Customer Reviews

Like a Rock

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Many people condemn this album as being Seger's attempt to reinvent himself as an '80s rocker. It's true that the omnipresent synthesizers sound a little dated today, but if you're willing to overlook them, you'll discover a treasure trove of music that got surprisingly little recognition for its inventiveness and power. "American Storm" is essentially an update of Seger's earlier song "Even Now," displaying all the glorious driving beats and hard-sung lyrics that made that song such a hit. "The Aftermath" and "Sometimes" follow up in that vein, with a relentless rhythmic pulse--driving music if ever there was any. "Miami" is something of a departure for Seger, a smooth, almost soft-rock song that casually tells a compelling tale--a notable foreshadowing of the style he would explore in depth with his album "The Fire Inside." The other work is less notable, although "The Ring" is one of the most lyrically brilliant stories Seger's told. "Like a Rock" sounds the most like the "original" Bob Seger, and would easily be the best song on the album if we hadn't all heard the chorus so darn much (and I agree... someone at Chevy should be fired for that). Overall, this CD represents Seger's first real departure from his classic-rock roots, and that might initially turn people away from buying it. If you take it on its own terms, however, there's a lot to like about this album--and a surprising amount of the original Bob Seger sound to boot.

This is not Seger's best studio album but it compares nicely with his best selling albums of the late 70s and early 80s. The gems of the album are "The Ring" and his cover of "Fortune Son", which I consider to be better than CCR's and it is hard to beat the original of any hit. The rest of album provides a solid foundation that makes it a worthwhile purchase. The record is solid proof that Seger is one of two rock singers(the other is Springsteen) who can still produce exceptional rock music.

Unfortunately, this album has been Seger's best work for the past fourteen years. Seger still has the ability to record top notch material witnessed by "The Fire Inside" and "Lock And Load" but apparently some of the fire has disappeared with age that results in average material filling his newer albums, which has produced spotty and relativity weak records during the 1990s.

Perhaps, Seger will follow Springsteen's example and release the unreleased material, that is rumored at around 150 songs, in a boxed set that would reward his long time followers. I also hope that Seger continues to record new material because one or two top notch songs are better than anything on the market.

Bob Seger is one of those bands that makes good rock and roll what it is. He is truly origanal and easily one of the best. Like a Rock is far from his best album, but it is still great. All The songs here are top notch. 'Like a Rock' is easily the best song on the album, with its great lyrics, and Segers great vocal delivery, and that guitar solo oh, that guitar solo is one of the top five slide solos ever recorded! Other stand out tracks are 'Miami', and 'American Storms' both of which are Seger classics. The silver bullet band sounds great here, and Bobs vocal delivers once again sounds great on everytrack here. There are no real classics here except for the title track 'Like A Rock' and that is why this was only a 4 star album instead of a 5.

All of the the 10 cuts on this CD are fantatic."Like a Rock" is still played for the Chevy Truck Ads.This numbers great,about getting old,and looking back on your life when nothing could stop you."It's You," is my favorite song from the CD,along with the first number,"American Storm."I've had this album since 1986 and still enjoy it.

Probably not one of his better albums if you're a big Seger fan, but I actually like all the songs on the album. Which for me is rare. I originally bought this on cassette in 1987 and was lucky to find a used copy on CD in such good condition.

Excellent condition as promised by seller. Made a super birthday gift for my husband!

I was listen to a classic rock station and I heard a Seger song I haven't heard for so long. I looked through my collection and it wasn't on any greatest hits CD and I didn't have the CD. It was easy to search on Amazon. I realized that there were a few songs I missed hearing from this CD. So I bought it at a great price, shipped right away, and Im a happy Seger fan.
Dave

This is a great reissue of yet another underrated Bob Seger album, LIKE A ROCK. The title track is just a rewrite of his 1976 classic "Night Moves", but there are some other great songs here. "American Storm is an indictment of the self-indulgence that this country tends to tolerate, and the cover of CCR's "Fortunate Son", while not quite matching the fire of John Fogerty's angry original (this was 1986, not 1969), is nonetheless a great rocker in its own right, while "The Ring", a song about a relationship that once had everything but now seems empty, explains for me why I choose to skip food-related reunions at my old school in favor of keeping my weight under control. Seger's support of efforts to free Americans jailed in Iran and North Korea on trumped-up charges makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

In retrospect, the title track and best song on "Like a Rock" was ready made to be the television commericial for trucks it has become so closely identified with. (Sort of like how Carly Simon's "Anticipation" came to represent ketchup). Smooth and polished, with no sharp edges in either the music or the lyrics, the song "Like a Rock" is a pitchman's dream. And therein lies the problem. While it isn't a bad song or album, it lacks the rawness and the passion that Bob Seger brought to his earlier work (like "Night Moves" and "Live Bullett"). Once upon a time, Seger was a true original who could sing rings around the best of them. Since then, he got complacent and the results, while not awful, are not up to his own high standards.

After the brilliance of his previous album, The Distance, Bob Seger took four years to release 1986's Like A Rock. The album is just a middling affair with some excellent song surrounding by sub-par efforts. The album's opening song is the blazing "American Storm" which sounds much like previous opening album tracks "Even Now" and "Hollywood Nights". The title track is much abused due to its use in truck commercials, but that doesn't lessen its strong quality. The best track on the album is "The Ring" which is a forlorn tale of a woman who has grown tired of her marriage and knows that she is trapped in the fading relationship. The rest of the album is not very good especially the awful cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son".