Smokin' O.P.'s

1972 studio album by Bob Seger

Smokin' O.P.'s is the fifth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1972 (see 1972 in music). It marked Seger's return to rock and roll, after the sonic departure of his previous album, Brand New Morning.^[1] The album was reissued on CD by Capitol Records in 2005. It is currently the earliest Bob Seger album available on CD. The cover art is a parody of the Lucky Strike cigarette logo. Smokin' O.P.'s refers to Smokin' Other People's Songs, a derivation on the slang phrase "Smoking O.P.'s" meaning to smoke other people's cigarettes exclusively (never purchasing your own for consumption). Most of the tracks on this release are covers of songs written by other artists.

The album cover was created by Thomas Leroy Weschler, who was Seger's road manager at the time. The cover was inspired by an advertisement for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Weschler also went on to co-write Traveling Man: On the Road & Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger.

"If I Were a Carpenter" and "Hummin' Bird" were recorded and mixed at RCA Studios, Toronto, Canada.^[3]

Track listing

Personnel

• Bob Seger – guitar on "If I Were a Carpenter" and "Jesse James", piano on "Someday", vocals
• Jack Ashford – percussion, tambourine
• Eddie "Bongo" Brown – percussion, conga
• Mike Bruce – guitar
• Jim Bruzzese – tambourine on "If I Were a Carpenter"
• Chrystal Jenkins and Pam Todd – vocals on "Hummin' Bird" and "Jesse James"
• Skip Knapé – organ, keyboards, bass pedals; piano on "Hummin' Bird"
• David Teegarden – drums, maracas, marimba
• Al Yungton - string arrangement on "Someday"

Production

• Producer: Punch Andrews
• Engineer: Jim Bruzzese
• Assistant engineer: Greg Miller
• Mixing: Jim Cassily, Mabel Louise Smith, Thomas Weschler
• Photography: Thomas Weschler, Peter Lumetta
• Cover Design: Thomas Weschler

Charts

Album – Billboard (United States)

Singles – Billboard (United States)

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Bob Seger: Smokin' O.P.'s > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. "Bob Seger – Smokin' O.P.'S". Discogs. August 18, 1972. Retrieved June 30, 2023.