(Pronounced 'L?h-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)

Amazon.com Where the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker had a more restrained, accomplished rock sound, Florida's Lynyrd Skynyrd took another approach, evoking images of whiskey, Confederate flags, hard luck, and greasy dive bars in their music. The like-minded Molly Hatchet and .38 Special couldn't come close to matching the lyrical talent and natural-born rock-and-boogie abilities of Skynyrd. And, of course, no other band can lay claim to the most-requested song in the history of rock music, the anthemic "Free Bird," the focal point of this, their 1973 debut. Aside from spawning countless tomes of bad poetry by pockmarked 15-year-olds everywhere with "Free Bird," they demonstrated a mastery of the rock ballad with the time-tested "Tuesday's Gone," another highlight of this notable first offering. --Lorry Fleming Product description Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant (vocals); Ed King (guitar, bass); Gary Rossington, Allen Collins (guitar); Billy Powell (keyboards); Robert Burns (drums). Additional personnel: Steve Katz (harmonica); Roosevelt Cook (mandolin, Mellotron, organ, bass, bass drum, background vocals); Robert Nix (drums); Bobbi Hall (percussion). Engineers include: Bob "Tub" Langford, Rodney Mills, Danny Turbeville. Recorded at Studio One, Doraville, Georgia. Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant (vocals); Ed King (guitar, bass instrument); Gary Rossington, Allen Collins (guitar); Billy Powell (keyboards); Bob Burns (drums). Additional personnel: Steve Katz (harmonica); Roosevelt Gook (Mellotron, bass instrument, background vocals); Robert Nix (drums); Bobbye Porter (percussion). More rock than Little Feat, but with a similar Southern boogie feel and absolute top-notch musicianship. [sentence fragment okay with Muze?] Al Kooper produced this record, which explains the sensitive use of strings and piano. Although tracks such as "I Ain't The One," "Simple Man," and "Tuesday's Gone" are outstanding, the one to wait for is "Free Bird," a song that rivals "Stairway To Heaven" for hard rock credibility. The nine-minute epic starts with organ and slide and builds in a similar way, but at 4:44 it changes into fifth gear and the air guitars are out in force.