.38 Special - Flashback - A&M

Review by: Chris Boehk

Being a fairly new fan of .38 Special, I don't know much about the band. Now, don't get me wrong, I've always dug the hits they play constantly on the classic rock station, but I wasn't so into them as to buy their albums. "Flashback" is .38 Special's greatest hits album released in 1987. I've seen a newer greatest hits that was released last year, but BMG didn't have that one. This is my first .38 Special purchase, and while I'm not overly pumped about it, I do enjoy it.

What I do know about .38 Special, other than they wrote some kick ass tunes, is that they were a rather "underappreciated" facet of the 70's and 80's classic rock era, particularly Southern Rock. I'll bet Mr. "I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan but like to pretend that I was born and raised in Alabama" Kid Rock likes .38 Special, since it's so damn Southern Rock it hurts. I also know that the lead singer of .38 special, Donnie Van Zant, is the younger brother of late Lynard Skynard singer, Ronnie Van Zant. The liner notes in Flashback offer little information about the band, so don't expect one of those cool little band story/history things that is contained in every other greatest hits record.

Let's get to the music. The good songs are great songs are great, the not so good songs blow balls. The good songs are what classic rock is supposed to sound like - catchy guitar driven tunes with lots of solos. Perfect for drivin' and singin' along too. Flashback has all the hits we've come to love and are the staples we expect on classic rock stations across the land: "Hold on Loosely," "Caught up in You," "Back Where you Belong" and a few other good tracks that I hadn't heard before.

This band, like many others of it's day, started off with good old fashioned stripped-down ROCK music, and then, as the 80's set in, started to cheese out (probably to keep up with all of the other cheesy stuff that was being played on the radio at that time). Case in point: "Back to Paradise" - the theme song from "Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise". This song is terrible and the fact that it's the first track on Flashback isn't helping matters. Also, some of the tracks on here are live. I hate that. If I wanted live tracks, I'd go see a show or buy a "live" album. When I buy your average run of the mill CD, greatest hits or not, I want studio material.

Overall, this CD is pretty good and I'll probably buy their older stuff (on vinyl, of course - the way classic rock is supposed to be listened to), but if were to buy a .38 Special greatest hits again, I'd seek out the new version - no live tracks and no "Back to Paradise"!