THE JOHNNY VAN ZANT BAND – Round Two [Rock Candy remastered] HQ

Many of you have been asking for missing Rock Candy reissues to complete collections, and here’s as requested THE JOHNNY VAN ZANT BAND second album “Round Two” fully remastered from the master tapes and for the first time officially on CD.
Johnny Van Zant is of course member of the Southern rock’s “royal family” as the younger brother of rock legends Ronnie Van Zant from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Donnie Van Zant from 38 Special.
The Johnny Van Zant Band got signed to Polydor Records and after a successful debut LP, they released “Round Two” in 1981. Produced by Kevin Elson and with Steve Perry & Jonathan Cain providing backing vocals, this is a much more AOR flavored effort with a melodic rock sheen.

Opener “Who’s Right or Wrong” is the rock and roll equivalent of a kick in the teeth. The bass and drum kick, in perfect sync says, “take that, *itch!”. And Erik Lundgren’s guitar is as bad ass as it gets. It’s just a driving song from the beginning. Any faster and it would be too much, any slower and it loses that ‘in-your-face-‘ attitude. Perfect song to open a show.
Next is “Standing in the Falling Rain”. My guess is this song was loosely inspired by Johnny’s loss of his big brother. This song is little more laid back but still has that authority that these guys had. It opens with what appears to be a Strat-like guitar through a chorus pedal. It has kind of an ethereal undertone. The basic progression is pretty straightforward but, once again, Erik’s guitar solo will give you a chill up your spine. Such an underrated player! Great tune.

“Yesterday’s Gone” is one of those songs about the best times being behind us. Or yearning for those simpler times, drinking beer with buddies or holding hands with your best girl. It’s about being on the road and being alone and reflecting on everything those carefree days and the people we miss from our past.
“Let There be Music” is an upbeat, happy AORish number. It’s basically about, “hey, forget the bad stuff, the daily grind, daily stresses. Let there be music! Crank it up and party!” Again, sweet guitar work. This one has some great harmonies. I’m assuming they were Erik and Robbie Gay together.

“Keep Our Love Alive” is a ballad, complete with strings, vey early 80s radio friendly. The guitars are a little more subdued, with some nice double-stop work in the intro. The vocal harmonies are well done and tasteful. Great little tune to dance to with your sweetheart on a Saturday night at home while enjoying a glass of wine. The main guitar solo is a little hotter than the rest of the song.

“Drive My Car” is probably one of my favorite remakes of this song. It’s the Beatles tune in the style of JVZ. Nuff said. “Shotdown” is about bad people in the city, getting revenge for dating another guy’s girl, and he’s relentless. Leaving you always looking over your shoulder. This is a straight-ahead rock tune. Just lay back and let er’ rip. As always, great guitar work, thumpin’ bass and spot-on drums.
“Cold Hearted Woman” has a more relaxed pace but a good rocker just the same. And honestly, all the guitar work on this release is superb to my taste and this one is no different.

Lastly is “Play My Music”. This one is about living the life of a gypsy just to get that thrill of seeing and hearing the crowd every night. It makes it all worthwhile even though you’re never in one place for more than a night. It’s the shortest song on the CD but it’s better to have a song be a little bit short than to artificially drag it out.

On this Rock Candy the remastering quality is superb. Unlike some, “remastered” CD’s that don’t sound much different, this one is noticeable. You would think it was recorded with state of the art equipment. No residual hiss, clicks, pops or other digital artifacts. Solid, tight bass. Crisp, clean highs.
Highly Recommended

01 – (Who’s) Right Or Wrong
02 – Standing In The Falling Rain
03 – Yesterday’s Gone
04 – Let There Be Music
05 – Keep Our Love Alive
06 – Night Time Lady
07 – Drive My Car
08 – Shotdown
09 – Cold Hearted Woman
10 – Play My Music

Johnny Van Zant – vocals
Robbie Gay – guitar
Erik Lundgren – guitar
Danny Clausman – bass guitar
Robbie Morris – drums
Kevin Elson – keyboards
Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain – background vocals

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www.amazon.com/Round-Two-Johnny-Band-Zant/dp/B008B88O74