Bob Seger Raids Vaults For 'Early Seger' Set

Bob Seger is raiding his vaults for a 10-song set dubbed "Early Seger, Vol. 1" that will be released Nov. 24 exclusively via Meijers stores in the Midwest before becoming available on Seger's official web site three days later.

Highlights of the collection are four unreleased tracks, three of which -- "Star Tonight," "Wildfire" and "Days When the Rain Would Come" -- were written during the early '80s; "Star Tonight" was recorded by Don Johnson for his "Heartbeat" album in 1986. "Gets Ya Pumpin'," meanwhile, began life as a song called "Pumpin' " originally for Seger's "Seven" album in 1973 and was recorded again in 1977 before being revisited for "Early Seger." In all cases Seger enhanced the original tapes with fresh vocals, horns and/or other new instrumentation recorded during September at Kid Rock's studio in suburban Detroit.

Seger also did some extensive re-recording on "Long Song Comin' " from the "Seven" album, while the set's other five songs -- a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" and Seger's own "Someday" from 1972's "Smokin' O.P.'s," a gospel-flavored rendition of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" from 1973's "Back in '72" and the "Seven" Tracks "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" -- were remastered from the original tapes.

Snippets of the songs are currently streaming at BobSeger.com. There's no word yet on whether the album or individual songs will be sold as downloads when "Early Seger" becomes available at the web site; Seger has so far kept his catalog away from online sales.

"Early Seger" is the Michigan rocker's first since "Face the Promise" in 2006. He's not planning any live appearances to promote the album but is said to be considering additional volumes of the collection but no determination has yet been made.

The track listing for "Early Seger, Vol. 1" includes:

"Midnight Rider" (from "Back in '72," 1973)
"If I Were a Carpenter" ("Smokin' O.P.'s," 1972)
"Get Out of Denver" ("Seven," 1973)
"Someday" ("Smokin' O.P.'s")
"U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" ("Seven")
"Long Song Comin'" ("Seven")
"Star Tonight" (previously unreleased)
"Gets Ya Pumpin'" (previously unreleased)
"Wildfire" (previously unreleased)
"Days When the Rain Would Come" (previously unreleased)