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Post by ekforum on Nov 28, 2009 12:59:03 GMT -5
Pronounced 'Leh-nerd Skin'-nerd Released: August 1973 Chart Peak: #27 Weeks Charted: 79 Certified Double Platinum: 7/21/87
1. I Ain't The One 2. Tuesday's Gone 3. Gimme Three Steps 4. Simple Man 5. Things Goin' On 6. Mississippi Kid 7. Poison Whiskey 8. Free Bird
Lynyrd Skynyrd broadly fit into the hard-driving improvisational blues format pioneered by the Allman Brothers, although the band's welcome bent for brevity keeps most of the tracks tight and to the point. On the other hand, their nine-minute "Freebird" jumps out of the group's debut LP: It offers a tour of blues guitar expertise, conducted by Allen Collins and to a riveting effect. In fact, Skynyrd work with three lead guitarists, a density of stringy instrumentation at times recalling Byrds as much as Allmans.
Eclectic (a shared predilection for much Southern rock), Skynyrd leans on everyone from Rolling Stones ("Tuesday's Gone") and Ry Cooder ("Things Goin' On") to Lovin' Spoonful ("Gimme Three Steps"). Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant mostly sounds like Keith Relf imitating Mick Jagger. Al Kooper's unobstrusively dapper production emphasizes the English connection with ever an eye to poppy parts, a mellotron here, electric 12-string there. But the blunter blues tracks form the album's meat with cuts like "Simple Man" revealing a no-nonsense powerhouse rock unit of modest proportions but considerable promise.- Jim Miller, Rolling Stone, 11-6-73.
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Post by ekforum on Nov 28, 2009 13:04:55 GMT -5
Second Helping Released: April 1974 Chart Peak: #12 Weeks Charted: 45 Certified Double Platinum: 7/21/87
1. Sweet Home Alabama 2. I Need You 3. Don't Ask Me No Questions 4. Workin' for MCA 5. Ballad of Curtis Loew 6. Swamp Music 7. Needle and the Spoon 8. Call Me the Breeze
Certainly one of the finest of the newer Southern rock bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd have put together a fine LP that is remarkably refreshing in a time when much of rock seems at a standstill. Mixing straight rock, blues and country-like sounds, the key to this band may well be that nobody overstates anything. Everything is kept in remarkably tasteful perspective, from the dual guitar leads of Allen Collins and Gary Rossington to the fine lead vocals of Ronnie Van Zant. A vast improvement over the first album and a tribute to the combination of skill and good taste. Best cuts: "Sweet Home Alabama," "I Need You," "The Ballad of Curtis Loew."- Billboard, 1974.
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Post by ekforum on Nov 28, 2009 13:15:53 GMT -5
Nuthin' Fancy Released: August 1975 Chart Peak: unknown Weeks Charted: unknown Certified Double Platinum: Unknown
1. Saturday Night Special 2. Cheatin' Woman 3. Railroad Song 4. I'm A Country Boy 5. On The Hunt 6. Am I Losin' 7. Made In The Shade 8. Whiskey Rock-A Roller
Second Helping brought Lynyrd Skynyrd mass success and for the follow-up they offered Nuthin' Fancy. It was a self-deprecating title for a record that may have offered more of the same, at least on the surface, but was still nearly peerless as a Southern rock record. The biggest difference with this record is that the band, through touring, has become heavier and harder, fitting right in with the heavy album rock bands of the mid-'70s. The second notable difference is that Ronnie VanZant may have been pressed for material, since there are several songs here that are just good generic rockers. But, he and Skynyrd prove that what makes a great band great is how they treat generic material, and Skynyrd makes the whole of Nothin' Fancy feel every bit as convincing as their first two records.
For one, the record has a rawer edge than Second Helping, which helps make the slight preponderance of predictable (but not bad) material easy to accept, since it all sounds so good. Then, there's the fact that many of these eight songs still showcase VanZant at the top of his game, whether it's the storming opener "Saturday Night Special," "Railroad Song," "On the Hunt," or the rollicking "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller." Yes, this does pale in comparison with its predecessors, but most hard rock bands would give their left arm for a record that swaggers and hits as hard as Nuthin' Fancy.- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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Post by ekforum on Nov 28, 2009 18:55:47 GMT -5
Southern By The Grace Of God (live) Released: 1988 Street Date: Aug 3, 1999 (Remastered)
1. Workin' For MCA 2. That Smell 3. I Know A Little 4. Comin' Home 5. You Got That Right 6. What's Your Name 7. Gimme Back My Bullets 8. Swamp Music 9. Call Me The Breeze 10. Dixie/Sweet Home Alabama 11. Freebird
Recorded at Omega Audio & Productions and Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas, Starwood Ampitheatre, Nashville Tennessee in October & November, 1987.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Dean Killpatrick, Lynyrd Skynyrd regrouped for a very successful reunion tour in 1987. Such special guests as Steve Morse and Charlie Daniels (as well as Johnny Van Zandt filling in for his late brother, Ronnie), joined such Skynyrd veterans as Artimus Pyle, Bill Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Gary Rossington, which is all captured on 1988's SOUTHERN BY THE GRACE OF GOD. While SOUTHERN is not on par with the original Skynyrd concert classic, ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD, it is a fun collection nonetheless--you can't go wrong with such FM radio staples as "That Smell," "What's Your Name," "Gimme Back My Bullets," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "Freebird."
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Post by ekforum on Nov 28, 2009 19:03:05 GMT -5
Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 Released: June, 1991 Street Date: June 11, 1991 1. Smokestack Lightning 2. Keeping the Faith 3. Southern Women 4. Pure and Simple 5. I've Seen Enough 6. Good Thing 7. Money Man 8. Backstreet Crawler 9. It's a Killer 10. Momma (Afraid to Say Goodbye) 11. End of the Road Lynyrd Skynyrd: Johnny Van Zant (vocals); Gary Rossington, Ed King, Randall Hall (guitars); Leon Wilkeson (bass); Billy Powell (keyboards); Artimus Pyle (drums, percussion). After Lynyrd Skynyrd's highly successful reunion tour of 1987-88 wrapped up, the band decided to resurrect Skynyrd as a full-time proposition. Signing with Atlantic Records and re-enlisting their longtime producer, Tom Dowd, the band issued 1991, their first new studio album since 1977's STREET SURVIVORS. Instead of experimenting or broadening Skynyrd's longtime southern rock direction, 1991 follows the same formula. 1991 has it's share of highlights--the serene "Pure and Simple" and the guitar rocker "Mama (Afraid to Say Goodbye)".
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Post by ekforum on Nov 29, 2009 10:13:15 GMT -5
The Last Rebel Released: February 16, 1993 Street Date: Aug 3, 1999 (Remastered)
1. Good Lovin's Hard to Find 2. One Thing 3. Can't Take That Away 4. Best Things in Life 5. The Last Rebel 6. Outta Hell In my Dodge 7. Kiss Your Freedom Goodbye 8. South Of Heaven 9. Love Don't Always Come 10. Born To Run
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Johnny Van-Zant (vocals); Ed King (acoustic & electric guitars, 12-string guitar, 6-string bass); Gary Rossington, Randall Hall (guitars); Billy Powell (piano, Hammond B-3, synthesizer); Leon Wilkeson (bass); Custer (drums, percussion); Dale Krantz-Rossington (background vocals). Recorded at Emerald Sound Studios and Javelina Studios, Nashville, Tennessee between July 13 and December 9, 1992. After nearly a decade apart, a reconstructed Lynyrd Skynyrd toured together in the late '80s, and became a full-time band again by the '90s--returning to the grind of recording and touring. The second studio album of the "Johnny Van Zant-era," 1993's THE LAST REBEL, was comparable to its predecessor two years earlier, 1991, since it didn't stray far from Skynyrd's classic '70s output: tough rockers with a country edge. While individual standouts would include such southern rock ditties as "Good Lovin's Hard to Find" and the title track, “THE LAST REBEL”, the latter which includes the incredible and very haunting masterpiece slide work of King.
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Post by ekforum on Nov 29, 2009 10:22:15 GMT -5
Endangered Species Released: August 8, 1994 Street Date: August 8, 1994
1. Down South Jukin' 2. Heartbreak Hotel 3. Devil In The Bottle 4. Thing's Goin' On 5. Saturday Night Special 6. Sweet Home Alabama 7. I Ain't The One 8. Am I Losin' 9. All I Have Is A Song 10. Poison Whiskey 11. Good Luck, Bad Luck 12. The Last Rebel 13. Hillbilly Blues
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Johnny Van Zant (vocals); Mike Estes (acoustic guitar); Gary Rossington (acoustic & National guitars); Ed King (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Billy Powell (piano); Leon Wilkeson (acoustic bass); Owen Hale (drums, percussion); Debbie Davis, Dale Krantz-Rossington (background vocals). Recorded at Masterfonics Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. In the early-mid '90s, the "unplugged" album was king. Such classic rock artists as Eric Clapton scored huge hits with the acoustic format, and just about every rock act followed in issuing a stripped down and intimate set, including Lynyrd Skynyrd with 1994's ENDANGERED SPECIES. Versions of Skynyrd's classic tunes are featured for the most part, but newer selections round out the collection as well, however it's acoustic versions of "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special," "Down South Jukin'," and "I Ain't the One" that longtime fans will want to hear most. Credit should also go to producer Barry Beckett (a longtime regular at the famed Muscle Shoals recording studio), who helps Skynyrd achieve a sparkling yet warm sound throughout. ENDANGERED SPECIES would signal the last studio album that included the talents of original Skynyrd guitarist Ed King.
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