Ride Out is Bob Seger's latest album. Since the average time between Seger albums is eight to ten years, and since Seger is almost 70, it's safe to say this could conceivably be his last album. Not necessarily but at least possibly. That said, can I say this is an album worthy of ending a recording career with?
Anytime there is a new album by Bob Seger I get excted. This one is no different. I was excited when I heard he was releasing it, particularly since his last album, Face the Promise, was so damn good. I've already seen a couple of reviews stating this is a better album than Face the Promise. I won't go that far. Ride Out is a good album, but in my opinion, Face the Promise was a lot better. That, of course, is always a matter of opinion. Give both a listen and your mileage may vary.
Bob Seger typically does most of his writing and devotes very little space to cover songs. On this album there are four cover songs, two of which can be considered highlights of the album. The driving Detroit Made is a John Hiatt song that sounds like it was Seger made and The Devil's Right Hand, written by Steve Earle is another one that Seger stamps as his own. One of the best originals by Bob Seger on the album is a mid tempo tune called All of the Roads. I also dig the blues number Hey Gypsy, another Seger original. Another song, Listen, features Vince Gill as a guest, and there are plenty of top-notch session players on the album as well.
While this album has a couple of good rockers, the overall tempo remains pretty middle of the road. Seger's voice is still in top form and maintains that raspy Bob Seger flavor that fuels so many of his great songs. If you're a Bob Seger fan you'll want this album. Hell, you've probably already got it. If we're lucky, maybe the dude's got one or two more in him, but knowing how Bob records, I'm treasuring this one for now.
