One astonishing thing about Face the Promise, is it has been categorized by many forums as an alternative album. With Kid Rock lending an almost Bill Monroe style harmony to Seger’s “Real Mean Bottle,” this heavily country-laden collection will most probably be considered a harder-hitting, edgier record than most of the layaway-department love ballads being put out by Seger’s peers at this time in their careers.
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Bob Seger
|  Entertainment
 Art
"Face the Promise"
(Capitol Records)
Released September 12, 2006
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Face he Promise speaks candidly of a lonely life on the road, missing family, the war in Iraq being paralleled to Vietnam, tolerance, and cathartic weakness. It’s not so much a reflection into the autumn years or the celebration of a triumphant return. Most of the songs are about a man not being free, and having to listen to everyone else. This record may, in the end, mean more to the artist than it does to the masses, so reviewing it is especially hard if you are a sympathetic listener to any degree.
Seger engineered this album and has been commended for tracks such as “Wait for Me”, leaving echoes of “Against the Wind” in such spots where he sings, “In the cool of the night. In the heat of the day. If you’re ever in doubt. I’ll be on my way.” – and songs such as “Face the Promise” which has almost a Travis Tritt feel as in his song “T.R.O.U.B.L.E” in the same rigor with “So long Mississippi, so long Alabam. I wanna face the promise of the Promised Land.” It has been said with the wave of acts such as Nirvana and Nu-Metal genre bands, Seger has lost a place on the FM air aside from Classic Rock and Oldies. Not true. Country is recognizing him as will rock stations of all sorts. Sit down and listen to any new Metallica and you will see we would not have them if not for Bob Seger.
Other tracks might seemingly be swallowed by some of Seger’s older monster hits. This is not an issue of he’s getting older, so we’re slipping in quality. Quite the contrary. Seger is not only seasoned and timely, but greatly missed. Having seen the live show the album sounds like it’s trapped in a box, but that is the nature of a Seger recording. It’s much more vibrant live. This is a renegade release still- a pioneering feel for the Detroit sound.
Still something Lee Greenwood may even be proud of is the track “No More.” This song sounds as though it were written 30 years ago or perhaps may even go as far back as Country Joe and the Fish’s “Fixin’ to Die Rag.” It either seems to be a decree to the fighter who has has no choice or the Commander in Chief: “Tomorrow is the price for yesterday. A billion waves won’t wash the truth away. Someday you’ll be ordered to explain. No one gets to walk between the rain.”
The amount of faith and humanity Seger has is apparent on this album along with quite keen intelligence which seems overlooked in the labels as a blue collar hero and working man’s superstar. This album is not Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but it is not The Life of Chris Gaines. And that is it’s integrity and endurance. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
