REVIEW: Lynyrd Skynyrd Release Unfolds ‘Smell’ Surprise
Joe Tennis/Bristol Herald Courier
Published: May 8, 2008
Updated: May 8, 2008
LYNYRD SKYNYRD, “Street Survivors – Deluxe Edition” (Geffen) Published: May 8, 2008
Updated: May 8, 2008
Just a few months before Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crashed, the band made what original singer Ronnie Van Zant considered the band’s finest album, “Street Survivors.”
But, in doing so, the band actually recorded that album twice.
The final result in 1977 contained rock classics “What’s Your Name” and “That Smell” – and was released just three days before Van Zant’s death in the plane crash of Oct. 20, 1977.
An anti-drug anthem, “That Smell” has since become a regular staple of rock-radio playlists. That song shows Skynyrd at its most-intricate and fiery best. It’s a track layered with multiple musical talents, from the rhythm section of Artimus Pyle and Leon Wilkeson to the guitar mastery of Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Allen Collins.
But where did this oddly-titled tune come from?
Well, the story lies in the “That Smell” demos contained on the newly released “Street Survivors – Deluxe Edition.” This two-CD set is a must-have for Skynyrd fans simply for its rarities, like a nearly 8-minute-long, early version of “That Smell.”
The track was recorded with producer Tom Dowd, who, about the same time, had produced Eric Clapton’s “Slowhand” album. Not surprisingly, Dowd’s December 1976 recording of “That Smell” sounds a little like Clapton’s “Cocaine.”
Now, here’s the twist.
Just about the time the song seems to end, Pyle hits a drum beat, and the band soars off into a previously-unheard jam that rivals any of Skynyrd’s finest moments on record. The guitarists weave melodies around each other’s, and Pyle hits a beat that borders on thunder.
Still, it might sound like you’ve heard this before.
Musical sections of that unreleased jam seemed to show up later in both “Misery Loves Company” and “Getaway,” a couple of songs recorded in 1980 by a Skynyrd sequel – the post-plane crash act called The Rossington Collins Band.
The modern-day Lynyrd Skynyrd also seemed to revisit some of these musical ideas on “Workin’,” a song released in 1999.
But go here for the original.
To the die-hard fans, this one recording will be worth the price of admission alone.
n Lynyrd Skynyrd is performing at Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena on May 10 at 7 p.m., with Hank Williams Jr. Tickets are $69.50, $59.50 and $39.50. Call (865) 974-0953.
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