By Monk
It could be argued that, in these ‘BLM’ and ‘Woke’ movement days, the southern rock heroes of yore could now well be regarded as something of an out-of-date anomaly, an unacceptable throwback now seen as politically incorrect and thus deserving to be consigned to the rubbish bins of history, alongside all those statues ripped down and the other attempts to expunge the events of past generations. But they do say that those who ignore history are destined to repeat it, and its perceived mistakes… which brings us neatly to these two vinyl re-issues and one of the worst examples of an historical music mistake…
First released in 1981, ‘Wild Eyed Southern Boys’ saw 38 Special turn their backs on their southern rock roots in search of a more, shall we say (especially in the current climate), acceptable mainstream sound, seeking to go down a more chart- and radio-friendly road, by teaming up with the team of songwriter Jim Peterik and AOR producer par excellence Rodney Mills. To an extent the move worked, spawning the band the biggest chart hit of their careers to date, in album opener ‘Hold On Loosely’; but, in most ways, it failed – and BIG time.
Yes, some of the southern rock elements were still there, such as the slide guitar. But, there certainly nothing “wild-eyed” by the sanitized yacht rock sound which permeated nearly every groove of the album. ‘Back Alley Sally’, for example, should have been a bar-room stomper, a rambunctious slice of blues-rock providing the soundtrack to a quick session in the disabled toilets: instead, it wouldn’t have sounded out of place as an Elton John B-side. In a nutshell, this was an anodyne, watered down version of suvern rock for the disco-loving parents of the Woke generation. And the passage of time has not served it well…
And neither has it follow up ‘Special Forces’, which once again failed to live up to its name by being nothing either special or forceful. As the band continued to veer more and more into Hall And Oates jamming with The Eagles territory, four decades later this is actually a painful listen, and a reminder as to why I gave up on bands such as 38 Special and The Outlaws as they moved down the AOR-friendly country-rock-by-numbers route.
Yes, again, there are one or two redeeming moments, such as the all-too-brief rough edge of ‘Back Door Stranger’ or the return to their truer southern routes that is ‘Back On The Track’: it’s just a pity that, apart from a dose of Swayze-style ‘Rough Housin’’, they couldn’t have continued on that journey instead of continuing to pander to the lure of the greenback. In the Civil War, the south went down fighting: 38 Special raised the white flag and embraced the pop charts with enthusiasm, while looking over their shoulders with a raised middle finger to their compadres, as these two albums ably evince.
Lynyrd Skynyrd may subsequently have lowered the Confederate flag in order to pacify the Woke generation, while Molly Hatchet may be vainly trying to declare that the south will rise again, but 38 Special sold their souls to the gods of pop rock success four decades ago, and I don’t think any self-respecting good ol’ southern boy has forgiven them over the course of the intervening years… I certainly haven’t!
- ‘Wild Eyed Southern Boys’ and ’Special Forces’ are re-released tomorrow (Friday 30 July).
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