38 Special
Wild Eyed Southern Bays

THE REVIEW

38 Special is a southern rock band from Florida that made its recording debut in 1977 and still tours the States giving concerts, despite being reshuffled, or even devastated by the departures of all the founding members except one, due to illnesses or other reasons. During its golden period, which extended roughly throughout the 1980s, the band was organized as a sextet with two guitars, two drums, and two actual lead vocalists, with the lead singer sharing the stage fifty-fifty with one of the guitarists: here they are, all six prominently featured on the typically macho cover design of their fourth album dated 1981, grinning with admiration and satisfaction as a beautiful woman in shorts approaches.

The cover suggests loud and rough music; however, that’s not the case: professionalism, skill, and instrumental cohesion, along with balanced and clean sound, are abundant in their compact and moderately commercial rock-blues, honed by the band starting from the previous album, “Rockin’ into the Night.” With this album, they left behind their hardcore southern style which was quite derivative of their beginnings and embraced the cause of radio-friendly rock made in the USA, coining their own southern approach to the genre, necessarily commercial and superficial but at the same time skillful, inspired, and engaging, ultimately even honest.

38 Special rarely indulge in excesses such as interminable guitar solos, tempo changes within songs, psychedelic digressions, and other long-windedness so common to southern rock. They keep the songs around four minutes, searching for the right riff, the proper rhythmic connection between the two guitars, and clear, energetic melodies. Furthermore, the album is brilliantly produced, the tones and ambiance of the instruments are round and present, and everyone plays precisely what's needed without any unnecessary notes.

The southern component of their music, although mixed with other trends as mentioned, is always evident, although not consistently, as it depends on the vocalist at the time: when the mic is handled by Donnie Van Zant with his drawling, sly, mellow, country-blues voice, the genre identification is clear and pronounced. Conversely, when Don Barnes takes the lead, the situation changes significantly, as the guitarist possesses a much more stentorious and radio-friendly tone and style... with him, 38 Special strongly align with acts like Bryan Adams and Outlaws, tough but balanced.

The album opens with what is perhaps the most significant anthem of their entire career, namely “Hold On Loosely.” Sung by Barnes, it features a wonderful descending semitone riff worth admiring, a captivating refrain, and a warm and engaging final solo by the other guitarist, Jeff Carlisi. The likewise powerful and syncopated “Fantasy Girl” can be considered on the same level, adding that both songs include the compositional contribution of Jim Peterik, the leader of Survivor (of “Eye of the Tiger” fame), a specialist in catchy hard rock.

On the more southern side, driven by the stocky and more friendly Van Zant, the track that titles the album stands out, ennobled by the excellent and refined work of the two guitarists, as well as the bright “Honky Tonk Dancer.”

A group that uniquely blends melodic hard rock with the more resolute and noisy forms of pop, all within a southern environment, 38 Special has always had to make peace with the fate of frontier musical realities, those somehow with one foot on one side and one on the other (Queen, Saga, Doobie Brothers... there are many, differently but decidedly, borderline), risking not to convincingly win over any faction, neither the hardcore purists who always saw them as somewhat fake and sly nor the crowd of superficial music consumers who perceived them as too tough and virtuous.

Personally, they are in my Ark of Glory... I do not forget that in due time I played this album and many others following it in heavy doses until I nearly memorized them completely, driven by an aesthetic attraction that always ignored conceptual consistency, innovation aspects, and blah blah: a great band, a great album, all my gratitude to them.