August 13, 1973 - Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd)

Another new band joins my library when Lynyrd Skynyrd released their eponymous debut album, "Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd)" on August 13, 1973. It is a bit of a weird looking name, so they felt the need to tell everyone how to properly say it, hence this album's nickname being "Pronounced". But who are Lynyrd Skynyrd? They began as a 5-piece southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, but by the time they released their debut they were a 7-piece, with four original members: Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocals), Gary Rossington and Allen Collins (guitars) and Bob Burns (drums). Joining them are new members Billy Powell (keyboards), Leon Wilkeson (bass) and Ed King (guitar, bass, Mellotron). Wilkeson had briefly quit the band during recording, which prompted the band to add King, who plays bass on most of this album's tracks. Van Zant thought that King would be better used on guitar than bass, and convinced Wilkeson to rejoin, giving the band three guitarists! What will all this southern guitar sound like? Let's check it out!

Side one kicks off with "I Ain't The One" and a catchy guitar riff carries the song, Collins does some flashy lead guitar and Van Zant's voice sounds very southern indeed, fits the music well. Powell plays some cool piano and Collins guitar solo is pretty good. It ends with a nice rock and roll flourish too! The next song is called "Tuesday's Gone" and Rossington is on lead guitar for this slow jam. Van Zant holds his notes long in this one, and again he fits the mood of the song really nicely. This slow riff continues for pretty much the whole 7 and a half minutes, but we are treated to a pretty sweet piano solo by Powell. Rossington shows off a little bit when he can, including a cool solo to finish off the song. Track 3 is called "Gimme Three Steps" and what a catchy guitar riff that is! The guitar and bass both sound awesome in this bouncing beat! Van Zant sings great, and the lyrics are about a guy approaching him in a bar and pointing a gun at him. He asks to ust give him 3 steps and he'll be gone. The guitar is super catchy in this one, there's no solo, but it's great the whole way through. The final song on this side is "Simple Man" and oddly enough their producer originally wanted to cut this song; he didn't think it was any good. He's insane, and this song would become one of their biggest hits! A slow guitar riff and Van Zant's great singing carries the song. His yells in the chorus sound great as does the heavy guitar. The solo is pretty sweet, and the whole vibe of this song just sounds so good, it's crazy to think that it didn't belong on the album!

Side two begins with "Things Goin' On", as a slow kind of honky tonk guitar riff carries the song. Powell plays some fantastic old time-y piano and Van Zant's singing fits the song great as usual. Rossington's extended guitar solo is pretty good as this song has an old western saloon vibe that's pretty cool. The next song is titled "Mississippi Kid" and King plays lead guitar on this one with some pretty slick acoustic. There's acoustic guitars abound in this one, and almost no bass and drums! The harmonica solo sounds pretty cool, and this song sounds very southern indeed. Track 7 is called "Poison Whiskey" and yet another catchy guitar riff leads the way. King's bass and Powell's organ sound great as well in this cool beat. Van Zant sings about someone who died from drinking poisoned whiskey. Rossington is on lead again as his solo is decent but now it's Powell's turn on piano, and he steals the show! Amazing stuff! What a great solo! They play out one last verse to close out this pretty sweet song. The final song on the album is "Free Bird" and it opens with piano, organ and some cool slow drums that set the stage for this 9-minute epic. Collins plays lead guitar on this song, and his drone-y playing sounds great in this slow beat. Van Zant's singing is slow and great and the chorus sounds pretty epic, with lots of cool guitar by Collins. The song majorly speeds up for the last 4 minutes, and so begins this epic instrumental finale. Collins and Rossington both play some excellent stuff in this first solo, but it just keeps going! Where most songs would probably end their solo, Skynyrd decide to resch a new level as we hear some absolutely insane, face-melting guitar that words do not do justice to. Twice this song seems it might be over, only for them to turn it up some more! It is some of the best 4 minutes of music I've heard as it is just non-stop awesomeness! Combined with the the slow, epic first 5 minutes, this is easily the best song on the album, and what a way to end a debut record!

That is the end of "Lynyrd Skynyrd" and what a great debut album that was! "Free Bird" is an instant rock classic, and there are several other really good songs as well. These guys really brought it on this album, and the result is something that will be hard for them to top, but I certainly can't wait to hear some more great southern rock from this 7-piece!