Customer Reviews

Live at Sturgis

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you love .38 Special (which I'm sure you probably do if you're reading this), then this CD will not disappoint you at all. Sure, as previously mentioned, not ALL of their great songs are represented here, but the ones that they do are done very well. When I purchased this right here on Amazon.com, I was a little concerned since it had been so many years since I heard these boys play live, but on first listen my worries were totally disspelled. Don Barnes's voice, although it has clearly aged a bit (he doesn't hit most of the higher notes he used to reach, plus he doesn't sing lead as often on here) is still in fine shape, and Donnie Van Zant still has that great bloozy Van Zant voice. (You know what ah'm talkin' 'bout!)

Every song is good, including the ones that I previously didn't know, such as the rollicking "Deja Voodoo" and the great Donnie Van Zant tribute to his brother Ronnie "Rebel to Rebel." Every song is from their live concert in Sturgis, SD (hence the CD's title), except for the very last track, "Just One Girl," which is a studio track recorded in 1999. It's a fairly mellow track, co-written by Don Barnes, Danny Chauncey, and Jim Peterik, and co-produced by Barnes and Chauncey. It's a nice song, and is good to mellow-out to after the fiery live versions of "Caught Up In You" and "Hold On Loosely."

If you love .38 Special, you will definitely like this CD. Don Barnes is back, and so is the original power and passion the band had many years ago. The boys are back! Now, all I have to do is buy "Live at Sturgis" on DVD!! :)

I will only say that without the songwriting of Don Barnes and Jim Peterik this album would just be a replay of their old classics. This live album contains two new songs from Barnes and Co. The songs are fresh,strongly emotional and hard-rocking, thanks for your music,guys!

I never thought that it was possible for a recording to capture the spirit of a 38 Special live performance. I was wrong. This one does it. You won't find a better live album than this one!

I've never been the biggest fan of southern rock,as for a general rule. However,after just so many years,bands like ZZ Top,Molly Hatchet and .38 Special had REALLY began to 'grow' on me. I think one factor I respect about southern rockers is they seem to accept fans, followers and patrons from virtually all walks of life. Okay,I'll step off my soap box now.Saw .38 Special play a co-headline gig with Night Ranger a little while back and I was truly amazed at how many of their tunes I didn't PREVIOUSLY know by name.'Live At Sturgis' is a good live album. Tracks that are sure to live in my memory for sometime to come are "Rockin' Into The Night","Wild-Eyed Southern Boys",the band's semi-tear jerker (for some) "If I'd Been The One","Deja Voodoo","Fantasy Girl" and "Hold on Loosely". Plus,there's one new studio cut tagged on,"Just One Girl". Duration:66:50.Sure don't miss those double vinyl lp's,they tape up WAY too much room. Great to listen to on a Saturday night.

I have no particular fondness for live albums, but once in a blue moon
i happen upon a non-studio release that sends the old ticker into
overdrive. You've probably seen this coming, but yeah, .38 Special's
"Live at Sturgis" is one of those albums. The town of
Sturgis i would presume is either the location of a rock festival
frequented by motorcyclists, the site of the "Easy rider"
fan club's annual venue or a retirement resort for wayward Hell's
Angels in their twilight years, judging from the booklet's back
cover. When considering the type of crowd these guys attract, it
shouldn't be too difficult to guess what they are made of, even for
those who can't tell a .38 Special from a .357 Magnum. They have a
well-deserved reputation for being a great live band, as i have been
able to ascertain on several occasions (via my TV set). With their
exciting blend of AOR and southern rock, .38 Special in my opinion
belong to a rare breed whose songs sound more energetic, forceful and
emotionally driven on stage than on any of their studio
albums. Generally i prefer it when audience participation is kept down
to a minimum and welcome studio editing/overdubs meant to achieve a
more flawless outcome ("Greatest hits live" by Journey and
"AOR live" by Le Roux are good examples of this kind of
radical doctoring). In this case however the band's interaction with
their fans only enhances the disc's dynamic atmosphere, while the
crowd singing along to some of the choruses bothers me less than
usual, if at all. "Live at Sturgis" (recorded at the Buffalo
Chip campground in Sturgis, South Dakota) captures the raw essence of
R & R in a fervent rendition of 12 classic .38 Special
tracks.

The tracklisting reads very much like a "Best of"
compilation. There are as always a few tracks that i would like to
have seen included on this album (i.e. "Back to paradise",
"Rough housin", "Stone cold believer" and so on),
but with this line-up of songs and a total playing time of nearly 67
minutes i have little reason to lodge a formal complaint or write to
my local congressman. On which note i arrive at the cold, hard
facts. Lead off track "Rockin' into the night" was taken
from the 1979 album of the same name, "Wild-eyed southern
boys" (1981) is represented by "Fantasy girl", encore
"Hold on loosely" and its title track, while "Caught up
in you" and "Take 'em out" are tracks off of their
"Special forces" LP (1982). Their best ever studio album
"Tour de force" (1983) supplies the more AOR oriented
"Back where you belong", "If i'd been the one" and
the cunningly titled "Twentieth century fox", tracks
selected from "Resolution" (1997) being "Fade to
blue" and "Deja voodoo". Absolute highlight on
"Live at Sturgis" is the awesome "Rebel to rebel",
originally on "Bone against steel" (1991), which is
dedicated to vocalist Donnie van Zant's late brother Ronnie of Lynyrd
Skynyrd. Starting off as a ballad, it quickly transforms into a
stirring rock anthem featuring a brilliant guitar solo by lead
guitarist Danny Chauncey. Like 7 of the other songs, the new studio
recording "Just one girl" (a decent track, but not as good
as the rest) was co-written by Survivor's Jim Peterik. Don Barnes and
Donnie van Zant are in excellent voice on this self-produced album, on
which .38 Special's regular foursome are joined by keyboard player
Bobby Capps and drummer Gary Moffatt, both listed as additional
musicians on their most recent studio outing
("Resolution").

I would recommend this album to any fan of
melodic heavy rock music who would like to see the south rise again,
Yankee, Confederate or otherwise. It's one of the best live recordings
currently available. (Full marks also to the girl with the bike !)

This CD is incredible, and the video is a must have companion to it. It includes every hit and every vibe from the .38 experience. It really made me hungry to see them again and to hear more, more, more! The new song, Just One Girl shows clearly that this band is not something that happened in the 80's, this is a band for all time! Get this and you are THERE in the front row! It is shows like that which this CD was recorded from that keeps me going to concerts and always will!

WOW...be prepared to be completely blown away. 38 Special is hotter than ever and this CD will prove it to you! The beyond awesomely talented guitar work of Don Barnes will blow you out of your seat, as well as the powerful bass of Larry Junstrom, and the awesome guitar work of Danny Chauncey, keyboards of Bobby Capps, powerful drums of Gary Moffit and the guitar and vocals of Donnie Van Zant. You will swear the concert is being held in your living room because the sound is so crystal clear. This is rock and roll at its most finest and this band knows how to rock like no other!

I've had the pleasure to see 38 Special a few times in concert and this is exactly how i remember the shows. Lots of energy and superb playing. Rebel To Rebel is the best song on the album. Put this disc in your cd player and kick back and enjoy!

this cd is probably the best live performance
I have ever heard from 38 special,its kind of
like the best of 38 live,I love rebel to rebel
and fantasy girl and all the rest of the hits,
this is a great one to buy.

The last time I saw .38 Special was in '86 or '87. I bought this cd on a whim-I figured it to be a trip down memory lane. I was absolutely blown away! I forgot what a great live band .38 is. It's all here, "Rocking Into The Night","If I'd Been the One","Hold on Loosely". Van Zant never sounded better than he does on "Rebel to Rebel". Barnes is in great voice throughout the entire show. Danny Chauncey is a pleasant surprise-his guitar work, along with Barnes is flawless. It's all backed up with a great rhythym section. The only negative criticism I can offer is that it isn't a double cd. It would've have been great if songs like "Teacher, Teacher", "Chain Lightning", or "Travelin' Band" were included. This is a great live cd. After buying it, I replaced all of my .38 cassetes with cd's and caught the band twice last year. The band has obviously grown and will continue to do so.