Ronnie and Donnie Van Zant may have shared a last name, but the two brothers' respective bands couldn't have been more different. On Tour de Force, 38 Special sound less like Lynyrd Skynyrd than Journey. Strip away the Sixties rock garb and the Southern-boogie instrumental lineup (dual guitars and drums), and you have a closet West Coast AOR band. Forget any grittiness or sweaty, good-time rocking; this album is downright polite, all catchy choruses and tight, just-right-for-airplay arrangements. The band may have avoided all the excesses of their Southern legacy–chief among them, self-indulgent jamming and sloppy playing–but 38 Special have also left the guts behind. The group can be applauded for striking out in new directions, but when the results are this tame, it makes you wonder about holding onto your roots.

This reluctance to cut loose may be due less to commercial pressures than to the limitations of the group itself. No one member stands out in 38 Special; there are no guitar hotshots, and the rhythm section, despite the double drumming, is merely adequate. As for Donnie Van Zant, he has none of his late brother's snarling vigor and allows himself to get lost in the shuffle.

Writing isn't this band's strong point, either. The best tunes on Tour de Force are written by outside composers–and this is no coincidence. The only real gem within the fluff is "I Oughta Let Go," cowritten by Troy Seals. With its country-pop lilt, it sounds closer to an authentic Southern sound than anything else on the album; it alone rings true. (RS 415)

STEVE FUTTERMAN