Straight outta the small town of Green Cove Springs, right outside of Jacksonville, Florida, came a group of rebellious southern boys who just wouldn’t cut their hair, wouldn’t bow to their “superiors”, and they sure as hell wouldn’t stop playing kickin, raw, unadulterated southern rock. The boys of Lynyrd Skynyrd played some of the best damn in-your-face rock from the south and even the U.S. in general in a time period where the Brits owned the rock scene. Their triple guitar barrage and energetic frontman would become rock and roll legend, solidifying them as one of the best bands in rock history. Alas, they are one of the most infamous. Rebellious off stage antics, a feud with Neil Young (supposedly), and a plane crash would tarnish their reputation for years.
I Ain’t The One starts out with a quick count down and looping drumbeat then kicks into a bluesy mid tempo guitar groove. As the beat stays steady, one of LS’s talented guitarists (not like it matters which) plays some soaring notes in the back while the piano adds to the blues flavor of the track. The drums and bass are steady the whole song. Van Zandt easily has one of the most powerful voices of his time. He may not have a whole lot of range but he has a commanding “growl and howl” voice that completely suits the bands style. Of course, like every LS song this one ends in a chaotic guitar solo, this one being a bit short however.
After such a kick ass opener, the start of Tuesday’s Gone is a bit surprising. It’s so melancholy and beautiful sounding. It always amazes me that LS could make a song like this. It’s just so far from their usual style…but not in a bad way. The rhythm has a jangly sound to it and the lead has an echoing pitch. The vocals take the backseat and the calm music does its job here, but the drums really shine for the first time on the album. There is even a piano “solo” and some operatic themes backing it. Honestly if LS had never made Freebird this would easily be their crowning achievement.
Gimme Three Steps is a return to the LS “signature” rock sound. The main guitar riff is catchy beyond all reason and scratches at your senses like a cat growl. It actually sounds a lot like That Smell at times. This song also sported the first bass line to impress me on the album. The last two tracks didn’t give the bass tracks much time to shine.
Everyone is Florida has certainly heard Simple Man at some point, but not because of LS. Local band, Shinedown covered it as a way to get famous fast. It didn’t do LS justice at all however. The intro is some sad notes and the song follows a pretty simple pattern. It starts out somber and silent, picks up momentum, then bursts into some uplifting vocals and guitar. It’s a very emotional and powerful song with a good solo to boot. Shinedown should be ashamed for doing such a bad cover, especially without a guitar solo. What the hell were they thinking?
The into to Things Goin’ On is just plain perfect. It’s got a real southern swagger to it. The bass just keeps poundin on relentlessly in a simplistic but catchy way. What really gives this track it’s identity however is the bar room style piano and Van Zandt’s powerful voice that gives the song a truly “old timey” feel to it. Just makes you wanna scream “Yeehah” and feel embarrassed for supporting southern stereotypes.
Mississippi Kid has another great intro with a country style, but this intro is better described as acoustic, jangly, and blue grass-ish. Some neat guitar slides can be heard in the back. This time LS doesn’t waste any time playing a quick but neat solo. This track also has a harmonica solo! All in all Mississippi Kid has a very laid back country feel to it.
Poison Whiskey is a complete rocker track. It has a little bit of piano to “add” to the great guitar, until the end, which supports a long piano jingle. But the songs whole focus is poundin out sum hard guitar riffs as Van Zandt grumbles out some mean lyrics. Honestly, this track actually sounds like it could be a Led Zeppelin song.
Ok…here it is. This is the track, which totally makes this album. It’s possibly the greatest American rock song of all time. Yes…it is Free Bird. Don’t worry my darlings, I understand it is how I review THIS song that’ll make or break this whole review, so your about to get one hell of a paragraph.
Free Bird starts out with some angelic organ that automatically builds up this song to be epic. The drums add to this “build up” period as the cymbals rattle and it feels as if LS is coming down from heaven itself to blow you away. The guitar that kicks in with some chords being strummed in the rhythm and the lead kicks in with some slow but powerful guitar, remenescent of Tuesdays Gone. The song gradually builds up tempo into its famous and forceful chorus. There are some operatic sounds backing the boys up every now and then. Van Zandt’s voice is literally perfect in this song. At the second half of the song the tempo completely shifts into a fast hard rockin beat and then the orgasmic guitar solo kicks in. It starts out with just one guitar, in a pretty standard LS solo gut then all hell breaks loose as the three axe wielders thrash your senses with controlled chaos in a bottle. Chaos never sounded this good…or looked…or even tasted this nice. The boys continue to thrash away as the drums pick up to a frenetic pace as the solos continue pretty much to the end of the song with fades away gradually, thus ending one of the most perfect albums of all time. There really are no weak tracks on this C.D. If this isn’t a classic, then I don’t know what is.
