Featuring singer Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and former lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and 38 Special founder Donnie Van Zant, Van Zant, the band, has had two different careers.
Although they scored bigger hits as a Southern rock duo (after Donnie joined his brother), today, I'm focusing on a track from the AOR version of Van Zant.
In 1985, Van Zant released a self-titled album on Geffen that featured songwriting contributions from such AOR favorites as Jimi Jamison (Survivor, Cobra), Bill LaBounty and Eddie Schwartz (Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot").
A solid enough record, one song stands head and shoulders over the rest of them: "She's Out With a Gun."
Penned by Nick DiStefano—a writer whose biggest hit was "Shelter Me" by Joe Cocker—"She's Out With a Gun" kicks off with a sparkling keyboard hook which gives way to a slow-burning verse that showcases Johnny's killer vocal melody. The driving rhythmic pattern of the verse sections is actually a hook unto itself.
The chorus sounds like something Vital Signs-era Survivor would have cranked out. In other words, it's fucking irresistible. I remember when I first stumbled upon the track during the early days of YouTube, I would sit in front of my computer and just keep rewinding it to the beginning after the first chorus because I wanted to hear it all build up again. Actually, I still do that when I throw on "She's Out With a Gun."
Sadly, the band would change up their style on later albums, leaving the AORisms of "She's Out With a Gun" behind them. These days, Johnny fronts Lynyrd Skynyrd. In a perfect melodic rock world, Serafino Perugino of Frontiers Records could coax him to make another AOR record.
