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Rating: It's 1977 when Texas mourns to the notes of That Smell, with the cover of Street Survivors in one hand and a glass of Jack Daniel's in the other to toast Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, who died in a plane crash just days after the release of Street Survivors.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd that once were will never exist again.
Even though it's sad to say, as a legacy, the band couldn't have left anything better. From the very first listen, the superior quality of composition and production that Street Survivors presents compared to the band's previous works is evident. Their powerful rock blues tinged with country is enriched by horns in What's Your Name, a song that opens the album with a really catchy chorus and a powerful riff, but also leaves room for melancholy, fun country escapades, massive blues peaks, interludes of pure British rock n' roll, and heart-wrenching ballads.
But above all: the guitar trio Rossington-Collins-Gaines, never too highly praised, reaches astonishing heights; the three always soar high with solos of incredible beauty, free of exaggerated technicalities but full of emotion, rocking riffs owing to Keith Richards but also to good old Texas, memorable arpeggios and phrasings; Van Zant's voice leaves a mark on each song with an interpretation as personal as it is magnificent.
The standout song of the album is That Smell, melancholic and made sensational by female vocals and choruses, and especially by the central riff that starts right after the first solo, followed by the final solo, the cherry on top, splendid, memorable, summarizing in thirty seconds the melancholy of the song: the guitar screams and cries, then flies free in the final part.
Unforgettable I Know a Little, where, besides yet another sensational display by the guitarists, we have a Van Zant who pulls out incredible energy and a piano solo that is perhaps the highest moment of the entire album, along with the wonderful guitar solo of I Never Dreamed, which closes the song leaving space for the album's concluding duo, the excellent Honky Tonk Night Man, a country piece on par with I Know A Little, but less fast, and the finale Ain't No Good Life, rough southern blues.
Hats off also to the rhythm section, perhaps overshadowed by the exceptional quality of the guitars, vocals, and keyboards, but with the right attention in listening, one can better understand the complex timings and decisive breaks of the solid Artimus Pyle, and the bass lines of the bearded Leon Wilkeson, who, even without ever soloing, does an excellent job not following the guitar line verbatim and blending with Pyle's rhythm, sometimes providing moving passages like in One More Time and the spectacular line of I Know A Little.
In conclusion: the album is indispensable, recommended to anyone who loves rock music, to those who love those "damned" '70s and seeks every piece to complete the full picture, but above all, it is to be listened to so that the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd remains eternal and pure in the sky of rock legends.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 What's Your Name (03:33)
(Gary Rossington - Ronnie VanZant)
Well, its 8 o'clock in Boise, Idaho
I'll find my limo driver
Mister, take us to the show
I done made some plans for later on tonight
I'll find a little queen
And I know I can treat her right.
(Chorus)
What's your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shootin' you straight, little girl?
Won't you do the same?.
Back at the hotel
Lord we got such a mess
It seems that one of the crew
Had a go with one of the guests, oh yes
Well, the police said we can't drink in the bar
What a shame
Won't you come upstairs girl
And have a drink of champagne
What's your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shootin' you straight, little girl?
For there ain't no shame.
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
9 o'clock the next day
And I'm ready to go
I got six hundred miles to ride
To do one more show, oh no
Can I get you a taxi home
It sure was grand
When I come back here next year
I wanna see you again
What was your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shootin' you straight, little girl?
Well there ain't no shame
What was your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shootin' you straight, little girl?
Won't you do the same?
02 That Smell (05:47)
Whiskey bottles and brand new cars
Oak tree you're in my way
There's too much coke and too much smoke
Look what's going on inside you
Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Angel of darkness is upon you
Stuck a needle in your arm (You fool, you)
So take another toke, have a blow for your nose,
One more drink fool, would drown you (Hell, yeah)
Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Now they call you Prince Charming
Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes.
Say you'll be alright come tomorrow
But tomorrow might not be here for you (Yeah, you)
Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Aw, you fool, you.
You stick them needles in your arm
I know I been there before
One little problem that confronts you
Got a monkey on your back
Just one more fix Lord, might do the trick
One hell of a price for you to get your kicks (Hell, yeah)
Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Oh, you fool, you
Don't stick those needles in your arm.
You're just a fool, just a fool, just a fool.
04 I Know a Little (03:27)
Yes sir
Well the bigger the city, well the brighter the lights
The bigger the dog, well the harder the bite
I don't know where you been last night
But I think mama, you ain't doin' right
(Chorus)
Say I know a little
I know a little about it
I know a little
I know a little 'bout it
I know a little 'bout love
And baby I can guess the rest
Well now I don't read that daily news
'Cause it ain't hard to figure
Where people get the blues
They can't dig what they can't use
If they stick to themselves
They'd be much less abused
(Chorus)
Play me a little, oh yeah
Yeah
Well if you want me to be your only man
Said listen up mama, teach you all I can
Do right baby, by your man
Don't worry mama, teach you all I can
(Chorus)
Well I know a little 'bout love
Baby I want your best
05 You Got That Right (03:47)
Well I've heard lots of people say
They're gonna settle down
You don't see their faces
And they don't come around
Well I'm not that way
I got to move along
I like to drink and to dance all night
Comes to a fix not afraid to fight
You got that right
Said, you got that right
Sure got that right
Seems so long I been out on my own
Travel light and I'm always alone
Guess I was born with a travellin' bone
When my times up, I'll hold my own
You won't find me in an old folks home
You got that right
Well you got that right
Said, you got that right
Sure got that right
I tried everything in my life
Things I like I try 'em twice
You got that right
Sure got that right
Travellin' around the world, just singing my song
I got to go, Lord I can't stay long
Here comes that ol' travellin' jones once again
I like to drink and to dance all night
Comes to a fix not afraid to fight
You got that right
Said, you got that right
Well you got that right
Sure got that right
06 I Never Dreamed (05:22)
My daddy told me always be strong son
Don't you ever cry
You find the pretty girls and then you love them
Then you say goodbye
I never dreamed that you would leave me
But now you're gone
I never dreamed that I would miss you
Woman won't you come back home
I never dreamed that you could hurt me
And leave me blue
I've had a thousand, maybe more
But never one like you
I never dreamed I could feel so empty
But now I'm down
I never dreamed that I would beg you
Woman I need you now
It seems to me I took your love for granted
It feels to me that this time I was wrong, so wrong
Oh Lord now I feel so lonely
I say woman won't you come back home
I tried to do what my daddy taught me
But I think he knew
Someday that I would find one woman like you
I never dreamed that it could feel so good, Lord
That two could be one
I never knew about sweet love
So woman won't you come back home
Oh baby won't you come back home
08 Ain't No Good Life (04:39)
(Steve Gaines)
Ain't no good life
Not the one that I lead
'Cause the more I fight the sadness, yeah
It only seems the more that I grieve
Well I look back on the good times
As some lost part of me
I wanna know, tell me why is it so
Well just because I don't pray
Lord, that don't mean I ain't forgiven
Just 'cause I'm alive
That don't mean I'm makin' a livin'
I'm gonna get myself together
I'm gonna try a dyin' attempt
Talkin' about the good times slippin' by
Yeah I tell ya
I don't even know where last month went
Well I can't make no money baby
Well 'cause my money's already spent
And I know where it went
I said it went on that damn rent
Well I don't mean change, baby
I mean foldin' money
Well I want lovin', said I don't need a buddy
I don't need nobody, now
Ain't exactly my idea
Its sort of old, borrowed and blue
Just tryin' to say
Don't try that straight life buddy
Oh you'll find it kind of hard on you
Women, don't try to cook nothin' up, ooh
Brother you know you'll only wind up in your own stew
Just don't let nobody tell you, oh what you oughta do
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By Io commento
Last album of Lynyrd Skynyrd as they were at birth, but also their best album.
Someone said that the greatest always leave too soon... the premature death guaranteed them a place in legend.
