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Street Survivors

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors Audio CD

A fair review of the Lynyrd Skynyrd "Street Survivors" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Lynyrd Skynyrd reviews here, or go back to the Lynyrd Skynyrd tabs.

Band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Title: Street Survivors
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-03-04
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: What's Your Name 2: That Smell 3: One More Time 4: I Know a Little 5: You Got That Right 6: I Never Dreamed 7: Honky Tonk Night Time Man 8: Ain't No Good Life 9: What's Your Name [Original Version][#] 10: That Smell [Original Version][#] 11: You Got That Right [Original Version][#] 12: I Never Dreamed [Original Version] 13: Georgia Peaches 14: Sweet Little Missy [Original Version][#] 15: Sweet Little Missy [Demo Version] 16: Ain't No Good Life [Original Version][#] 17: That Smell [Complete Original Version][#] 18: Jacksonville Kid [Aka Honky Tonk Night Time Man] 19: You Got That Right [Live][#] 20: That Smell [Live][#] 21: Ain't No Good Life [Live][#] 22: What's Your Name [Live][#] 23: Gimme Three Steps [Live][#]

Skynyrd at its peak!!
They had just released their best album and had recently hired their newest fireball guitarist Steve Gaines, who contributes enormously to this stellar effort. Sometime fate is cruel, and that has never been more apparent than on October 20, 1977, when Skynyrd's plane crashed. It is one of the worst tragedies in rock and roll that Steve Gaines' light shined so briefly before being taken from us. An amazing guitarist, terrific vocalist and superb songwriter, plus a humble, helluva nice guy to boot, he was just beginning to come into his own on this album. Best of all, he didn't try to leave the other Skynyrd players in the dust; on the contrary, Gary and Allen's playing was kicked up a notch just by Steve's presence! This made the whole band even greater than it was before Gaines' arrival.

This repackaged, redone version of this album is a real treasure. Some of the tracks are like "Ehh--OK, that one wasn't so remarkable. . . ", but if you're really into this album or Skynyrd themselves, it's a real journey back into that time hearing early versions of the songs and all. I think MCA has overdone repackaging of Skynyrd material on the whole, but in this case they really deliver! BUY THIS!.

Skynyrd's best album, with extras
For me, and many others, it's still the best Skynyrd album. I've always been a huge fan of this album. Until I picked up this CD, I had no idea that Skynyrd had recorded the album twice. It's interesting to hear the original recordings of these songs. While most of them were done better in the rerecorded versions, it's cool to hear how they were originally done. The two songs that were left off the album are good, but I can see why they left them out. They're not quite up there with the eight songs that made the album. It's nice to hear live versions of some of the Street Survivors songs, but it's a shame the sound quality is so poor.

I love the extended original version of "That Smell. " It's not quite as good as the classic version we all know and love, but it has some excellent guitar work. It may be heresy to say this, but I've always considered "That Smell" to be the best Skynyrd song ever. Musically, the song is a monster, with a great melody and all that killer guitar work. Add Ronnie's great singing, and some of the best lyrics he ever wrote, and you have a classic. And don't forget the awesome backing vocals by the Honkettes. Despite the grim nature of the lyrics, I can't help smiling whenever I hear them sing "Hell yeah!" It's one of those perfect moments in music.

I can't help wondering what might have been. With an album like this, they were certainly at the top of their game, but, considering their hard-living ways, they may have self-destructed anyway. We'll never know, but at least we have this amazing album (and all their other work). Their record company has been shameless (aren't they all?) about endless repackaging of Skynyrd's material, but this one is worth it, especially if you don't have the remastered single-disc version.

Street Survivors Deluxe
Deluxe 30th Anniversary: Disc one as origional October'77. Their last album and probably my favorite and I now have on cd instead of vinyl. Second disc is the Criteria Studio album recorded 1976-77 and has the origional versions of the songs plus a couple that were left off the re-recorded album. Also has an extended guitar jam of That Smell which differs from final recording and is similar to what they did when played live. Also has last song ever recorded by Ronnie called Jacksonville Kid-new lyrics to Honky Tonk Night Time Man tune. I've never heard this before.
Second part of cd is Live in Fresno August '77 featuring "new songs from our next album" and although the sound isn't 100% it's in the nineties and a good addition to previously released live recordings. Even if you have the origional of this it's worth it to get the Deluxe Edition for the bonus material.

Good only as a historical document

Here's the story behind this release: Supposedly, it was Kevin Elson (later to become famous as the producer for giant AOR bands like Journey and Mr. Bottom line: This album has already been released as a remastered version, and that single disc remastered version is by far the better value, giving you a remaster of this phenomenal album, plus all the true bonus tracks, but without the useless inferior versions of the original tracks. Big), working as a studio engineer, who told the band not to release the album that they had recorded with Tom Dowd, which is contained on disc two of this set. Thank GOD they listened to him. This has always been one of my favorite albums, but it's shocking how lifeless and uninteresting the Dowd recordings sound.

I have always wondered what Skynyrd would have created had it not been for the tragedy that followed this album. Since hearing this, though, I have wondered how much better they would have sounded on earlier albums if they had never met Dowd. Disc two of this set is a scathing indictment of Dowd's skills as a producer. It explains, though, why his most famous clients, including the Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, always sounded better live than they did on studio recordings.

The Definitive Edition
The fact that someone bought the Deluxe Edition of Street Survivors means they probably REALLY liked the standard issue - and any audiophile or big fan of this band should love this release. I see a lot of conflicting reviews here, and frankly, I don't get it.

Any newbie or casual fan of this band, or anyone who doesn't care if this is the best sounding remaster up to this point, should get the standard edition and save some money. But if you love this band and/or you're looking for the best sounding version of the original album, this is just the ticket. The overall difference in mastering quality isn't tremendous, but inadequacies that existed from song to song on previous editions have been rectified. It's obvious that each track got its own mastering instead of just setting the controls and applying it to the whole album. This was the best way to do this album since it was derived from three different recording studios using three different engineers and three different producers.

The first version of this album, that the band recorded in Miami, is on the second disc, and it's clear why the band didn't like it - it was more laid back and quiet - a departure from the bands rip-roaring and brawling reputation. They added some fire to it when they re-recorded it in Georgia, but the Miami version is still very interesting, and it would have been the album we all know if the band hadn't gotten cold feet!.

You can see a complete list of all Lynyrd Skynyrd discography, or go back to the Lynyrd Skynyrd tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.