Against the Wind (album)


Against the Wind is the eleventh studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his fourth with the Silver Bullet Band. It was released in February 1980. It is Seger's only number-one album to date, spending six weeks at the top of the Billboard Top LPs chart, knocking Pink Floyd's The Wall from the top spot.

Release

Against the Wind was an immediate commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart in its third week and remaining there for five weeks behind Pink Floyd's The Wall before reaching No. 1 and holding the top position for six weeks. By late 1981 the album sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and was certified 5x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2003.
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the album Against the Wind and Capitol Records art director Roy Kohara won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

Critical reception

Rock critic Dave Marsh, writing for Rolling Stone, strongly criticized the album as a betrayal of Seger's longtime fans: "I'd like to say that this is not only the worst record Bob Seger has ever made, but an absolutely cowardly one as well" saying that Seger had crafted "failureproof songs that are utterly listenable and quite meaningless." Marsh had followed Seger since before Night Moves, when Seger finally gained national fame, and said in his review that Seger's long, tireless struggle to stardom is trivialized by this record. "He had to fight hard to prove there was still a place in rock & roll for a guy like him, and, with Night Moves, he won. This is the LP that makes such a victory meaningless... It makes me sad, and it makes me angry."
Marsh did concede that on the album "Seger sings fantastically well" and called it a "carefully constructed album." A review in The Boston Phoenix echoed some of Marsh's criticisms, saying that Seger offered nothing that hadn't been heard before or equaled his best work, "only heavy-handed efforts to simulate it."
In a more positive review in the Los Angeles Times, critic Robert Hilburn said the album was "close to earlier works" but represented a "mastering of the form" and that the reflective ballads stood out. John Rockwell of The New York Times called it an "honest, attractive album" and a "nice return to his Night Moves form."
Seger himself said the album "is about trying to move ahead, keeping your sanity and integrity at the same time."

Track listing

The Silver Bullet Band plays on side one tracks 1–3 and on side two tracks 1 & 3.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section plays on side one tracks 4 & 5 and on side two tracks 2, 4, & 5.

Personnel

;The Silver Bullet Band
;The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
;Additional Musicians
Album
Chart Position
Billboard 2001

Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1980"Fire Lake"Billboard Hot 1006
1980"Against The Wind"Billboard Hot 1005
1980"You'll Accomp'ny Me"Billboard Hot 10014
1980"The Horizontal Bop"Billboard Hot 10042

Awards

Grammy Awards
YearWinnerCategory
1980Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet BandBest Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
1980Roy KoharaBest Recording Package

Certifications