(Southern Rock / Hard Rock) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Skynyrd Nation - 2011, MP3 (tracks+scans), 320 kbps

Arguably, it can be said that Lynyrd Skynyrd is the quintessential American rock band. The epitome of Southern rock music, Skynyrd does not offer high-concept gloss. Instead, since its emergence from the Jacksonville, Fla. music scene, Skynyrd has consistently spoken about the harsh humanity facing the American everyman. "We saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan like everybody else in our generation, and freaked out and wanted to start a rock'n'roll band," Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington told Billboard. "But then we got serious, and we really had this dream to become something, to make a mark. We just worked and sweated our way to it. We had that fire in our eyes."
After over 30 years in the business and 26 million records sold worldwide, the fire has yet to burn out. Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame last March. It was a moment of recognition long-overdue. Original Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell told reporters upon receiving the honor, “Obviously this proves that the music is here to stay. It certainly completes a lifetime accomplishment for me.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to entertain audiences both young and old. In 2007 the band set sail on its first ever Gimme Three Days cruise to the Caribbean with three separate performances for a sold-out audience!
Despite their intensive touring schedule that routinely includes nearly 100 dates a year, Skynyrd even now comes across as seamless road veterans. They have recently toured with their contemporaries the Allman Brothers as well as Kid Rock, Sammy Hagar and of course, 3 Doors Down, and of course current tour mate, Hank Williams Jr. It’s only fitting that the kings of modern rock music continue to shoulder on after all these years while touring with fresh-faced contenders to their crown. The resulting “Rowdy Frynds” tour has been years in the making, and is something Hank Williams Jr. is looking forward to as well.
“Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. on the stage together in the same night,” Hank Williams Jr. commented, “talk about a show! I can’t wait to see what happens in these cities!”
“Hank played with Skynyrd years ago and it was one heck of a show. Since then, we’ve been looking for the opportunity to tour together,” said Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd, “because his fans are our fans, and vice versa.”
Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd added, “We will be playing on Friday and Saturday nights to ensure all our ‘Rowdy Frynds’ can party with us all night long.
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With their classic early lineup, anchored by the swagger, grit, and heart of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd merged Allman Brothers guitars with barrelhouse piano (courtesy of keyboardist Billy Powell, a bigger part of Skynyrd's classic sound than most people realize), then tossed in a big dose of hard rock attitude and gave it all credence with a kind of blustering and cocky honky tonk sensibility. The original band just sounded so, well, right, and if its legacy in most casual listeners' minds is just the ubiquitous "Sweet Home Alabama" and the equally as ubiquitous "Free Bird," that's not a bad legacy to have, really. Skynyrd's story is also a gothic Southern tragedy, haunted by fatal plane crashes and death, and if the 21st century version of the band (current membership includes ex-Blackfoot guitarist Rickey Medlocke, drummer Michael Cartellone, vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Gary Rossington, who is the only member left from the original version of Skynyrd) seems more like a facsimile than a continuation, one could chalk it up to pure attrition. This 21st century version of Skynyrd continues to tour and draw loyal crowds, and if newer songs like "Still Unbroken," "Southern Ways," and "Floyd" are good but not quite as good as the band's earlier classics, it's probably not fair to ask this version of the band to compete with its own past. This sampler of the contemporary version of Skynyrd on Roadrunner Records collects five tracks each from the studio album God & Guns and the concert set Live from Freedom Hall, providing a concise look at this configuration of the band. They may not be what they used to be, but they still rock earnestly, and they aren't afraid to embrace their own history -- live versions of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" are still the most arresting tracks on this little anthology. ~ Steve Leggett
Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN (06/15/2007); Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY (06/15/2007); SOund Kitchen, Franklin, TN (06/15/2007); Studio Sea, Ft. Myers, FL (06/15/2007). http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8376001
http://www.amazon.com/Skynyrd-Nation-Lynyrd/dp/B004BTS88C

Johnny Van Zant (vocals); Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke, Mark Matejka (guitar); Billy Powell (keyboards); Michael Cartellone (drums); Dale Krantz-Rossington, Carol Chase (background vocals)