Truely a great band Lynyrd Skynyrd was, through musicianship and instrumentally. They do what they do and do it well, and they stick to their guns. Which a lot of bands have problems with. Ofcourse there are some weak parts to the band, but what band doesn't have some weak parts.
They combine many different elements and influences into their music, some would would be bluegrass and blues. They have also partly defined a way that you can have three guitars play lead, and just to play with three guitars.
1. Sweet Home Alabama: Now who can forget this song? It has every seventeen year old girl driving in a red Toyota singing their lungs off. Other than its huge appeal to people who don't have a clue what band played the song, it is a great song. It is catchy as hell and has some great singing, guitar playing, and piano playing. Other than Lynyrd Skynyrd dissing Neil Young through the song,(which is kind of low by the way) it is a fabulos recording. 5/5
2. I Need You: Here is a slower song with a good amount of attitude and groove to it, which you don't find that often. The triple guitar playing basically defines the song, and it has a nice smooth stacked chorus. I'm very surprised that this song didn't turn into an anthem like "Sweet Home Aalbama" and "Free Bird" did. 4/5
3. Don't ask me no Questions: Now this song really gives off a sterotype to Southerners. For the reason that the title uses a double negative. We could only hope that they meant to put that, which they probably did. This song does use some brass instruments in it, and has a nice feel and groove to it, which is all pretty much led by the piano. 3/5
4. Workin' for MCA: I could only presume that this song is about "Workin' for the MCA", but who the hell knows. I always love when bands write songs against their reocrd companies, or just about their record companies. This is a very powerful song, with some great guitar solos and some mediocre organ playing, which is of course is not good, and not bad. 4/5
5. The Ballad of Curtis Loew: Here's a slow song, with some great bluegrass type guitar playing. It also has some amazing lyrics and singing, which really give off a feeling that your being told a story, which you actually are, even if it's fiction. I'd say that this is a highlight on this album. Great song. 5/5
6. Swamp Music: Here is one of the more bluesy songs on this album. It actually reminds me off a motorized raft going through a river, or swamp. It has some nice organ playing and rythm guitar playing, which both remind me of The Doors, which is good, because I love The Doors. The only downside to this song is that I think it has quite an annoying chorus. 3/5
7. The Needle and the Spoon: This is a pretty good song, it has some infecious guitar playing, that kind of reminds me of "Sweet Home Alabama". The overall groove is nice, but the guitar solo, which is used with a wah pedal, sounds extremely like Eric Clapton's solo from "White Room" by Cream. 3/5
8. Call me the Breeze: This song has a nice overall feel to it. It has the same tempo and beat that "Crossroad Blues" by Robert Johnson has. It is said, because of that, a few of the members from this band died in a plane crash. It's the "Crossroad curse", which was said to have killed Duane Allman, because The Allman Bros did "One Way Out, and Eric Clapton's son, because he did "Crossroads" with Cream. 4/5
I give this album a 4/5. For the reason that it is very unique in it's own way, and gives off some factors that are rarely seen in rock music, let alone any other type of music.
