★★★★★
The function of the catchy nothing-but-love-songs on this skillful but otherwise derivative slice of boogie is to enable Don Barnes to show the would-be hellions in his audience, all of whom have to betray their rowdy principles if they're to keep their jobs and get on with their lives, just exactly how a good old boy acts sincere. Gauge its potential usefulness in your own life accordingly.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Those who claim them as a pop band in disguise get ten songs on twelve inches. Vinyl lovers who cling to the boogie band of their thwarted dreams get four live ones on a thirty-three-r.p.m. seven-inch. Those who realize they're the band Molly Hatchet only wished they could be buy something else.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
For this group, booked by Ronnie Van Zant's agent, managed by his manager, and led by his kid brother, some special Inspiration Verse: "It's a Saturday night ordinary/All the pros know what dues to pay/Ain't really good for nuthin'/'Cept to take some other rocker's chance away."
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Video may have killed theradio star, but it looks as if 38 Special only got maimed. Lucky us.Once you get past the firm, sweaty torso displayed on the cover ofBone Against Steel's booklet, and the photos of the most hilarious poodlehaircuts in rock (wisely tucked inside where no one but the band willsee them), you're left with an untelegenic group that's continued tothrive because luck ? and someone with a decent ear for a melody ? hasalways been with them...
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Following in the steel-toed footsteps of his brother, who fronted Lynyrd Skynyrd's raucous "Christmas Time Again," Donnie Van Zant's .38 Special have put out their own holiday record, dubbed Wild-eyed Christmas Night. While not as edgy as the title claims, these aging Southern rockers do manage to light a fire under some hard-worn classics and give them new life, transforming "Jingle Bell Rock" into a goofy, speed-metal anthem, while turning "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" inside-out...
- www.rollingstone.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
.38 Special is a prime example of an AOR band with deep roots in Southern rock. The band hails from Florida, and vocalist Donnie Van Zant is the brother of none other than Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant. The group's 1982 album, Special Forces, included the flawless Top Ten rocker "Caught Up in You," which injected the mainstream with a shot of much-needed grit. That album's follow-up, 1983's Tour De Force, upped the ante, showing the band's skills at their peak...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
In their first album in six years, .38 Special comes back with a brace of tunes that recasts the band in contemporary terms. With the core of the group now sweated down to singer Donnie Van Zant, guitarists Don Barnes (back in the lineup for the first time since 1988) and Danny Chauncey and bassist Larry "L.J." Junstrom, the time off between recordings has served the band well...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27