Album: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Born: Jacksonville, Florida
Released: August 1973
Genre: Southern Rock
Influenced: Black Crowes, REM, Kings Of Leon, My Morning Jacket
Innovation in the hard rock genre progressively petered out during the 70s, but there were some bands (especially in the southern US) that were still producing original work, notably ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Produced by Al Kooper (of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Like A Rolling Stone fame) and inspired by the sound of fellow Jacksonville group Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd's self-titled debut album blends many of the elements of Americana (country, blues and rock & roll) into a uniquely southern rock sound. There's a sentimentality and folksy wisdom to the lyrics and, on the longer tracks especially, a potent mix of hard rock riffs and Ronnie Van Zant's emotive singing. I distinctly remember the first time I listened to Free Bird, on a school trip to Greece sharing my friend Si's headphones while lazing on a boat under the Mediterranean sun, and it will forever summon up a glorious sense of possibility and adventure.
Initially a tribute to Duane Allman, Free Bird ended up becoming a memorial to the original band line-up, when several members (including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant) died in a plane crash in 1977. That opening piano and organ section creates the sound of a mournful dirge, while the surging guitar riff gives the sense of a phoenix rising from the flames, as the song shifts from ballad to hard rock in a fashion that matches Stairway To Heaven. Tuesday's Gone follows a similar pattern but the lyrics are more distinctly country in tone, his "baby's gone with the wind" and the train "rolls on". Kooper again enhances the powerful riffs with synthesisers and Mellotron strings, and the song will always remind me of youthful abandon and the open road because of the way it's used so well in Dazed & Confused. Simple Man is another highlight in a similar vein, while Gimme Three Steps and Poison Whiskey show a more macho, barroom rock side to their musical persona. It's easy to write Lynyrd Skynyrd off as rednecks that flew the Confederate flag, swigged Jack Daniels and sung of Sweet Home Alabama, but if you dig deeper you see these were long-haired hippies influenced by soul music (especially Otis Redding) who weren't afraid to show their tender side. More than anything though, this album rocks.
Innovation in the hard rock genre progressively petered out during the 70s, but there were some bands (especially in the southern US) that were still producing original work, notably ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Produced by Al Kooper (of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Like A Rolling Stone fame) and inspired by the sound of fellow Jacksonville group Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd's self-titled debut album blends many of the elements of Americana (country, blues and rock & roll) into a uniquely southern rock sound. There's a sentimentality and folksy wisdom to the lyrics and, on the longer tracks especially, a potent mix of hard rock riffs and Ronnie Van Zant's emotive singing. I distinctly remember the first time I listened to Free Bird, on a school trip to Greece sharing my friend Si's headphones while lazing on a boat under the Mediterranean sun, and it will forever summon up a glorious sense of possibility and adventure.
Initially a tribute to Duane Allman, Free Bird ended up becoming a memorial to the original band line-up, when several members (including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant) died in a plane crash in 1977. That opening piano and organ section creates the sound of a mournful dirge, while the surging guitar riff gives the sense of a phoenix rising from the flames, as the song shifts from ballad to hard rock in a fashion that matches Stairway To Heaven. Tuesday's Gone follows a similar pattern but the lyrics are more distinctly country in tone, his "baby's gone with the wind" and the train "rolls on". Kooper again enhances the powerful riffs with synthesisers and Mellotron strings, and the song will always remind me of youthful abandon and the open road because of the way it's used so well in Dazed & Confused. Simple Man is another highlight in a similar vein, while Gimme Three Steps and Poison Whiskey show a more macho, barroom rock side to their musical persona. It's easy to write Lynyrd Skynyrd off as rednecks that flew the Confederate flag, swigged Jack Daniels and sung of Sweet Home Alabama, but if you dig deeper you see these were long-haired hippies influenced by soul music (especially Otis Redding) who weren't afraid to show their tender side. More than anything though, this album rocks.
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