Published on Jul 19, 1997
Bob Seger’s career has normally been based on the strength of
singles, not albums. His works would feature one or two great
tracks, topped off with about twelve pounds of filler.
However, his 1980 release
Against The Wind (jeez, has it been that long?) is probably
his most cohesive effort he ever released. Over half the album gets
regular airplay, and it has, for the most part, aged quite
gracefully. Would that this were the case with most pop music.
For some stupid reason, I ended up buying this one at a used
record store on tape – a copy from England, no less – and my liner
notes are, well… they ain’t there, kids. I know that Don Henley
and Glenn Frey of the Eagles provide some backup vocals here (and I
can guess which tracks those are), and CD Now reports that Dr. John
provided some keyboard work. I’ll take their word for it.
The title track was a successful enough single, but was brought
back to people’s attention courtesy of 1994’s
Forrest Gump, a song which was perfectly suited for the
scene it was used in. In fact, when I was listening to this tape in
my car, it just so happened there were people jogging when this one
came on. The song is a poignant look back at a loss of youth and
innocence, as well as the struggles that accompany us on our life’s
journeys. It’s quite simply, in my opinion, Seger’s most
distinguishing moment of his career.
If this were the only good track on the album,
Against The Wind would have a place in history. Thankfully,
it doesn’t stop there. “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” is a decent enough
ballad which still gets some airplay on AOR and classic rock
stations. “Her Strut” has a guitar riff from hell, one which you’ll
find yourself playing air guitar to no matter where you are. “Fire
Lake” was another successful single – I didn’t even know it had
been released that way – which features the harmonizing of at least
one of the aforementioned Eagles. (If anyone has the full liner
notes, can you e-mail me to let me know if both Frey and Henley
sang backup here? I think it’s Henley.)
Even the double entendre of “The Horizontal Bop” – more classic
rock than cock-rock – is friendly enough. It seems, for a while,
that Seger can do no wrong on this album.
In fact, the mistakes are few on this one. “Long Twin Silver
Line” is probably the only real throwaway on the entire album – it
sounds like Seger is forcing the issue on this one, and it just
comes off as a weak effort. “Good For Me” takes a little time to
warm up to, but by the second listen, it sounds like a natural
progression.
I don’t think that Seger ever topped this one in terms of the
quality of the whole picture. He would still have a few hits left
in him, but
Against The Wind is an album that, with rare exceptions,
screams quality from all ends of the tape… even if some releases
leave me dangling in the wind with no liner notes. Hey, I don’t
claim to know
everything.