| CUSTOMER REVIEWS: | 3/5 - ***1/2 - typical Bob Seger
Typical in the sense that Bob Seger's albums almost always include a number of excellent songs and a handful of forgettable ones as well.
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<br /> "Against The Wind" is the last of Seger's "classic" albums. Originally issued in 1980, it features one of Seger's very best ballads, the simple but superbly melodic "You'll Accomp'ny Me", as well as the slow rock of "Fire Lake", the title track (another ballad), and a couple of grinding rockers, most notably "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight" and "Her Strut". And then there's all the filler...bland, formulaic numbers like "Long Twin Silver Line" and "The Horizontal Bop" (honestly!).
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<br /> So, as is the case with most Bob Seger albums, this one is mostly for hardcore fans. There's a lot of good music here, but all of it is available on Seger's two "Greatest Hits" albums, and the best of the best is on the superb 1981 live album "Nine Tonight" as well.
3/5 - Against the Wind
The CD I got is a "digitally remastered" version of the original. It seems to me that they took the opportunity to smooth out the rough edges in Seger's voice, like the used to do to Roger Daltry.
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<br />I like the album but feel that it is missing something.
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3/5 - ...But Not Against The Formula
1980's 'Against The Wind' has Bob Seger, by now a fifteen-year veteran of the music business, pretty much on automatic pilot and relying on formula.
Sure, the rockers ("Her Strut", "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight", "The Horizontal Bop" and the ringing "Long Twin Silver Line") chug and grind with real authority, and there's a couple of decent ballads (the title track and "You'll Accomp'ny Me"), but too many of the remaining tracks are amazingly vapid for the high-profile release this album was in 1980.
There was obviously plenty of fuel left in the tank, as the 'Against The Wind' tour and 1982's 'The Distance' showed, but in short, the entire album has the feel of 'Night Moves', part three.
The good news is that Robert Vosgien's remastering animates an already well-produced record.
But given Seger's and the Silver Bullet Band's performing prowess around this time, a couple of hot live recordings or illuminating studio outtakes would have helped to liven-up this reissue.
P.S. 'Against The Wind' was also burdened by some of the most god-awful cover art ever seen--it reminds me of those treacley, gooey greeting cards that, despite the intimate and caring prose, come off as utterly insincere. Ironic for an album 'Rolling Stone' accused Seger of "phoning in". |
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Last visit: 29/12/2009
