Search - .38 Special :: Anthology -38 Special

Comprehensive introduction to 38 Special

R. Gorham | 04/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE BAND: Don Barnes (vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica), Donnie VanZant (vocals), Jeff Carlisi (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), Jack Grodin (drums), Steve Brookins (drums)... and assorted players joining on later albums. The members listed here were the key contributors during the band's hay-day in the late 70's and early 80's.



THE DISC(S): (2001) 2 discs clocking in at just under 150 total minutes (Disc-1 76:50 minutes, Disc-2 72:55 minutes). 24-bit digitally remastered sound. Included with the 2 discs is a 14-page booklet containing band pictures, song titles & credits, thank you's, and what songs came from which albums. The first 9 pages features interviews with frontmen Van Zant and Barnes... discussing tough beginnings, Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crash, and member changes and musical direction. Label - Hip-O/Universal Music.



ALBUM REPRESENTATION: 38 Special (1), Special Delivery (1), Rockin' Into The Night (3), Wild-Eyed Southern Boys (4), Special Forces (4), Tour De Force (5), Strength In Numbers (2), Flashback (1), "Teachers" Soundtrack (1), Rock & Roll Strategy (2), Bone Against Steel (3), Resolutions (4), Live At Sturgis (2), B-Side unreleased (1).



COMMENTS: This compilation features 38 Special from their underrated debut in 1977 through their "Resolutions" album in 1997. Where the Allman Bros and Lynyrd Skynyrd were very 'Southern', I always felt 38 Special was in the same catagory, but leaned toward rock & pop more than the others did. For me, 38 Special had some great songs, but on the 'Southern Rock' wave, they were just a tad behind the major players. The Allman Brothers had been established since 1969, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Marshall Tucker since 1973, and the Outlaws in 1975. Molly Hatchet's first two albums in 1978/79 had a deeper impact then 38 Special at the time... but 38 Special's time was coming. 1979 saw a bit of a resurgance in Southern Rock... and 38 Special was there with their first big hit... "Rockin' Into The Night" (from album #3). This was their first break... as their first two albums were vastly different than their 3rd. 1980-83 featured 38 Special at the top of their game - releasing perhaps their biggest and best albums - "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys", "Special Forces", and "Tour De Force" in succession. After these 3 albums, the band had only hit and miss success. There are several 38 Special compilations out there... and this "Anthology" is the most comprehensive one. "Flashback" is good, but short at 14 songs (drawbacks being 4 live tracks and nothing from after '87). "Millenium Collection" is average, but also short at 12 songs. If you want a one disc collection, I recommend 38 Special's "Very Best Of The A&M Years" from 2003 (18 tracks - all their big hits). I was a bit more than a casual fan back in the 80's and dare I say there are some songs here on "Anthology" that I did not recognize right off the bat. "Anthology" features one live track (a good thing because I prefer the studio versions). The sound is crisp and the remastering definitely helps here. The song order is not truly chronological - it starts with "Rockin' Into The Night" and then reverts back to the first 2 albums, then proceeds album to album. Disc 2 is mainly their later era material. One of the only things I don't understand about the band is the two drummers playing at the same time (maybe not totally so in the studio, but they definitely did in concert... the Outlaws did it, as did the Grateful Dead... but never understood why). This is a great collection of tunes from the band - Comprehensive with many a deep album cut. If you're looking for one disc with strictly hits, go with the "A&M Years" disc mentioned above. "Anthology" would be the last one you'd ever need though (4.5 stars)."

Best Collection Yet....But Flawed

Kavorka | North Port, FL United States | 10/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anthology is far and away the best collection of 38 Special released to date. It contains almost every song you'd ever want from this awesome southern rock/80's hit machine. The sound quality is far superior to their album discs thanks to a 96k/24-bit remastering job by Hip-O records. The liner notes provide a better history of the group itself than it does for the individual songs. I would've liked to read more on the songs and what the group thought of each.Another irritating flaw to me is how the songs are almost all presented in chronological order. Why come so close only to screw the track listing up in some spots?? Not only are the albums themselves in sequential order , but they also maintain the original song order from each individual album (almost always). Unlike a previous reviewer commented, there are 2 songs from the group's second album Special Delivery (Long Time Gone & Take Me Back). However, these songs appear after the 3 tunes that lead off disc one from the band's 3rd album Rockin' Into The Night. Minor things like that really get to me.Almost all the singles and hits are here. Much more comprehensive than Flashback or the Millenium Series discs. Not that I liked the album Rock & Roll Strategy at all, but Little Sheba was a hit that recieved a lot of airplay time in the mid-80's. It is missing from this collection. Most notably absent is the lack of material from Don Barnes' swangsong 1986 album Strength in Numbers. Only 2 songs are included on Anthology...a sin!! Has There Ever Been A Good Goodbye, Last Time, Heart's on Fire, Once in a Lifetime....these are all awesome songs that would've been better than anything after the Strength in Numbers period.Let's face it, people who know and love 38 Special are fans of the 80's material (Hold on Loosely, Caught up in You, If I'd Been the One, Like no Other Night). Who really wants to hear anything from the Resolution album of the 90's or the Live at Sturgis album? Not me. I was really happy to see the inclusion of You Keep Runnin' Away, an awesome singles release from the Special Forces album, and One Time for Old Times from Tour de Force. These 2 songs alone are worth flippin' the extra cost for Anthology. More attention should've been spent on the 80's material and then this would've been easily a 5-star album. It is still the best collection out there and well worth the money for either the casual or die-hard fans like myself."

More Than Just A Greatest Hits Package

K. Fontenot | The Bayou State | 06/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While .38 Special's "Anthology" contains all of their biggest hits, it has so much more in store for the listener. Most casual fans are familiar with tunes like "Rockin' Into The Night," "Hold On Loosely," "Fantasy Girl" and "Caught Up In You," but I'm sure that many of them haven't heard the bulk of the other tunes on this album. Like most classic and southern rock acts, .38 Special has such a large catalogue of songs to pick for airplay that many of them are rarely or never played on the classic rock station. Songs like "Teacher, Teacher" and "Chain Lightnin" don't draw as much attention as the previously listed songs. Still, they are excellent tunes in their own right.



What makes .38 Special so appealing to music lovers, in my opinion, is the fact that they can crank out a legitimate southern rocker like "Deja Voodoo" and then turn around and play a pop-tinged rocker like "Back To Paradise" or a full-on arena rock ballad like "Second Chance." This gives them a much broader audience than Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Boston, Styx or any of the other big acts that were around during their peak. While they may never be considered one of the greatest acts in any of the other listed bands' genres, they will always be remembered as a band that could play tunes from just about any genre and do it well.



.38 Special deserves any and all accolades that they've received over the years. This compilation gives the listener their greatest hits as well as an excellent dose of tunes from all of their albums up into the mid-90's. I recommend this album to fans of southern rock, arena rock, hard rock and country, as well as all those folks who, like me, are suckers for a good rock ballad. Highly recommended."