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Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors [Deluxe Edition]
![Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors [Deluxe Edition] review](poze/1196483_170x170.jpg)
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Send "Lynyrd Skynyrd " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Rollingstones |
| Three days after the release of Street Survivors, in 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines died in a plane crash that severely injured the rest of the band members. But even without the added resonance of tragedy, the album's second track, "That Smell," would have stood out in the band's catalog: It bites the chord progression and the apocalyptic vibe of "All Along the Watchtower" for a tale of the "smell of death" that surrounds a character trapped in drug addiction (and a pretty heavy habit at that: The lyrics allude to coke, weed, alcohol and ludes). The swampy groove and Van Zant's bluesy, understated vocals — listen to his offhandedly contemptuous delivery of the line "stuck a needle in your arm" — manage to sustain the ominous mood even when the female backing singers harmonize on the phrase "Hell, yeah!" Early versions of "That Smell" (including a slower take that comes in at seven and a half minutes, thanks to epic, "Freebird"-worthy guitar duels) are the highlight of the bonus disc here, which includes a more stripped-down early version of the entire album. Street Survivors was the most meticulously crafted record of the original Skynyrd's eleven-year career and, as a result, their most consistent: Album opener and classic-rock-radio staple "What's Your Name" is the second-greatest groupie song of all time (next to "Stray Cat Blues"), and the Allmans-esque "I Never Dreamed" is its flip side, a redneck-emo tale of lady-killer machismo thwarted by love: "I've had a thousand, maybe more/But never one like you," Van Zant sings, as the lead guitars match him, lament for lament. Perhaps best of all is the band's raucously virtuosic take on Merle Haggard's "Honky Tonk Night Time Man," which overflows with gorgeous country riffs that sound like pure chicken-fried joy. And Van Zant's voice is rich and authentic enough to make you mourn the pure country album he never got to record....full text |
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| Music.ign |
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April 23, 2008 - When I was a kid listening to punk, metal and all the bastard cousins, one of the most un-cool things imaginable was southern rock, especially that of leaders Lynyrd Skynyrd. I can't tell you how many times I'd go to a party or sneak into a club where a band was playing and hear someone heckle "play 'Free Bird!'" Whether it was overexposure or a general bias against bad moustaches, Skynyrd was the pinnacle of un-hip. But somewhere along the line, I got hip to Southern Rock and its various facets—the bluesy stuff (Elvin Bishop), the heavier side (Molly Hatchet, Raging Slab) and even the punk-driven (Corrosion of Conformity). But the ultimate Southern bad-asses will always be… the mighty Skynyrd. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida the band was signed to MCA Records and quickly turned heads with their soulful and bluesy hard rock. The original lineup featuring vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, made a few solid-rocking albums before a tragic plane crash took the lives of the enigmatic singer/songwriter, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines in 1977....full text |
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| Artistdirect |
| Sometimes, expanded Deluxe Editions don't seem to have much of a purpose outside of marketing: the second disc will contain a clearinghouse of B-sides and remixes or a live show, not adding much to the story of the original album. That's not the case with the Deluxe Edition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's final album, Street Survivors -- it's a Deluxe Edition that fills out the final chapter of the original band's career by presenting the complete original version of the album, recorded with legendary producer Tom Dowd at Criteria Studios but scrapped when the group's live sound engineer Kevin Elson argued that these versions sounded lifeless. The album was subsequently rejiggered with a mix of re-recording, additional production, and remixing, plus the addition of a couple of older songs to the record ("One More Time" dates from 1971 sessions at Muscle Shoals, while "I Know a Little" is a song guitarist Steve Gaines had before he joined Skynyrd in 1976), all of which helped turn the album into arguably the band's best. The instincts of Elson -- who was supported by Gaines, as revealed in the excellent liner notes by Ron O'Brien on this set -- turn out to be correct, as the Criteria version of Street Survivors is a bit tight and stiff, sounding more like a typical professional arena rock production from 1977 than the finished set, which makes it interesting from an archeological perspective at the very least. Skynyrd do sound well-honed, hitting all the notes precisely, but they lack the full-blown, red-blooded roar that made the original so invigorating. All of this explains why the album was tweaked considerably before its release, and a Deluxe Edition like this serves the historical record well by preserving this -- even if it merely confirms conventional wisdom, it's good to hear it first-hand, plus there is only a limited amount of music recorded by the original band, so it's hard not to value whatever was left behind. And this lineup of Skynyrd was certainly a great band, something that is apparent even on these slightly stilted originals, especially because they're not all slightly stilted: there's an extended guitar workout on the original version of "That Smell," a cheerful blues shuffle called "Georgia Peaches" that didn't make the final cut (it did appear on the previous expanded 2001 reissue), and "Jacksonville Kid," Ronnie Van Zant's brilliant rewrite of Merle Haggard's "Honky Tonk Night Time Man" that is the last song he wrote. There is another set of final recordings here, too: five cuts from a live California show the band gave in August 1977, two months before the release of Street Survivors and before the plane crash that claimed the lives of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines. These are the last known recordings of the band, and while the audio is a little rough, the group sounds ferocious. Given the strength of these live cuts, it's once again hard not to wish that the band had not been struck down by tragedy, but this Deluxe Edition honors Lynyrd Skynyrd's legacy by offering every aspect of their last year as a band, from the raw live shows to the overly polished original album to the glorious final version of Street Survivors. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide...full text |
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