I honestly don't have any defined perception of Bob Seger. I know his band during the '80s was called the Silver Bullet Band - and I can't really respect that too much. I'd also probably be able to draw a picture of one of his band's compilations from that period. Who would want it though?

But considering that Seger hails from the Detroit area - Dearborn to be exact - it's pretty safe to figure that his work from the '60s has at least a passing similarity to other groups from the time.  The Bob Seger System isn't the Stooges or the MC5 - he probably wasn't capable of such musicality - but what his band was able to do easily matches some of the Nuggets groups that people care about. That might not be the most glowing evaluation, but the Bob Seger System was more than a capable '60s rock act that touched on psych - just a bit - and foreshadowed Seger's future as a cheese ball '80s rock dude.

Before taking a listen to the 1969 Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, I very honestly believed this band to be the folks that penned "Just Dropped In," which so appropriately fits into The Big Lebowski. Unfortunately, though, that was performed by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, who has absolutely nothing to do with this set here. But this disc - originally titled Tales of Lucy Blue - has more than just a few surprising moments.

The high points are tempered by stuff like "Gone," that surely melted woman's hearts and assured male concert goers of gettin' some action, but as a passive listen, there's not too much to hear accept for the supplemental bells that add bit of much needed mysticism to the proceedings. That track, though, sounds like a killer when compared to the album closer "The Last Song (Love Needs To Be Loved)." Even just glancing at the title, it's pretty easily to figure that the track is all clichéd '60s nonsense. And unfortunately, the musical aspect of this particular track is lacking when considered in light of the rest of the album.

The album's first single, "2+2=?," with its liberal leaning war indictment sports enough guitar fuzz to please just about anyone trolling the depths of '60s rock. This track's also probably one of the more aggressive vocal outings that Seger would get out on the disc. It's an admirable track for its message, but really, no one was into Seger and the protest movement - and if they were, it'd just be kinda funny.

The original title, as mentioned previously, was taken from a track of the same name. And on "Tales of Lucy Blue," the band gets into psych territory. Although in this particular setting - with the all too simplistic drum backing - Seger just doesn't belt it out as in other places. That's not to say it's a clunker and as the drums pick up the tempo, while Seger's vocals disappear for a moment, it's a bit difficult to imagine that this is coming from a combo led by this particular singer and multi instrumentalist. But that alone might be reason enough to hunt this slab down.