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"Pronounced",Skynyrd's debut,the "Second Helping" album,the raw "Muscle Shoals" recordings are the band's definitive essentials. The extra tracks on this version are also excellent,including the demos of "Mr. It's been said the early work of any artist are usually the best, all three of these recordings reveal the true colors of Ronnie Van Zant and the band as a whole,the instrumentations are tight,Billy Powell's piano notes are right on key,Powell's style is very similar to Professor Longhair. "Pronounced" is eight songs with some of their strongest classic material,"Gimme Three Steps","Free Bird","Tuesday's Gone",and "Simple Man",and you gotta love the blues/rock oriented ,"Things Goin' On","Mississippi Kid","I Ain't The One". Banker"-more blues,the rockin' "Down South Jukin'","Tuesday's Gone","Gimme Three Steps",and an eleven minute jam session of the anthem,Free Bird. This band with the "southern sounds" of the past knew how to flat out rock in every sense of the word,"Skynyrd".
I'll keep it short, since I am far from an expert on Southern Rock.All I know is that this is one classic album with so many classic tracks, it almost looks like a greatest hits package an it's their debut.The thing that always strikes me as amazing is how heavy a song like "Simple Man" is, it is so similar to the "power ballads" that so many bands would include in the late 70's and even moreso in the early 80's. And this track is to me so much stronger and powerful than most of the ones that bands (most not southern rock at all) would churn out album after album to release after a fast paced rocker. All those 80's bands would include a song (or two).Just one great band, and one great album.
Every song on this cd is as good as the other. If you want a true southern rock classic album / just a flat out great rock album this is a must have in your collection. Set aside for a second the huge hits if you can on this album though it covers half of the album 5/8 of the songs. Mississippi Kid is a great southern/whisky bar style feel to it and sounds just as good as the monster hits the same can be said for Thing's goin' On, and I Ain't the one. Also one I might add will see reoccurence in the stero or cd player. It certainly has in my case and I am a fan of every genre of rock.
Outstanding early Lynyrd Skynryd Period. This is a great cd, and a "must-have" for any serious Skynyrd fan, and I'm a fan to the "bone". On this particular edition of this cd, you get 8 basic songs, plus, 5 bonus songs as follows:1.I ain't the One.2.Tuesday's Gone3.Gimme Three Steps4.Simple Man5.Things Goin' On6.Mississippi Kid7.Poison Whiskey8.FreebirdBonus tracks:9.Mr. Banker10.Down South Junkin' (Demo)11.Tuesday's Gone (Demo)12.Gimme Three Steps (Demo)13.Freebird (Demo)This album cd was produced by the "Yankee Slicker" himself, Al Kooper, the MCA talent scout, who discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd performing on Peachtree Street, in downtown Atlanta, in the very early 1970's. Buy one, and enjoy it. It's good from beginning to end.
This is an incredible album. Added extra cut's kind of ruins things here. Most of what people are 5 staring should in reality be 4 stars.One thing I don't care for on this reissue is the inclusion of the "bonus tracks".
Which suggests that if this is the yardstick for a 5 star album, the bar has indeed been set very high. Don't get me wrong re-mastering an album is great but I'm a stickler for authenticity. There is no reasonable explanation to give this anything but 5 stars.
This is true of most reissues it seems. Some other albums that are worthy of 5 stars would be Pink Floyd's The Wall, Led Zeppelin IV, and Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell. If you think about the caliber of these albums you will reach the same conclusion that I have; there are far too many 5 star albums here.
I want to hear the album as I remember hearing it back when it first came out. More content does not equal better.
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