The Distance (Bob Seger album)
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = The Distance
| type = studio
| artist = Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
| cover = Bob Seger - The Distance.jpg
| alt =
| released = December 13, 1982
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Heartland rock{{AllMusic |class=album |id=r17698 |tab=review |label=Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band: The Distance > Review |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |accessdate=July 4, 2011 }}
| length = 41:05
| label = Capitol
| producer = Jimmy Iovine
| prev_title = Nine Tonight
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = Like a Rock
| next_year = 1986
| misc = {{Singles
| name = The Distance
| type = studio
| single1 = Shame on the Moon
| single1date = November 30, 1982
| single2 = Even Now
| single2date = March 1983
| single3 = Roll Me Away
| single3date = May 10, 1983
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
}}
The Distance is the twelfth studio album by US-American rock singer Bob Seger, released in December 1982. It peaked at #5 on Billboard{{'}}s album chart and sold close to two million copies in the United States.
Seger, influenced by the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, originally intended the album to be built around the theme of relationships but eventually that fell apart when Seger decided that sticking to the theme too strictly would make the album "maudlin".{{cite magazine|title=Bob Seger: Nice Guy in the Nasty Lane|author=Pond, Steve|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bob-seger-nice-guy-in-the-nasty-lane-57468/|date=February 3, 1983|accessdate=October 11, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone}} Several songs based on the original theme made it on the album: the hit single "Even Now", "Love’s the Last to Know", "House Behind a House" and the album closer "Little Victories".
The album's lead single, "Shame on the Moon", was one of Seger's biggest hits, holding at #2 for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It also hit #1 Adult Contemporary and crossed over to #15 Country.
Capitol Records had stopped manufacturing albums in the 8-track tape cartridge format by the time this album was released. However, Seger asked the label to include that format for this album, knowing that many of his fans still used 8-track players.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}
Track listing
{{tracklist
| all_writing = Bob Seger, except where noted
|
| title1 = Even Now
| length1 = 4:31
| title2 = Makin' Thunderbirds
| length2 = 2:58
| title3 = Boomtown Blues
| length3 = 3:38
| title4 = Shame on the Moon
| writer4 = Rodney Crowell
| length4 = 4:55
| title5 = Love's the Last to Know
| length5 = 4:26
| title6 = Roll Me Away
| length6 = 4:39
| title7 = House Behind a House
| length7 = 4:00
| title8 = Comin' Home
| length8 = 6:06
| title9 = Little Victories
| length9 = 5:52
|title10=|length10=|title11=|length11=|title12=|length12=|title13=|length13=|title14=|length14=|title15=|length15=|title16=|length16=|title17=|length17=|title18=|length18=|title19=|length19=|title20=|length20=|total_length=}}
Personnel
- Bob Seger – vocals (all tracks), guitar (3, 8, 9), harmony vocals (4)
The Silver Bullet Band
- Chris Campbell – bass guitar (1–7, 9)
- Craig Frost – organ (1, 3–6, 9), piano (2)
- Alto Reed – saxophone (1–3, 7, 8)
- Barry Beckett – piano (8), organ (8)
- Pete Carr – guitar (8)
- Roger Hawkins – drums (8)
- David Hood – bass guitar (8)
- Randy McCormick – electric piano (8)
Additional musicians
- Drew Abbott – guitar (2, 4)
- Roy Bittan – piano (1, 6)
- Michael Boddicker – synthesizer (6)
- Don Felder – guitar (1, 3)
- Bobbye Hall – percussion (1–4, 6)
- Davey Johnstone – guitar (5)
- Danny Kortchmar – guitar (7)
- Russ Kunkel – drums (1–7, 9)
- Bill Payne – piano (4, 5), synthesizer (8)
- Waddy Wachtel – guitar (2, 4, 6, 7, 9)
Additional vocals
- Ginger Blake – background vocals (8)
- Laura Creamer – background vocals (4, 8)
- Linda Dillard – background vocals (8)
- Glenn Frey – harmony vocals (4)
- Shaun Murphy – background vocals (4, 7)
- Bonnie Raitt – harmony vocals (2)
- Joan Sliwin – background vocals (4)
Production
- Producer: Jimmy Iovine
- Engineer: Shelly Yakus
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col" | Chart (1983)
! scope="col" | Peak |
|---|
| scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=268}}
| 13 |
| {{album chart|Austria|19|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Canada|5|chartid=6225a|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Netherlands|33|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Germany4|16|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|id=7831|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|New Zealand|12|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Norway|4|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Sweden|19|artist=Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band|album=The Distance|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|UK2|45|date=19830130|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|5|artist=Bob Seger|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col" | Chart (1983)
! scope="col" | Position |
|---|
| {{album chart|Canada|29|chartid=4435|rowheader=true|access-date=26 January 2025|refname=CA_YE}} |
| scope="row" | US Billboard 200{{cite web|url=https://bestsellingalbums.org/year-end/Billboard_Top_Albums_1983|title=Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1983|website=BestSellingAlbums.org|access-date=26 January 2025}}
| 17 |
{{col-end}}
Singles
| class="wikitable sortable" width="500px"
! Year ! Single ! Chart ! Position |
| 1982
| "House Behind a House" | rowspan="3" |US Top Rock Tracks |align="center"|29 |
| rowspan="8" |1983
| "Boomtown Blues" |align="center"|11 |
| rowspan="2" |"Even Now"
|align="center"|2 |
| US Hot 100
|align="center"|12 |
| rowspan="2" |"Roll Me Away"
| US Top Rock Tracks |align="center"|13 |
| US Hot 100
|align="center"|27 |
| rowspan="3" |"Shame on the Moon"
|US Adult Contemporary |align="center"|1 |
| US Country Singles
|align="center"|15 |
| US Hot 100
|align="center"|2 |
Certifications
{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for The Distance}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Bob Seger|title=The Distance|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1982|certyear=1983|access-date=September 7, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title= The Distance|artist=Bob Seger|type=album|relyear=1982|certyear=1983|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=1|access-date=September 7, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Bob Seger}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Distance, The}}
Category:Albums produced by Jimmy Iovine