(pronounced ’lĕh-’nérd ’skin-’nérd)

This is just one of those albums that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Glad to get it over with.

Top notch record even before it hits Free Bird!

When i aint the one kicked in i thought i might like this album, but by gimme three steps i was distinctly bored. It just plods along. I’m sure if i only listened to an individual track it might be alright but a full album ….no thank you.
It’s therefore an interesting choice to put free bird last in the running order. The clear highlight but so late it cant save a dull album

I am a being of simple tastes: give me an album I suspect I'm not going to enjoy, but add honky-tonk piano to parts of it, and you are guaranteed to get, at least, an ok mark.

I did only listen to the original first 8 tracks though, not the demo versions now tacked onto the end, because I'm a purest (that's definitely the reason, it's not because I couldn't face 1 hour 15 minutes of classic rock).

I liked Things Going On and Mississippi Kid a lot. Free Bird is too long and only interesting when it ups the tempo... unfortunately it then makes my think of car commercials.

All in all, a much better than I expected:

3/5

Love

Simple music for simple men. “Simple Man” is itself a banger though I never noticed before how its message contradicts that of “Free Bird”.

Dette er en overraskende sterk debut. De fleste som har eid en gitar har vel klimpret «Sweet Home Alabama» og kanskje har man også spilt Guitar Hero og slitt seg gjennom «Free Bird». Men denne plata er mer enn bare «Free Bird», selv om den kunne godt vært «Free Bird» i 50 min også.

Egentlig er det bare «Gimme Three Steps» som kan minne om den ballete sørstatsrocken jeg hadde sett for meg at det skulle være, men istedet slenger de «Simple Man» og «Tuesday’s Gone» som er to nydelige ballader. Egentlig er det ingen svake spor på plata, og det burde egentlig ikke vært noe i veien for at denne plata kunne vært like kanonisert som Zeppelin sine.

«Free Bird» er forresten ikke kun en gitarlåt. Fy faen som rytmeseksjonen jobber også.

Great vocalist, great guitarists, interesting songwriting, tight execution, nice recording, sincere delivery, classic FM radio rock: what's not to like?

This is the best soundtrack to driving a pick-up truck in the countryside. It also contains the classics. Simple Man is an amazing song, Freebird could have been shorter. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would.

Free bird

I loved this album growing up. It’s a great album with solid songwriting and playing all around. However, at some point I really grew to dislike Lynyrd Skynyrd and most southern rock. It all reminds me of “good ole boys”. Probably happened around the time I learned more about the symbolism of the Confederate flag.

I enjoyed listening to it again today, but it’s not something I’ll ever seek out to listen to in the future.

where is that one song i know

They might not have been about the same things that I'm about, but damn if they couldn't make great sounding music.

What do I even say?
Free Bird absolutely steals the show, however every other song is great in its own right. For the most this, this is everything I want in a rock album.

Only thing holding it back is probably just some dull moments. I imagine after 2 or 3 listens, though, that I wouldn't feel that way anymore.

This album truly has some amazing hits and some lesser known tracks that still hold together a really good listening experience.

Great opening track.
Classic closing track.
And a lot of good stuff in between.

I wouldn't say I don't like southern rock, but I certainly don't care for it. But Free Bird is one of the best songs I've ever heard so there's that.

What a snooze fest!

Southern Rock! Now we are speaking my language! Don’t think too hard! Close your eyes and enjoy. Just give me three steps…
Might not objectively be a five star album, but I’m not sure that I can be objective about this one.

As good as Southern Rock gets.

A band I've always been aware of, but up until now my familiarity with their music never extended beyond "Sweet Home Alabama" (which is an absolute bop, albeit has been overplayed into the ground).

What the hell have I been playing at? This is really good. Irritatingly, I couldn't find a version of this on Spotify without the silly demo tracks tacked on at the end, but the album itself breezed by and immediately felt homely to me. That Lynyrd Skynyrd sounded this assured and fully realised on their debut is mightily impressive, and a clear blueprint exists here for the formation of the southern rock subgenre. Definitely a fully warranted inclusion in the 1001.