Review #381: (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd), Lynyrd Skynyrd
#381: (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd), Lynyrd Skynyrd
I don’t remember the name of my high school gym teacher. So it tickles me to no end that Lynyrd Skynyrd named themselves after a high school gym teacher who instructed them to cut their hair. It’s okay; he became a fan!
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut record title is an excellent introduction. (Though be honest, aren’t you tempted to pronounce it Lie-nerd Sky-nerd, just to be insolent?) Producer and session musician Al Kooper was reportedly impressed by how well-prepped and hard-working the band was. Kooper was integral to their success, hooking them up as an opening act for The Who’s North American tour through his connections to Pete Townsend. He even plays on five of the eight tracks. His coolest contribution is the mandolin on “Mississippi Kid.”
The thing that surprised me most about this record? Skynyrd is sassy. “I Ain’t the One” has lead singer Ronnie Van Zant denying that he fathered his girl’s child, and “Gimme Three Steps” watches him scamper away from a threatening boyfriend. And “Poison Whiskey” is a warning against drinking bad booze, which is fascinating coming from a band that namesake Leonard Skinner said “worked hard, lived hard and boozed hard.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd personally ushered in the era of the Guitar Hero. These are some tasty-ass guitar riffs, and the wildest thing is that most of them are inserted into the album’s ballads. And one of those ballads almost didn’t even make it onto the album! Producer Kooper was adamantly against “Simple Man.” They had to physically escort him out of the studio so that they could record the arpeggiated masterpiece. “Tuesday’s Gone” is Lyn-Skyn’s very own “Sunrise, Sunset,” but with a wailing solo in the middle. And then there’s “Free Bird,” an independence-championing ballad that got married to a guitar hero showcase. Fun fact, the first time they played that one publicly was at guitarist Allen Collins’ wedding, where the band all had to wear wigs to hide their hippie hair.
Now here’s a sad fact: None of the band members depicted on the cover are still alive. Lynyrd Skynyrd suffered more than a few terrible tragedies not long after their rise to stratospheric fame. In 1977, an airplane they were on ran out of fuel mid-air and crashed. (Creepily, Aerosmith nearly got on the same airplane.) The crash killed 29-year-old Van Zant, along with 28-year-old guitarist Steve Gaines (who didn’t actually play on this album — he replaced Ed King) and ultimately led to the band breaking up.
By the time they regrouped in 1987 (with Van Zant’s brother Johnny singing lead), they’d lost another key member. Allen Collins was in a critical car accident — unfortunately caused by him, drunk at the wheel — which killed his girlfriend and paralyzed him. Collins never played guitar again, but he did wheel himself onstage before every concert in 1987 and explain to the audience why he was no longer able. He died due to complications with his paralysis at the age of 37.
After all that, Lynyrd Skynyrd is technically still together and performing, with no original members to speak of. The last founding member, guitarist Gary Rossington, died just two months ago. Even Leonard Skinner has passed on. Tuesday really is gone with the wind.
Something I Think RS Is Wrong About: “Things Goin’ On” is a pretty great political song, one that RS says “protests racism,” but there’s no real racial commentary to speak of here. Instead, they’re taking aim at fat cat politicians who are out of touch with the common man.
