Nine Tonight Many Years Later

A couple of weeks ago I felt an urge to revisit the classic Bob Segar live album, Nine Tonight. Released in September, 1981, it propelled Segar to mega stardom. I owned the double album as a young teenager back in the day, but had not thought about the record, or Bob Segar, in many years. I have no idea why I suddenly wanted to hear the record.

Luckily, it's 2023 and I have a YouTube Premium subscription, so the album was only a couple of clicks away. I've gone back to it several times in the ensuing weeks. In a word, the record bangs. It's mostly a greatest hits compilation of his previous three records. He was on a killer run in the late 70s so he had plenty of material for this September 1981 release.

I don't have any specific memories of the record. When it was released, I was an almost 14 year old latch key kid. It probably got a lot of turntable time in those hours after school before my parents came home, when I could crank it up with no repercussions.

It holds up very well. I've always preferred the live version of Old Time Rock and Roll to the studio version. But every song on the record is a keeper. This is a 100% filler, no fluff record. It's also a well done live record in that you can actually hear the audience and get a sense of what is was like to be there. In September 1981 I was almost exactly 3 years from attending my first concert. But that is a different story that I've already told here.

Normally, I'd buy any record I'm listening more than three or four times. But Bob got his payday on my purchase of this record in the early 80s, so I don't feel bad leaving this one in the streaming library at YouTube.