Men without hats. 38 Special brought Southern Rock to the 80's massesIt was 1983, I rode the bus to school with a couple of friends one of whom I would help with homework and that guy liked 38 Special. I didn't know any of their music, but I totally ragged on him for liking that band (because it was fun). Then I actually heard 38 Special, saw the video for "Back Where You Belong" to be exact, and thought they were the greatest thing ever. I ran out and bought Tour De Force and played it nonstop for a few months.
I became a fan and bought all of their albums, facinated by this Southern rock band that played City Slicker music. They never get credit for it, but I consider 38 Special to be the forerunner to Modern Country for their blending of Country and Southern Boogie with Mainstream Pop Rock. I think guys like Garth Brooks owe a tip of their 10 gallon hat to these Florida boys. They paved the way for an audience of Urban Cowboys to find an Arena Rock show while retaining enough of their original sensibility to keep their Southern Rock following.
I also like how everything comes with two opposites with this band. There are two drummers, one bearded and one not. Two lead singers, one related to Lynyrd Skynyrd and the other sings the hits. And two guitarists, one with a smooth style and the other with a crunchy blues sound. There's just one bass player, but it was his second chance having quit Skynyrd before they became big.
In hearing Tour De Force, it could be argued that after Wild Eyed Southern Boys (1980) they just made the same record over and over again and there's some truth to that statement. But there's no denying that when the formula was working it sounded fantastic. So here's Tour De Force, track by track, produced by Rodney Mills.
1. If I'd Been The One - I once read this was written as a "riff that developed" which explains how it kind of keeps the same pace through most of the song. This was the first single from the album and featured a great video with horses running in slo mo and starred the future former Mrs. Bruce Springsteen, Julianne Phillips. Great driving song and having two drummers comes in handy for those doubled drum hits (the splash-splash sound that comes at the end of the main guitar part).
2. Back Where You Belong - Loved loved LOVED this song back in the day. Other than the catchiness of it, I liked the conversational tone of the lyrics (I heard you're asking/how I'm feeling/guess I'll take it day by day). It's classic 38 Special, midtempo pop rock with a polished sound and just a touch of raggedness and verve to let you know they weren't studio hacks. It ends with a great flowing guitar solo from Jeff Carlisi. Throughout, Don Barnes shows the emotional range that made him the voice of 38 Special on the radio. And the video for this was a funny cross between Keystone Cops and Hill Street Blues. One of two songs written by songwriter Gary O'Connor for this album (he also wrote a song for the Eric Martin Band also produced by Rodney Mills).
3. One Time For Old Times - It's 1983, bring in the synths! I guess even a Southern Rock band needs to give their guitar players a rest every once in a while as the keyboards dominate here. The second song written by Gary O'Connor, it's a nice ballad though it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the band's sound. This was the third single from the album.
4. See Me In Your Eyes - The song starts off with some stark guitar licks a'la "Chain Lightning" from their Special Forces album (1982) before going into a dark heavy groove like, um, "Chain Lightning". Where it differs from "Lightning" is that the chorus goes into this lifting melody that kicks my ass every time I hear it.
As the old Tubes record would say, you have reached the end of side one. Please turn over the record and begin side two.
5. Twentieth Century Fox - Let's boogie! At least once an album 38 would cut loose with a boogie rocker where the vocalist and guitarists trade off lead parts. Not to be confused with the Doors song, this song brings the album's energy way up after the preceding midtempo cuts. She's a Twentieth Century Fox...talk that talk!
6. Long Distance Affair - Other than "Back Where You Belong" this was my other favorite song back then. I liked how the drums kind of "floated around" in this song and the contrast between the tense verses and lurching chorus. I just noticed I'm really abusing "quotes" in this "post." Really upped the drama here, Don Barnes could have won best actor for his performance as a frettin' suitor torn by long distance love.
7. I Oughta Let Go - The first clear cut lead vocal from Donnie Van Zant (I think he sang "One Time For Old Times" but sometimes his voice is sometimes similar to Barnes and makes it hard to tell) has the band going into a little Country ditty that's a lot of fun. Love song lyrics about getting shot and hung definitely add to the fun flavor of the tune (it's upbeat, trust me).
8. One Of The Lonely Ones - When you have a big hit like "Hold On Loosely", what do you do? Make it again, how could you not? You might call it "Caught Up In You" or "Like No Other Night" or "One Of The Lonely Ones" and the beauty of it is fans like me will buy it every time. Like all the other sequels, I think this is a great song and if you've heard "Hold On Loosely", then you've pretty much heard this one too.
9. Undercover Lover - Van Zant shows up again (I always wondered how he felt being the official "leader" of 38 Special and getting fewer lead vocals) with some good Southern rock and a touch of urgency. The most "Skynyrd" sounding cut on the album (and I love me some Skynyrd). Terrific backing vocals from Carol Bristow and Lu Moss.
After Tour De Force the Special ones continued to rock though after a Greatest Hits album went through an extreme lineup change where Don Barnes was replaced so the group could score it's biggest hit, "Second Chance" (there's those "two" things again). Since then, they've regrouped with new members including a keyboard player centered around Barnes and Van Zant (guess they didn't need two drummers after all) and still perform. My favorite band member, Jeff Carlisi, now works with kids to teach them music. That guy always came up with great solos, no surprise it's featured in the Guitar Hero video game.
5 comments:
"Loved loved LOVED this song back in the day."
What do you mean by, "back in the day"? I can still picture you driving your CRX, playing drums on the steering wheel, and singing this song. I can hear you now...
"I know I was wroONNNNNNG, I want you back where you belonnnnnng."
I saw them once at Disney World. They were playing on the "Tomorrowland" stage. That same night a young Bon Jovi also played, on the "Frontierland" stage. Yeah, who worked that out, eh? There were a few other bands there, can't really remember who. 80's hair bands, I think. My friends and I saw 38 Special's first set and wondered over to catch Bon Jovi, it was right after their first big hit and theirs was the most crowded stage. After taking a listen to everyone else, we went back and spent the remainder of the night in Tomorrowland. They were so kickbutt live. Ain't nuttin' like a bunch of Wild Eyed Southern Boys.
Another good Southern Rock band I was able to see during that time was also a spin off of Skynyrd. The Rossington Collins Band. They did some great music in their short time as a band.
That sounds like a great night, "Runaway" era Bon Jovi, 38 Special and the Rossington Collins Band who I only know one song "Don't Misunderstand Me" but it's a great song. By comparison, when I went to grad night at Disney Land I saw Mr. Mister, Miami Sound Machine and Starpoint. It was fun, but it doesn't measure up to 38 Special.
As you can imagine, all those bands that formed and re-formed during the years right after Skynyrd played a lot of venues in Florida. I also saw Molly Hatchet during those years. They opened for "The Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent. They were so good, they made the Nuge look like a wuss. And I LOVE the Nuge!
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