Ten brilliant live albums from the 1970s

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - ‘Live’ Bullet

Often a live album is used to showcase a top artist in their prime, on stage and playing all their hits. Occasionally though a live album from a less well-known artist is so good that it becomes the album that launches their career. That’s very much the case with ‘Live’ Bullet for Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. 

Seger and the band were very much a regional band, well-known and liked in Michigan and especially Detroit. Much less elsewhere. A live album was suggested to Seger, but he wasn’t keen. He and the band were running out of time to deliver a new album and in the end, a live record was the only real option.

‘Live’ Bullet was recorded in Detroit and released in 1976. It helped project Seger and the band to the big time. Their hard-working and gritty live style was captured perfectly. The album is often quoted on lists as one of the best-ever live records. Five times platinum status in the US shows fans rated it highly too. The sample song below helps show why.

The top track from the album is “Turn The Page”. A song that sums up Seger, the band, and life on the road. After this album and the highly successful follow-up Night Moves released just a few months later, life on the road would feel quite different from before.