Bob kicks off his hometown live album with an incendiary take on "Nutbush City Limits" that, with a filth-soaked and bluesy sonic boom, blows clean the gutters of your mind and throws into an inspired (and possibly epileptic) frenzy, one that hearkens back to the days of Elvis and Chuck and even Little Richard. This is serious rock n roll, the kind that gets deep under your skin and grooves till your organs start to shiver. And that's just the first song on the album.
One of the great double live LPs, Live Bullet is a slab of superb and soulful Rock, one that should be in every single record collection and CD case. Here, Bob's breed of gritty working man's music on display in all its ragged glory, complete with down-and-out-but-not-beaten vocals. On top of that, Seger is backed by one of the best band in the business. The Silver Bullet Band is an ideal compliment to Seger, a team of superb musicians that fit Seger's music like a glove. Check out the skintight groove of "U.M.C.," with it's shimmering organs, elastic guitars, and rumbling drums. On keys, Robyn Robbins lends an airy and majestic tone to "Beautiful Loser," while horn man Alto Reed positively smokes on "Bo Diddley," which is itself a great showcase for the band. Chris Campbell gets off a thick, funky bass groove, driven home by some pile driving drum work (hats off to drummer Charlie Allen Martin).
Armed with an amazing backing group and some excellent songs, Seger rips through the show with the finesse of a rocker who knows exactly what he's doing. Witness "Traveling Man," which transforms from soulful ballad to blistering rocker before smashing headlong into a gorgeous take on "Beautiful Loser." A take on Van Morrison's "I've Been Working" boogies and grinds, while "Turn The Page," punctuated by unspeakably lonely horn work and creeping, understated guitars, is just plain great. Bob's vocals are deep and multi-faced, his lyrics at a near naked level of honesty as he meditates on being on the road and playing his music: "Out there in the spotlight you're a million miles away/ Every ounce of energy/ you try and give away/ as the sweat pours out your body/ like the music that you play/ Later in the evening as you lie awake in bed/ with the echoes from the amplifiers/ ringing in your head/ you smoke the day's last cigarette/ remembering what she said."
Live Bullet really kicks into high gear in its last six songs. Kicking off with the anthemic, stomping "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," there's enough purebred, meaty rock n roll here to last you a lifetime. Bob teaches the audience to rock on a downright therapeutic "Heavy Music," while "Katmandu" raves with a greasy abandon comparable to "Johnny B. Goode" or "Hound Dog." It even has a guitar break that would've made Chuck Berry himself proud! And speaking of the King, Live Bullet closes with a take on "Let It Rock" that finishes things off in the same way they began: With a hunk of sweaty, brain-rattling, foot-stomping, blood-soaked, honest, pure and simple Rock n Roll. Things only get better as Bob and the boys slip into a third-person narration of "Little Queenie." There's a change in the lyrics that makes things a bit creepy, but the instrumental break that follows soon after more than makes up for it. The "Shake baby Shake" chant is icing on the cake. If you wanna hear real, balls-to-the-wall rock n roll music, look no further than Live Bullet. A criminally underrated masterpiece.

One of the legends surrounding this album is that Capitol was going to drop Seger if it wasn't a hit, so this represented his last shot at the big time. I'm not from Detroit, so I don't know if that's true, but in thirty years of hearing concert recordings I've never heard the kind of effort and emotion Seger put into this record from any performer, especially the legendary "side 3", the linked versions of "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man", "Heavy Music" and "Katmandu". Without a doubt the greatest live rock & roll record of all time!

One of the legends surrounding this album is that Capitol was going to drop Seger if it wasn't a hit, so this represented his last shot at the big time. I'm not from Detroit, so I don't know if that's true, but in thirty years of hearing concert recordings I've never heard the kind of effort and emotion Seger put into this record from any performer. Without a doubt the greatest live rock & roll record of all time!