Published on Mar 11, 2001
It seems like it would be the perfect meeting of two Southern
Rock powers, pairing Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and his
brother Donnie (38 Special) together. It’s already been done once,
on
Brother To Brother a few years ago – one of the few discs
out of the CMC stable I haven’t checked out.
Now the brothers meet again for
Van Zant II, a disc that tries not to be either Skynyrd or
38 Special – and the end result is near chaos.
Mind you, I’m not against the brothers Van Zant doing albums
together; both have incredible voices and are talented singers in
their own right. But it sometimes feels like they’re trying to
leave their musical roots behind and step out onto a path that is
less familiar to them. Oh, sure, had they made an album that
sounded like Lynyrd Skynyrd or 38 Special, someone would have
complained that they were resting on their laurels. After hearing
the bulk of
Van Zant II, I know that’s exactly where I’d prefer them to
be.
Right from the get-go, you can tell this is a troubled album.
Part of the problem is that both Van Zants are so good that it’s
hard to know when each individual singer should be in the driver’s
seat. Having both sing at the same time, especially when harmony
vocals are eschewed, is merely a recipe for disaster, as “Oklahoma”
proves.
But part of the problem is also in the songwriting, something
both Van Zant brothers and producer Robert White Johnson can share
the blame for. Many of the songs on
Van Zant II don’t even sound like the “B” material for
either of their respected groups. Instead, tracks such as “At Least
I’m Free,” “Imagination,” “Get What You Got Comin'” and “Baby Get
Blue” all sound like they were written for someone else and tackled
by the Van Zants. Had both Johnny and Donnie Van Zant not been
songwriters for all 10 tracks (though Donnie Van Zant seems to be
the main songwriter of the two), I’d think that was the case. Even
the guitar talents of Kenny Wayne Shepherd on two tracks seems
wasted.
This isn’t to say that all of
Van Zant II is a waste. There is a light of hope held out
early on with the track “Heart Of An Angel,” a song which
admittedly has to grow on you a bit. But the real fireworks are
saved for the closing tracks of the album. “What’s The World Coming
To” begins to have the feel of a classic Southern Rock band
(reminding me a little bit of the solo work of Warren Haynes),
while “Alive” (the only track co-written with Jim Peterik) shows
the potential the Van Zants and their backing band had throughout
this disc. “Wildside” is a lesser track of the three, but still
stands out among the carnage.
It’s surprising that Johnny and Donnie Van Zant would miss the
target as they did on
Van Zant II. I’m told that
Brother To Brother was an amazing disc – and it makes me
wonder if it’s just impossible to recreate that initial magic.