The 1980 Listening Post - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Against the Wind

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Against the Wind

#62

Reviewed by Jon Rosenberg

February 25 1980

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Against the Wind

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Jon’s Rating: 2 out of 5

Allen’s Highlights:

You’ll Accomp’ny Me

Against the Wind

Betty Lou’s Gettin’ Out Tonight

Jon’s Highlights:

her Strut

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Against the Wind

Highlight: Her Strut

My rating: 2

Genre: “Heartland Rock” according to Wikipedia

Review:

I am NOT a Bob Seger fan.  Yes, despite growing up in the 70’s and 80’s and hearing Seger’s ubiquitous singles played incessantly on the radio (hey, remember radio?) I never so much as picked up a cassette of his Greatest Hits.  And listening to this album has not changed my opinion.

It’s not a BAD album.  Everything is competently played and produced.  Don Henley, Glen Frey, and Timothy B. Schmidt of Eagles make appearances, as do Bill Payne and Sam Clayton from Little Feat and the late, great Dr. John.  But it all adds up to a big pile of “meh” for me.

I guess some of the songs have a sort of “Midwestern grandeur” like "You'll Accomp'ny Me" “Fire Lake,” and the title track.  But the only tune that has any real balls is, ironically, “Her Strut,” which I was surprised to learn was inspired by Jane Fonda and the Women’s Movement!

Apparently, this was Seger’s eleventh studio album – ELEVENTH!  And it was an immediate hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 for six weeks and winning a Grammy for Best Rock Performance.  So clearly there’s a lot of Seger love out there, but I won’t be listening to this one again any time soon.

https://open.spotify.com/album/2Go2GZ8qMznHdAoLO1cG4W?si=yhn4zCKPTA6R80IrXylY5Q

The 1986 Listening Post - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Like a Rock

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Like a Rock

#131/1296

April 1 1986

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Like a Rock

Genre: Rock

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

American Storm

Like a Rock

Remember the movie American Pop? My friends and I were so excited for that Bakshi flick. We were fans of Wizards. One of us had a poster of Peace, the red assassin turned protector that was the icon from that movie. We had also been massively disappointed in The Lord of the Rings with all the regurgitated rotoscoped images and semi-coherent story. Also, it was half the story and such a box office failure that they didn’t make the sequel. 

American Pop was something different. It was Bakshi veering away from fantasy and into something that I was hoping would speak to me. For me. I was 15. Music was the most important thing that I would never be a part of, having no patience to practice guitar, no ability to figure out the left hand on piano. It would take another 20 years before I would get that chance. 

Why am I talking about this? 

Well, American Pop wasn’t great. And it would only intermittently be seen after 1981 because of music licensing. 

But that last section of the movie…when the (anti)hero gets his chance to show his wares and prove his musical worth he does it to…Bob Seger’s “Night Moves”. It’s a great song. And I totally get why Bakshi would want to use it there. It’s iconic and majestic and altogether & wholly American. 

Because what is Bob Seger if not the sound of America at it’s most truck driving, dust bowl, beer & bbq festival best? 

The scene wasn’t great. The movie wasn’t great. And I never returned to Bob Seger. 

Seger finally came around to letting his music stream. Now I can hear what he was all about. 

He aight. He repeats himself. “The Ring” sounds like a hybrid of “Like a Rock” and “Against the Wind”. And that’s his lane. You like those tunes? You like Seger. And a couple of those tracks are all ya need. Cuz he wrote 4 songs. And then rewrote them over and over and overandoverandover….

https://music.apple.com/us/album/like-a-rock/1440877954