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Lynyrd Skynyrd


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18 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

LZ wrote a lot of great songs, which is why the plagiarism stuff was always baffling to me.  Fucking great band -- great songs, great musicianship, one of the all-time frontmen, a guitar legend, a multi-instrumental wizard and arranger in Jones, and the amazing Bonham and his bass drum from Valhalla.

 

One thing I always liked about Skynyrd was that they could occasionally broach some deep topics like death ("That Smell") or gun violence ("Saturday Night Special") while still getting you to shake your ass and without coming off as preachy.  

 

 

Don't sleep on Page as a producer. Those albums sound like they could have been recorded yesterday. 

And as far as the plagiarism, it's terrible that the stole licks and lyrics from the guys who stole them first. 

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23 hours ago, retread said:

 

cover song, albeit a great cover. for me skynyrd didn't have enough range in their music to keep it interesting over the course of an album. however, they did have some great lyrics and all time great rock songs. i still consider them a tier below the great classic rock bands though. 

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On 7/7/2021 at 4:12 PM, Onboard 2.0 said:

If there's any doubt about the international power of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Sweet Home Alabama... This should put that to rest.

 

 

Adolf sitting in with the band?   I mean who isn't a Skynyrd fan.

 

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I’m going to throw this out there….Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums are better than anyone’s else first two albums (rock and metal). in my opinion there are no weak tracks and many of the deep cuts are just as good as the radio warhorses. Off the top of my head the other contenders are Velvet Underground, Zep, Black Sabbath, Hendrix, The Stooges, and The Band.

The only thing that keep them from the Mount Rushmore conversations are the middle two albums. While Nuthin Fancy and Gimme Back Your Bullets are good albums, they are not on the level of the first two. Street Survivors was a roaring return to form. Along with the death of Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd represents the greatest ‘what if’ for me.

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6 hours ago, NYCH1 said:

I’m going to throw this out there….Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums are better than anyone’s else first two albums (rock and metal). in my opinion there are no weak tracks and many of the deep cuts are just as good as the radio warhorses. Off the top of my head the other contenders are Velvet Underground, Zep, Black Sabbath, Hendrix, The Stooges, and The Band.

The only thing that keep them from the Mount Rushmore conversations are the middle two albums. While Nuthin Fancy and Gimme Back Your Bullets are good albums, they are not on the level of the first two. Street Survivors was a roaring return to form. Along with the death of Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd represents the greatest ‘what if’ for me.

Well....  that's like ....... your opinion man.

Big Skynyrd fan, there are many great 1-2 album bands out there though.

They're Rushmore in the southern rock world for damn sure, no.2 right behind the Allman brothers, who were musically more talented, and had a broader swath of range.

They're not in the pantheon of top 10 all time rock bands though,  and I love me some Skynyrd.

However, Sweet home Alabama may be in the top 5 best rock songs for my money.

The double what if of the plane crash (remember hearing that news as a kid and freaking) and the drug abuse (hurting their careers) kept them from that pantheon sanctuary in my opinion.

Obviously your results may vary, and that's fair.

 

 

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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In the mid-70s, one of my closest friends moved to Clemson SC in middle school so his dad could take a tenure track position at the university.  My friend's brother, who was several years older than us, went to the Oct77 Skynyrd show in Greenville, SC, and woke up the next day to learn he had seen their last show of any consequence.  That was a mind trip.

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Well....  that's like ....... your opinion man.

However, Sweet home Alabama may be in the top 5 best rock songs for my money.


I must have always been a commie, ‘cause I cringed at the “Watergate does not bother me”

OTOH, I dug the reference to the Swampers/mussel shoals
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I guess I'm a contrarian asshole, but I think "Free Bird" is unlistenable dogshit from an otherwise really good (but not great) band.   

And yeah, Allman Brothers are the gold standard in terms of output and influence for that genre.  

But I'll crank the fuck out of some Skynyrd when it comes on (except free bird).  I get the love for Sweet Home Alabama, but c'mon...it's done, done again, and overdone at this point.   Honestly, it's a station-changer for me and has been for several  years.  It's just not interesting. 

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I'm 51 and grew up in the shadow of LS and the Allman Brothers. Don't really have a dog in the hunt other than to say if I never hear Free Bird again in my life I'll be OK. Maybe I'm just struck by the memory of being a small kid in MN and how suddenly the hoopleheads were donning leather vests and hats with turkey feathers in the bands and painting confederate flags on the sides of their Chevy vans while blaring Southern rock outta their 8 tracks.

"Melissa" is a damn fine tune to hear by a bonfire on a starry night.

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I'm not gonna hold popularity against a song.  "Whole Lotta Love" still rocks.  "Let It Be" still gets me to sing along.

I'll admit that "Melissa" is far and away my favorite Allman Bros song, but I still think it falls way fucking short of about a dozen Skynyrd tunes.  Opinions, assholes, we all have 'em.

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"Whipping Post" is iconic.  An all-time great.  So is "Dreams", even if Molly Hatchet did it better.  (Yep, said it.  Molly Hatchet suppressed the 3/4 waltz and built a deeper 4/4 groove.  Plus, their recording is absolutely stellar, with . . . yes . . . a better vocal take.)  After Duane died, there wasn't much left but "Melissa", which is indeed a terrific tune.

I'd say Skynyrd had a half dozen songs of that caliber, probably more.  "Free Bird", "Gimme Three Steps", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man" FROM THEIR DEBUT, along with "Sweet Home Alabama", "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" and "Call Me The Breeze" (JJ Cale cover) from their sophomore effort.  Then we get "Saturday Night Special" from their 3rd album, and "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and "You Got That Right" from their 5th and last studio release.

I mean, WTF?  That's 11 legendary tunes from 5 releases.  Yeah, tell me more about the Allman Bros.  I'm in a street fightin' mood.

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3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

"Whipping Post" is iconic.  An all-time great.  So is "Dreams", even if Molly Hatchet did it better.  (Yep, said it.  Molly Hatchet suppressed the 3/4 waltz and built a deeper 4/4 groove.  Plus, their recording is absolutely stellar, with . . . yes . . . a better vocal take.)  After Duane died, there wasn't much left but "Melissa", which is indeed a terrific tune.

I'd say Skynyrd had a half dozen songs of that caliber, probably more.  "Free Bird", "Gimme Three Steps", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man" FROM THEIR DEBUT, along with "Sweet Home Alabama", "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" and "Call Me The Breeze" (JJ Cale cover) from their sophomore effort.  Then we get "Saturday Night Special" from their 3rd album, and "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and "You Got That Right" from their 5th and last studio release.

I mean, WTF?  That's 11 legendary tunes from 5 releases.  Yeah, tell me more about the Allman Bros.  I'm in a street fightin' mood.

Damn right Molly Hatchet did Dreams better.  That is a cover better than the original.   
 

 

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40 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My first backstage pass.  I was 17 years old.

It was . . . eye-opening.

Alright, if you've already told this story I'm sorry I missed it. But if not, details are in order. And by details, not what kind of jeans and sneakers was 17 YO jimmyjazz rocking.

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Just now, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Alright, if you've already told this story I'm sorry I missed it. But if not, details are in order. And by details, not what kind of jeans and sneakers was 17 YO jimmyjazz rocking.

Nothing particularly impressive -- I was editor of our HS newspaper and a buddy and I made up "press passes" to try to get an interview with regional band Shooting Star, who were playing our local small college.  The passes worked, and we ended up becoming friends with the band.  They eventually got the opening slot for Molly Hatchet, and invited us to the tour stop in St. Louis.  Shooting Star was not nearly as decadent as Molly Hatchet.

Oh yeah, Levi's 501 cuffed up and Nike Cortez.  Stylin', baby.

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On 7/7/2021 at 2:11 PM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Love Skynyrd,  Sweet home Alabama is in the top 10 of great rock songs of all time. For the best southern rock band I think you need to think about the Allman brothers though, with Skynyrd as a close second.

I fucking hate Sweet Home Alabama, and I can't really tell you why.  Maybe it never clicked with me and I thought it was overplayed in my college bars.

To me, "Simple Man" is it.  I come from two sides of two families- one side is pristine, and one side is hard.  "Simple Man" makes me think about sitting in my grandparents' driveway during family reunions listening to my uncles talk.  One of my very favorite songs ever.

And I agree with "That Smell".  

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Love that Knebworth clip.  One thing that happened with Skynyrd, because of Ronnie Van Zant's obsession with rehearsing the shit out of everything before putting it on tape, their live shows were effortless reproductions of their recordings.  

You'd think that Brit crowd would be unaware of what was happening, but they were into hard blues as much as any fanbase in the world.  Led Zep had been killing it, Bad Company was already big.  The southern US vibe might have been a bit unique, but I think they got it, at least in their bones, if not fully comprehending what those southern boys were singing about.

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On 7/12/2021 at 8:48 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

This is where I fall on Allmans vs Skynyrd as well.

Damn son, you must have bumped yer head when you fell then..... : ).

Yeah it's all personal taste. You can't go wrong either way with those two lineups. They're 1, and 2 in the Southern Rock pantheon depending on which one you think is 1, and which is 2.

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I love the Allmans, I just view their edge as being better musicians, where RVZ was more into crafting songs and the band was into crafting riffs.  I'm a "songs" guy every day, but that's just me.

And if anyone has been wondering what I mean by differentiating songwriting from musicianship, IMO a great song stands on it's own.  It's something that a competent player can strum on acoustic guitar and sing and it still kicks ass.

One guy on an acoustic can level you with "Simple Man".  One guy on an acoustic trying to do "Liz Reed" would seem ridiculous.

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On 7/7/2021 at 12:09 AM, jimmyjazz said:

. . . and since you brought up the Zep comparison, I would suggest that the 3 biggest rock 'n' roll songs ever are

Stairway to Heaven

Free Bird

Satisfaction

 

Many would no doubt disagree, but who wouldn't have all 3 in their top 10?

(In case it isn't clear, I am a huge Skynyrd fan).

Time

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Opening song from Knebworth.  Jagger must have been shook.

 

One of the comments nails Van Zant: "No one could look cooler by just stalking around ,holding a mic and owning the stage." 

Dude was just a badass.  Short and stocky, and sang in his bare feet.  No lifter shoes needed for my man.

 

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On 7/7/2021 at 3:41 PM, ztejas said:

Eh. Kind of typical for these people. There's some quote about having all the life experiences you need to write by that age or early 20s or something. Alanis wrote all of Jagged Little Pill at 21. Jackson Browne wrote These Days when he was like 17. 

Cripes.  Just listened to this song after many years, and you're comparing it to Jagged Little Pill?!  Fuck you cunt

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On 7/22/2021 at 3:21 PM, Wade said:

Cripes.  Just listened to this song after many years, and you're comparing it to Jagged Little Pill?!  Fuck you cunt

I think you missed the point of my comment. 

But keep calling people cunt here for no reason. I bet it works out great. 

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On 7/9/2021 at 9:14 PM, jimmyjazz said:

"Whipping Post" is iconic.  An all-time great.  So is "Dreams", even if Molly Hatchet did it better.  (Yep, said it.  Molly Hatchet suppressed the 3/4 waltz and built a deeper 4/4 groove.  Plus, their recording is absolutely stellar, with . . . yes . . . a better vocal take.)  After Duane died, there wasn't much left but "Melissa", which is indeed a terrific tune.

I'd say Skynyrd had a half dozen songs of that caliber, probably more.  "Free Bird", "Gimme Three Steps", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man" FROM THEIR DEBUT, along with "Sweet Home Alabama", "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" and "Call Me The Breeze" (JJ Cale cover) from their sophomore effort.  Then we get "Saturday Night Special" from their 3rd album, and "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and "You Got That Right" from their 5th and last studio release.

I mean, WTF?  That's 11 legendary tunes from 5 releases.  Yeah, tell me more about the Allman Bros.  I'm in a street fightin' mood.

Catching up on this thread. I want you to know I'm not repping you because I agree - more because of your knowledge on the subject. 

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