1980 was a bittersweet year for Bob Seger.
With ‘Against the Wind‘, the 35 year-old Michigan-born rocker finally reached the level of gigantic commercial success due to him following momentum generated by his three prior albums. After ten years of being regarded as a talent in the wilderness, the tide turned in 1976 with the exhilarating double live set ‘Live Bullet‘ recorded with his support outfit ‘the Silver Bullet Band’ in front of a partisan Detroit audience.
This sudden and richly deserved success was then consolidated by two fine releases ‘Night Moves’ (1976) and ‘Stranger in Town‘ (1978), both of which drew critical acclaim and returned impressive sales figures, his Creedence/Van Morrison affected sound and top drawer rock balladry enabling Seger to close the decade as a hugely successful, highly regarded artist.
While twelfth studio release ‘Against the Wind‘ (February 1980), gave him his first (and only) number one U.S. album – holding down top spot for six weeks on the way to selling five million copies – Seger for the first time in his career was on the receiving end of a critical backlash.
Twelve months later the record won two Grammy awards to suggest it was a work of some significance – not so according to a couple of noted rock scribes who on release went to great lengths in declaring otherwise.
When it appeared, Roy Carr, a UK champion of the Seger cause years before his mainstream breakthrough, declared it ‘heavy handed‘ in a New Musical Express review, while another long time advocate Dave Marsh went even further in a scathing Rolling Stone appraisal, pulling no punches in stating:
‘Not only is this the worst record Bob Seger has ever made, but an absolutely cowardly one as well. These are failureproof songs that are utterly listenable and quite meaningless.’
With his commercial stock as high at was ever likely to be, Seger followed ‘Against the Wind‘ with another double in-concert set made up of material largely taken from his last three studio releases. ‘Nine Tonight‘ amounted to a pleasant if somewhat predictable offering and while a high chart placing duly ensued, in truth it was no ‘Live Bullet‘ that was only five years older.
Having proved himself an engaging lyricist and composer, the brickbats dished out by critics previously enamored with his work were borne from a sense of frustration that he was capable of so much better than the formulaic fayre of ‘Against the Wind‘ (while several took him to task for the content, they concurred his vocal performances were of high quality).
Seger, however, then turned the antipathy back into admiration – his next collection ‘THE DISTANCE‘ (December 1982), being a solid, at times exceptional effort that dispelled any notion of him being in decline.
When ‘The Distance‘ succeeds it is good, very good in fact, tearing along with the purpose and panache expected from an artist of his stature. Seger rediscovers the knack of penning a heartfelt, convincing narrative, his turn of phrase back in admirable working order. True, there are a couple of thin spots, but overall it stands as a celebration of what made the music of Bob Seger so damn enjoyable to begin with.
In a departure from his previous way of working, he delegates production duties to pretty much one person, Jimmy Iovine, who had recently brought his trademark pristine sound to bear on hugely successful albums by, among others, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks. Having shared control panel responsibilities on recent albums with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, they oversee just one of the nine tracks, although still make their presence felt on the affecting second side ballad ‘Comin’ Home.’
On that track the top notch Muscle Shoal sessioneers are augmented by Little Feat keyboard maestro Billy Payne, just one among an all-star supporting cast that includes two former Eagles (the band having split the year before), an E-Streeter from the Springsteen ensemble, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone and renowned session drummer Russ Kunkel.
The Silver Bullet Band are represented by Chris Campbell (bass), Craig Frost (keyboards) and Alto Reed (saxophone), but long-serving lead guitarist Drew Abbott, tired of being usurped in the studio by guest performers, plays on just two tracks before making an abrupt and acrimonious exit from the Seger scene.
Ex-Eagle Don Felder does the guitar honours on resounding opener ‘Even Now‘, the Springsteen inflections hard to miss not least due to the strident work of E-Street piano maestro Roy Bittan. Yet this romance affirming ode is essential Seger, the melody at times reminiscent of his superb 1978 hit ‘Hollywood Nights‘ as he extols the woman of his affections:
‘Even now/She’s still in my heart/She’s still in my soul/Even now/She’s still on my mind/Wherever I go/
Even now/Through all of my days/And all of my nights/Even now/She’s keepin’ it real/She’s keepin’ it right.’
The obvious choice to start things rolling, being such an uplifting piece it could hardly fail in becoming a big-selling U.S. hit single, Seger so taken with the positivity of the piece he would virtually rewrite it as ‘American Storm‘, the song that would open his ‘Like A Rock‘, album three years later.
Normally a player of great subtlety and understatement, drummer Kunkel opens ‘Makin Thunderbirds‘ with a Moon-like clatter in announcing this high energy lament on the declining state of automobile manufacture – and the Thunderbird model in particular:
‘Well, the big line moved one mile an hour/So loud it really hurt/The big line moved so loud/It really hurt
Back in ’55/We were makin’ Thunderbirds.’
Featuring forceful electric guitar (one of the Abbott contributions), a wailing saxophone and excellent turn by Raitt in vocal support, the shortest track on the record does not waste a second, racing along at a fair old lick to the moment Seger offers his rueful summation:
‘Now the years have flown and the plants have changed/And you’re lucky if you work/The big line moves but you’re lucky if you work/Back in ’55/We were makin’ Thunderbirds.‘
The energy level remains high as Felder returns to the troupe for ‘Boomtown Blues‘, Seger finding little empathy with his surroundings on a visit to the South:
‘Southern sun/Ridin’ high/Winter nights/Warm and dry/You’ve earned your space buddy/You’ve done your time/How come you’ve got no/Peace of mind?‘
Always on song as a vocalist there is a strong sense that after the relatively lacklustre compositions of ‘Against the Wind’, Seger knows he is sinking his teeth into some tasty lyrics, a noticeable snarl returning to his voice as the feeling of displacement is maintained:
‘No chilly in the air/No morning dew/No change of seasons/The sky always seems so blue/The earth ain’t black and/The wind ain’t cold/All of a sudden now/You feel so old.’
While Felder departs after offering his final input, the Eagle presence continues with Glenn Frey drafted in to sing harmony on a cover of the Rodney Crowell song ‘Shame on the Moon.’
No effort is spared in making this mournful country ballad an accomplished recording, but it comes at a cost of sounding contrived. The piano lines of Payne are not dissimilar to those played by Paul Harris on the ‘Against the Wind‘ title track, the piece as a whole evoking ‘Fire Lake‘ from the same album, a song that also showcased Frey (along with band mates Henley and Schmidt) on backing vocals.
Seger also falls into the retread trap with gloomy side one closer ‘Love’s the Last to Know.’ Elton John sideman Johnstone plays electric guitar as the writer contemplates the end of a relationship, covering the same ground, only to lesser effect, that he he did with ‘The Famous Final Scene‘ from ‘Stranger in Town‘ – not that it deterred him from going there again, ‘Somewhere Tonight‘ on ‘Like A Rock‘ the pained break-up ballad of that album.
There is however, nothing unoriginal in regard to side two opening cut ‘Roll Me Away‘ which stands as an authentic Seger masterpiece. From restrained, atmospheric beginnings of bass (Campbell), drums (Kunkel) and piano (Bittan), the song builds into a rip-roaring affair, consisting of a simple yet enthralling story of wanderlust and winning against the odds, before finding glory in defeat.
Seeking escape and excitement through a motorcycle trip, the protagonist finds romance and redemption on the journey, life for a fleeting moment not a series of obstacles between reality and reaching for the stars. In the end the thrill has come from chasing not attaining the dream, but even then the resolve to keep striving for triumph over everyday trivialities remains, the narrator steadfastly refusing to give in:
‘Roll, roll me away/I’m gonna roll me away tonight/Gotta keep rollin’/Gotta keep ridin’/Keep searchin’ ’til I find what’s right/And as the sunset faded I spoke/To the faintest first starlight/And I said next time/Next time/We’ll get it right.’
In once more writing with such resonance and creating characters easy to empathise with – in the day it would not have been hard to envisage Jeff Bridges playing the central figure in a film of ‘Roll Me Away‘ – all Springsteen, Morrison and Creedence comparisons become irrelevant as Bob Seger yet again proves himself a truly great rocker in his own right.
‘House Behind A House‘ puts a more aggressive twist on the relationship in ruins issue, Seger making his observations over the crunching electric guitars of Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar (‘When two people see it can never be/When do they give up?/When do they concede they must let it be?/Now they’ve had enough’), the shrill sax of Reed adding to the defiant if downbeat mood.
Reed plays in a softer, more melancholy way on the reflective ‘Comin’ Home‘, the writer contemplating dashed hopes through the passage of time on returning to his place of origin – ‘Everything seemed so much larger then/This old town has hardly grown/Has it really been ten long years?/Now you’re finally comin’ home.’
The Muscle Shoals, who on this track share producer credit with Seger, give him immaculate musicianship as a platform for this doleful, yet impressive track that is sung in heartfelt manner. The longest cut on the album at just over six minutes, it concludes with the sombre realisation, or perhaps home truth in this case, of:
‘Left your hometown for the city lights/You were young and you were strong/Lots of traffic, lots of sleepless nights/Lots of dreams that all went wrong/You’ll just tell ’em what they wanna hear/How you took the place by storm/You won’t tell ’em how you lost it all/You’ll just say you’re comin’ home.‘
Seger brings things to a close with the rousing ‘Little Victories‘ taking the lead guitar role in delivering a rallying call for those feeling let down by a love affair, (‘It might not sound like much/But it’ll mean a lot you’ll see/Every hour you survive/Ah, will come to be/A little victory‘), this a charming way to close an eminently listenable album.
On release ‘The Distance‘ failed to match either the sales figures or chart placing of ‘Against the Wind‘ but still sold close to two million copies in climbing to number five on U.S. album listings. Moreover, Seger restored his reputation with the critics, most of whom hailed the LP as a welcome return to form.
Indeed, on the closing track the lines ‘As you step out in the night/Take a lesson from the trees/Watch the way they learn to bend/With each breeze‘ could apply as much to his career of the past couple of years as to those damaged by matters of the heart – ‘The Distance‘ containing a couple of major triumphs and several little victories.
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND – THE DISTANCE (Released December 13 1982)
Even Now/Makin’ Thunderbirds/Boomtown Blues/Shame on the Moon/Love’s the Last to Know/Roll Me Away/House Behind a House/Comin’ Home/Little Victories;
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