Last month brought the release of “Early Seger, Vol. 1,” a collection of archived recordings from former Ann Arbor rocker Bob Seger. It’s good news, even if it’s a little hard to separate what the album is from what it could have been — or what you or I might have wished it was.

Just to get the complaints out of the way: First of all, it’s a bit of a stretch to call this “Early,” and a couple of apparently teenage photos in the booklet only add to the confusion. Don’t expect “East Side Story” or “Persecution Smith” or “2+2 = ?” And three of the tracks date from the mid-80s; how is that “early”? In addition, there was a great chance here to address the unavailability of much of Seger’s catalog — so why are 2 of the disc's 10 songs drawn from “Smokin’ O.P.s,” one of his few earlier albums that’s actually in print?

Sigh. Enough about what the album isn’t. What it is: 10 tracks of vintage Bob Seger — a handful you probably haven’t heard in a while, and a handful you’ve never heard before this. The first five songs were all recorded in 1972 or 1973, drawn from pre-superstardom albums like “Back in ’72.”

Given Seger’s songwriting abilities, evident even in his very early days, it feels a bit odd to start off with two covers. The album opens with a great version of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider,” featuring J.J. Cale on guitar; personally, I’d take this version over the original (though I’ve never really been an Allman fan). Next up is Tim Hardin’s (and Bobby Darin’s) “If I Were a Carpenter” — OK I guess, but an odd choice with so much other material to draw from. (That's one of the "O.P.s" tracks; the other is "Someday.")

The album has three songs from “Seven”: the studio versions of “Get Out of Denver” and “UMC,” both of which are better known from their “Live Bullet” concert counterparts, and the originals are certainly nice to have; along with a partly re-recorded “Long Song Coming,” a solid hard rocker with equally solid Seger lyrics.

The final four tracks are previously unreleased. “Star Tonight,” from 1984, is an unremarkable but decent midtempo number. I really like 1977’s “Gets Ya Pumpin’,” which does just that. “Wildfire” would have fit in just fine on “Against the Wind.” And the album closer, “Days When the Rain Would Come,” is lovely — I think it holds up as one of his better introspective songs.

Fans should enjoy this album, even if it might not be all they want it to be. Here’s looking forward to “Vol. 2.”

“Early Seger, Vol. 1” is currently available at Meijer stores and at the store at BobSeger.com.

Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.