumors saying that he did not like the vocals on the album and probably will not release it for quite some time. This marks the album as an extremely rare and unheard of Seger gem much like 1969's Noah and 1971's acoustic solo album Brand New Morning which Seger has also often stated that he may never reissue.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bob Seger, except where noted. 

Side One
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Midnight Rider"   Gregg Allman, Robert Payne 2:45
2. "So I Wrote You a Song"     2:44
3. "Stealer"   Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers 2:55
4. "Rosalie"     3:22
5. "Turn the Page"     5:11
Side Two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Back in '72"     4:25
2. "Neon Sky"     3:35
3. "I've Been Working"   Van Morrison 4:33
4. "I've Got Time"     5:40

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1973 Pop Albums 188

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Back in '72 - Bob Seger". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r17681/review. Retrieved June 29, 2011.