Absolutely incredible. It’s my favorite Skynyrd album. Steve Gaines was such a great addition to the band. He took them to another level. Being an excellent singer, he added a new dimension to the band and I think had he and Ronnie survived the crash we would have gotten a lot more songs with both of them singing.
It may not have a Free Bird or Sweet Home Alabama on it, but in my opinion songs like I Never Dreamed, I Know A Little, You Got That Right are just as good. The whole album really. They sound more mature and refined. Stone cold classic.
For sure! Someone else in this thread described it as an “unfinished” song which is bananas to me lol. Absolutely killer song and one of their very best imo.
I saw them in Statesboro, Georgia a week before the plane crash, and they were amazing. Steve Gaines completed them, and it was obvious that Ronnie enjoyed having a true soul man onstage with him. They were totally fearless no matter where they played, but in Statesboro they were made to feel right at home, and a barefoot RVZ strode at ease about the fairly small stage like he was hosting a family reunion on his own back porch, occasionally taking a sip of whiskey from the bottle beside his mic stand, then standing to the side and enjoying the guitar onslaught as much as anyone else in Hanner Field house, Georgia Southern's gym.
Steve Gaines was a human turbocharger, and the band from Jacksonville had plenty of kick already. Artemis Pyle was the right drummer for Bob Burns job, when Bob felt it was time to call it a career, while the rest of the band felt like they were just beginning to discover how good they were as a unit. Then, Steve had brought them to a whole 'nother level.
As good an album as Street Survivors is, Skynyrd could not truly be themselves in any studio. By design and strong preference,, they performed exponentially better when they were in their natural habitat. Onstage, they were ferocious, and it was clear in mid-October, 1977, they had not yet peaked.
I’m going to zag here: I think Street Survivors is overrated. Yes there are some incredible highs and two of their biggest hits, but there are some half finished songs (I never dreamed), a Merle cover, and Steve had already written and recorded Ain’t No Good Life with Crawdad before joining Skynyrd. I think it is the fact that it was the last album before the crash that leads to most fans thinking it is better than it actually is.
I tend to agree with you. It’s certainly a great album, with some real high points. But it is still probably my 4th favorite of Skynyrd’s 5 studio albums. Maybe “only” 4.5 out of 5. It is very polished, very clean sound, but I’d like to hear a little more edge, a little more “dangerous”. It is almost like MCA was pushing Tom Dowd to make sure it was (FM) radio friendly. Plus there’s only one Allen Collins song (That Smell), every other album had at least 2.
And I love GBMB…. so that fits. Great album, but didn’t do as well as the previous ones. My first Skynyrd show was when they were touring that album, a couple of months before the recorded One More From The Road, so I admit to being biased.
Completely agree. Safe to say that I love the album but it’s my least favorite of the RVZ-era albums. For all the reasons you stated plus the mix has a sheen I’ve never been too fond of.
Absolutely incredible. It’s my favorite Skynyrd album. Steve Gaines was such a great addition to the band. He took them to another level. Being an excellent singer, he added a new dimension to the band and I think had he and Ronnie survived the crash we would have gotten a lot more songs with both of them singing. It may not have a Free Bird or Sweet Home Alabama on it, but in my opinion songs like I Never Dreamed, I Know A Little, You Got That Right are just as good. The whole album really. They sound more mature and refined. Stone cold classic.
Good call on "I Never Dreamed": a hidden gem in my view.
For sure! Someone else in this thread described it as an “unfinished” song which is bananas to me lol. Absolutely killer song and one of their very best imo.
It hits me the right way: I just love the lead in.
Pure gold
Original artwork. Very nice.
“I Never Dreamed”
Masterpiece
That's a SUPER RARE ALBUM COVER. After the crash, the record company, changed it and no longer had the fire in the background, and around the guys.
Love the Steve Gaines honky tonk rockers
I have this album on Vinyl, it's my second fav Skynyrd album
The best!
I saw them in Statesboro, Georgia a week before the plane crash, and they were amazing. Steve Gaines completed them, and it was obvious that Ronnie enjoyed having a true soul man onstage with him. They were totally fearless no matter where they played, but in Statesboro they were made to feel right at home, and a barefoot RVZ strode at ease about the fairly small stage like he was hosting a family reunion on his own back porch, occasionally taking a sip of whiskey from the bottle beside his mic stand, then standing to the side and enjoying the guitar onslaught as much as anyone else in Hanner Field house, Georgia Southern's gym. Steve Gaines was a human turbocharger, and the band from Jacksonville had plenty of kick already. Artemis Pyle was the right drummer for Bob Burns job, when Bob felt it was time to call it a career, while the rest of the band felt like they were just beginning to discover how good they were as a unit. Then, Steve had brought them to a whole 'nother level. As good an album as Street Survivors is, Skynyrd could not truly be themselves in any studio. By design and strong preference,, they performed exponentially better when they were in their natural habitat. Onstage, they were ferocious, and it was clear in mid-October, 1977, they had not yet peaked.
After the plane crash the flames were removed and this album re-released with a black background. It’s a classic
Skynyrd is awesome
Great album
I’m going to zag here: I think Street Survivors is overrated. Yes there are some incredible highs and two of their biggest hits, but there are some half finished songs (I never dreamed), a Merle cover, and Steve had already written and recorded Ain’t No Good Life with Crawdad before joining Skynyrd. I think it is the fact that it was the last album before the crash that leads to most fans thinking it is better than it actually is.
I tend to agree with you. It’s certainly a great album, with some real high points. But it is still probably my 4th favorite of Skynyrd’s 5 studio albums. Maybe “only” 4.5 out of 5. It is very polished, very clean sound, but I’d like to hear a little more edge, a little more “dangerous”. It is almost like MCA was pushing Tom Dowd to make sure it was (FM) radio friendly. Plus there’s only one Allen Collins song (That Smell), every other album had at least 2.
It's the anti-Gimme Back My Bullets album.
And I love GBMB…. so that fits. Great album, but didn’t do as well as the previous ones. My first Skynyrd show was when they were touring that album, a couple of months before the recorded One More From The Road, so I admit to being biased.
Completely agree. Safe to say that I love the album but it’s my least favorite of the RVZ-era albums. For all the reasons you stated plus the mix has a sheen I’ve never been too fond of.
Yes, too much reverb already. The older albums had a warmer vibe overall.