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(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)

Lynyrd Skynyrd

1973

Buy At Rough Trade
(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)
Album Summary

(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) is the debut album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1973. Several of the album's songs remain among the band's most well-known: "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man", "Tuesday's Gone", and "Free Bird", the last of which launched the band to national stardom. The album was certified gold on December 18, 1974, and double platinum on July 21, 1987, by the RIAA. It peaked at 27 on the Billboard 200 in 1975.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.77

Votes

11862
Genres
Hard Rock

Reviews

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Sat May 01 2021
2

I kept asking for them to play 'free bird' and then they did.

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Thu Aug 19 2021
5

Come on. This is such a great album. Half of the songs are all time classics. Tuesday, 3 Steps, Simple Man, Free Bird. There's only 8 songs on the album and four of them are not just classic, but all time classics. What a great album!

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Mon Oct 04 2021
5

I mean, "Tuesday's Gone," "Gimme Three Steps," "Simple Man," and "Free Bird" all on the same album. How you gonna argue with that? I almost gave this a 4 but I couldn't actually come up with anything wrong with the album especially given the release date. I sometimes find myself a bit put off by Van Zant's penchant for socio-political posturing but, for 1973, several of these songs are super pointed and progressive. That's worth a star.

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Tue Oct 04 2022
2

On the one hand, this Southern fried album has a lot of great tracks that I remember from growing up and listening to it in the South. On the other hand, it's hard to ignore the rift between the band and Neil Young (though he would later come to temper that somewhat). But Neil was spot on that the band was racist and rocking the confederate flag at their shows. After everything that has happened in our country since this came out, I can honestly say, it's hate not heritage-- and that makes it hard to want to hear.

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Tue Sep 27 2022
2

This is such a conflict. Do you reject what you know b/c the band members are racist assholes? I know that good can come from a trash heap. That people grow and growth is fucking hard. It is not linear. Once I held many of the same views. That we are toxic when we are hurting. There's maybe something really great here in this album but also it is a terrible place to stay or be stuck. I can't fully reject the South. It's in my heart so I can't fully walk away from this album. But I can't listen to it without all the extra convos that come with it. That makes it so goddamn weighty for something that is supposed to rock.

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Thu May 11 2023
5

I’ve enjoyed each song I’ve heard by Lynyrd Skynyrd, but never listened to an album in full. One of my friends (who I co-host a music review show with on YouTube) went through a phase where he was very much into country rock and always encouraged me to try Skynyrd. Naturally, I ignored him because he’s an idiot. Songs I already knew: Tuesday’s Gone, Gimme Three Steps, Simple Man, Free Bird Favourites: Tuesday’s Gone, Free Bird, Things Goin’ On Much like other songs of legendary status, it’s hard to imagine a time before Free Bird. I feel this way with songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, Hey Jude, and Barbie Girl. They’re all amazing songs that feel like they’ve existed forever (hey, calm down, Barbie Girl is a banger). This album from front to back is full of amazing tracks. Free Bird is long, but keeps things different enough to never get boring. The vocals are fairly simple, but it adds a lot of charm. The general music itself isn’t too perfect like lots of modern day music. Its slight flaws in timing here and there make it feel more real and less manufactured. Overall, an amazing album. Maybe I should have listened to my friend many years ago. He is still an idiot though.

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Sun Jun 27 2021
4

Love Tuesdays Gone thanks to Happy Gilmore. Likewise Free Bird which was the perfect soundtrack for running over prostitutes on GTA

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Mon May 24 2021
5

Why would I need a Greatest Hits album? This exists. Only truly "weak" spot is "Poison Whiskey," but then "Freebird" comes right after that and southern rock nirvana is achieved, so it balances out.

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Sun May 30 2021
4

Giving this a 4 because the first half of the album is much better than the last (save Free Bird), but this is still phenomenal, especially for a debut album. Love the blues elements and even the country twang Already Saved: Free Bird Saved After Listening: Tuesday's Gone, Simple Man

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Sat Jun 26 2021
3

Good old Southern Boogie Woogie. Not something I'd listen to again though. However, I'm sure I'll hear Free Bird another 10,000 times in my lifetime.

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Tue Oct 26 2021
4

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Three Guitar Army and Ronnie Van Zant's growl resonate deep in my bones. These songs feel surprisingly like home. Maybe it's because Gimme Three Steps was one of the songs that my brother's garage band rehearsed in our basement. (We did not have a garage.) My brother must've had a Greatest Hits album on 8-Track or something because several of these sound familiar but not all of them. I've never heard this whole album before, I'm sure of that. At least 3 songs mention guns but I don't think they ever get used, just held threateningly. I said "uh-oh" when they started talking about the ghetto in Things Goin' On but the rest of the words seemed ok and then the honky-tonk piano came in sounding exactly like something Paul Williams would write for the Muppets or Bugsy Malone and I was totally charmed. I prefer the upbeat songs like I Ain't the One, Gimme Three Steps, and Things Goin' On to the ballads but I cannot deny that Free Bird is a great song even if it's nine minutes long and I've heard it a million times. If I get to see the original Skynyrd line-up in the afterlife, you bet I'll ask to hear Free Bird.

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Sat Sep 30 2023
2

2/5 Ja, es ist gute Musik, es ist nichts falsch daran. Aber ich disassoziiere aus Langeweile. Ich höre 2 Gitarren mit Vocals,Bass, Drums Wer sind die 7 Leute auf dem Cover, schwingt der Rest die Confederate flag? Freebird ist ein guter Track

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Fri May 07 2021
1

I can't tell if I've just grown out of 5 minute guitar solos or if this really just missed the mark hard for me. Felt really forgettable with no stand out moments, and I don't think any of the songs on here are ones I'd actively seek listening to again.

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Sun Apr 25 2021
5

I remember the first time my dad put this album on. We were at my grandparents house one sunday while they were installing a ceiling fan in and other stuff. I was 10 at the time, and man, this album had me moving my head and hadn't heard anything like this before. Now, I was used to rock, we'd listen to CCR, Sabbath, The Beatles etc, but this southern rock was something else, man. Listening to "Gimme Three Steps" still takes me back to sitting in that wicker chair and grooving, and my little mind being blown....and subsequently kinda bored after a while with "Freebird" but still, lol. every damn song is perfect on the album, no notes!

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Tue May 04 2021
5

About as perfect an A-side as you can have... oh and then there's Freebird!

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Mon Jul 26 2021
5

Quintessential blues rock. If I were to show classic rock to aliens, this would probably be the top candidate. It's loud and energetic with both short hard songs and longer softer songs. And it swaps between short then long back to short and so forth to not get tiring. Now usually I'd get bored with such long songs, but if you listen to "Tuesday's Gone", the instruments vary so often throughout the song, taking turns with leads. Just start listening from the piano solo to hear what I mean. It also has a different drum sound from the other songs. "Gimme Three Steps" sounds like their later song "What's your name" but since it's not the same album it doesn't count. Each song is distinctive and inviting with catchy tunes and poppy lyrics, and the back vocals during the choruses help audience participation. With the 2nd side you can actually convince someone why it's called "blues" rock but a lot of people can get bored by it. I still think they're strong tracks. Love that old-timey piano solo in "Things goin on". Also "Mississippi Kid" gets bonus points for me just so happening to be passing through Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans, visiting the Delta Blues Museum. "Poison Whiskey", especially the solos, does sound lazier and uninnovative than the other tracks, but I do sorta like that hard piano sound. And finally there's the most famous rock song of all time "Free Bird". I don't have much to say other than what I aready said. Great song, and the length does not hinder it. Love when it goes higher pace around 4:35. I will comment is that the ending felt anticlimatic. Overall fantastic influential album that define the era, with bangers all throughout. Despite the flaws, I still believe it deserves the 5 stars.

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Fri Oct 01 2021
5

Rock & roll de la vieja escuela.

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Fri Jun 18 2021
4

Lynyrd Skynyrd were at the top of their game when they released their debut album. Excellent songwriting, perfected tone, and THE GUITARS! Oh man, this is guitar heaven. Can't call yourself a fan of rock until you've heard Skynyrd absolutely tear it up. Good album.

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Wed Oct 27 2021
4

weirdly enough, free bird was my least favorite part of this. really surprisingly enjoyable as an album, good length. 8/10

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Thu Dec 23 2021
4

This album has some really nice moments on it, and despite the fact that this type of music sounds stereotypically southern now, it only became that way because of this band At the same time, the album sags in places. I've never been a huge fan of Free Bird, perhaps because I grew up in the Beavis and Butthead era when this song was already a meme. Trying to listen to it with fresh ears is hard as a result. I think that it's a pretty enough song, but not the all time great the way it tends to be portrayed by people who really like it. Fuck it, 4/5 by the skin of it's teeth. Maybe I like Free Bird after all. Or at least, I like 4/5ths of Free Bird. That song could have been shut down a full minute earlier with no negative impact

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Wed Jul 06 2022
4

Tuesday's Gone is an excellent ballad. You have to be very confident with your soloing to put a guitar solo before the first verse. The solo after the first verse is also mighty fine as are the good 'ole boys' southern rock harmonies. Things Going On is quite clearly an anti-segregation song. This is interesting given that one of the band's slightly more popular songs led to allegations that Ronnie was pro Wallace. Some of the "filler"on side 2 is really quite good. The Mississippi blues song Mississippi Kid shows their prowess with the broken coke bottle and the anti-alcohol song Poison Whisky has is also an excellent jam. Free Bird is the best song in the album and the band's second best song overall - next to that tune about folks in Birmingham loving Wallace.

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Tue Aug 16 2022
4

Ah, brings back so many fond memories with my mildly racist father. I don't really support the band anymore, but the nostalgia here hits oh so hard.

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Fri May 26 2023
4

FREE BIRD!! Great classic rock album. 8.5/10

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Sun Nov 12 2023
4

An album from the Southern U.S. that embraces what it is, and because of that, it soars to excellence.

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Thu May 18 2023
3

Let’s for a moment do something Lynyrd Skynyrd never quite got around to doing - forget about the confederate flag. “Tuesday’s Gone” is a treat and “Simple Man” is a great tune. But the only real reason this debut album is on the list is because of its legendary closing track. Not quite enough in itself. But almost.

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Thu May 18 2023
2

On their debut, Lehner Skinnerd manages to sound like 3 people playing while being 6 people (7 on the cover?) in the band. Impressive. While much more authentic than the southern rock coming out of Creedence Clearwater Revival (as authentic you can get by telling the stories of hardship in the south from the point of view of some white guys), songs about guns and god just doesn't do it for me. Overall, the album just feels like one long wait until 'Free Bird' finally kicks in, and although that's a legendary track, I'm not quite sure it's worth it sitting through the first 7 songs.

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Thu May 13 2021
5

Kyllä nää kundit vaan osas musaa tehdä. Ehdottomasti timanttia ja tähtikaartia.

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Thu May 13 2021
5

Aivan loistava levy! Lepposa meno ja kokonaisuuteen ei mahdu ensimmäistäkään täytebiisiä, joten tästä suunnasta uran ensimmäinen 5*! PERKELE!!!

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Cuando terminé la primera vuelta del disco estaba pensando en razones válidas para no darle las 5 estrellas y no encontré ni media. Las tonadas son pegajosas y van perfecto con el acento y estilo de cantar. Las armonías muy tradicionales pero (como la buena piedra) nunca fallan. Y la guitarra es la cereza gigante en el pastel. Quizá lo único minúsculamente difícil que le veo es que todas las canciones son muy largas (lo cual seguro fue problema en su época para poderlas poner en el radio comercial) pero no es algo que me moleste.

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Otra banda que por lo menos con este disco van a ser difíciles de autosuperarse, Rock Folk sureño de alto octanage y calidad. Simple kind of man es mi favorita y el demo de free bird me gustó mucho también. Ha de ver sido maravillosos verlos tocar en vivo. Todo se escucha bien y en su lugar, no hay fallas.

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Es curioso cómo hay ciertos álbumes que se escuchan mejor con audífonos, mientras que otros se escuchan mejor en bocinas. Este es uno de los del primer tipo. Debo reconocer que le di una “tercera” oportunidad a este disco, después de leer las opiniones de los demás en el grupo, y no me arrepiento. Fuera de Free Bird, su discografía y estilo me eran desconocidos, y la primera vez que lo escuché (en bocinas) me pareció muy tipo country. Para la tercera ocasión (ya con audífonos) me llamó la atención que las melodías me resultaban familiares, casi conocidas, además de que me permitió apreciar lo impecable de la ejecución. Musicalmente, varias cosas me llaman la atención del álbum: por una parte integran la esencia del folk, pero sin ese efecto depresivo medio “de hueva” que generalmente tiene el folk (si, me refiero a ti Bob Dylan), con una vibra muy similar a la que tiene Kings of Leon en sus dos primeros discos. Por otra parte está la influencia “sureña” en su letra, reflejada en algunas referencias religiosas. El último aspecto, y a mi gusto el más notable, es la capacidad para hacer canciones verdaderamente épicas. Free Bird dura más de nueve minutos, y a pesar de tener una letra melancólica, la canción es poderosa y energética, sin un segundo de desperdicio, con un puente musical donde cada compás es único a pesar de ser una iteración de la misma base. Así se podría hablar de otras canciones del disco, pero esta es más o menos la esencia.

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Tue Apr 27 2021
5

I'm not necessarily the biggest LS fan in the world, but this is the best album with the most iconic songs I have listened to so far.

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Wed Jul 14 2021
5

What needs to be said about Skynyrd.

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

De las bandas que creo que todo el mundo debería conocer y de las carreras que me hubiera gustado que no se interrumpieran, el disco debut es excelente por decir lo menos. Letras claras, le suben y bajan al acelerador cuando y como quieren. Los riffs son excelentes y tienen el talento para meter una canción de 7 minutos y otra de 9, que de cualquier forma no quieres que terminen. Hay que hacerles caso, no beber Etiqueta Roja, mejor tomar Jack. Songs; Free Bird, Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, Simple Man, Poison Whiskey

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Voy a dejar política y a la audiencia del género del rock sureño muy aparte, creo que no es parte del ejercicio y quizá merezcan una discusión propia en otro lugar y momento. Solo mencionaré rápido que no pienso que Lynyrd Skynyrd sean racistas, no se les debería definir por su audiencia y el grito de "Freebird!" es quizá la cosa más imbécil del mundo que justamente resume el problema de su audiencia y cómo se percibe mucho al género. Quizá el disco que realmente da inicio al sonido del rock sureño; si bien ya existían los Allman Brothers su sonido era mucho más melódico y aquí es cuando en realidad se puede sentir un sonido rock en forma. Pareciera que es disco de éxitos, al menos 4 de 8 canciones son íconos del género y conocidas por casi cualquiera (¿qué faltaría aquí? Sweet Home Alabama quizá y en realidad incluso es de menos calidad que este disco). Esto no es casualidad, aunque es un disco debut estamos hablando de una banda que llevaba 10 años trabajando, afinando sus canciones y trabajando como locos; una banda liderada por una persona casi genio que exigía perfección, le gustaba demasiado el alcohol y era propenso a la violencia. No hay duda que trabajar con Ronnie Van Zant no era fácil (por ahí está la historia de que algunos de sus compañeros en realidad se terminaron sintiendo aliviados cuando murió en el avionazo) pero el resultado es innegablemente brillante en cuanto a la música. Country rock de verdad que suena a country y a rock, blues y hard rock todo mezclado golpeando con tres guitarras a la vez. Crearon un sonido inmediatamente distinguible y que hoy en día se sigue copiando e influenciando a infinidad de bandas. De verdad buscaba algo malo que decir del disco, quizá podría decir que Freebird tiene una letra trillada y medio torpe pero en realidad ni a eso le puedo achacar, musicalmente explota a tal grado y es una obra de arte. No hay canción del disco que no me gustara, se nota en todo lo meticuloso de su creación, cada nota está en su lugar, no está improvisado y es el resultado de infinidad de horas y horas de trabajo duro. Gran gran disco.

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Wed May 12 2021
5

Loved this! Just some rock n roll music. Great stuff.

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Fri Jul 16 2021
5

Awesome. One of the best albums ever.

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Wed Jun 30 2021
5

Had never heard this album all the way through. Then hearing all the classics as well as the amazing songs in between, this is absolutely a top classic of all time that everyone should hear.

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Thu Jun 17 2021
5

Escutei a primeira vez por causa da música Simple Man, então descobrir que o álbum ainda tinha Tuesday's Gone e Free Bird.

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Wed Jul 14 2021
5

I had never heard this album all the way through but, like everyone I guess, I know all the hits and they're all on this album. The songs I hadn't heard still felt familiar. Great album

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Fri Jul 02 2021
5

Great classic rock n roll songs very funny great reefs perfect for go to work pegajoso

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

Aside from the 9 minute epic, there’s still a ton of solid stuff on this album, it’s probably their album with their most well known stuff on it.

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Tue Aug 10 2021
5

Classic rock is classic, but Free Bird alone is worth 10 stars.

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Wed Aug 18 2021
5

album full of classic rock hits

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

Unbelievably good, one of the best guitar albums

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Wed Sep 15 2021
5

And absolute classic and probably their best album.

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Mon Sep 20 2021
5

Corr, these guys have learned their scales. Fantastic album Freebird will never not fill me with nostalgia for GTA San Andreas.

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Mon Sep 20 2021
5

Classic country rock! Best around for sure

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Mon Oct 25 2021
5

The only thing wrong with this album is that they got their own phonetic spelling wrong. Best track: Tuesday's Gone

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Tue Oct 26 2021
5

Just some extremely solid, country-fried rock and roll. No real misses on this record. "Simple Man" is one of the best ballads ever written, and despite the pseudo-meme status of "Free Bird", it still kicks so much ass. Favorite tracks: "Simple Man", "Free Bird", "I Ain't the One"

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Tue Oct 26 2021
5

This debut album from Lynyrd Skynyrd packs in four songs I was familiar with and already liked - “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Simple Man” and “Free Bird”. I hadn’t listened to these in a while, but they sound as great as ever. As for the rest of the album: The opening track “I Ain’t The One” sees the singer abandoning the mother of his child using a lot of questionable terms of… endearment? Maybe not something one might write today. The incredibly jaunty but lyrically pointed “Things Goin’ On” takes on the subject of poverty and the environment and is very relevant still today. The song is great. Then the singer in “Mississippi Kid” heads to Alabama with his gun to fetch his woman and kill anyone who might cause him trouble. Not the most positive view of Mississippi I guess. And my least favorite song. “Poison Whiskey” is some pretty great 70s music, strong on guitars and organs. Loved this song about the perils of rotgut whiskey. This album version of “Free Bird” has an organ opening that I think is often not heard on the radio cuts. Man this song is incredible. It could earn this album a 5 on its own, but fortunately it doesn’t have to. An incredible debut from an incredible band.

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Tue Oct 26 2021
5

There are a few reasons I may not have given Lynyrd Skynyrd much of a chance before, but I really did love all the music on this album. I love the rock/folk/blues/country feel of it. Mandolins and funky keyboards and the first time I was compelled during this project to air guitar. I really didn't expect to gush about this album, but I have to say there wasn't a song I didn't enjoy, as well as the unexpected variety of sounds going from song to song. I think seeing "Free Bird" performed live in concert must truly have been the most amazing experience, as the legends say. I like to imagine that while I listen. (I've complained about long songs before, but I've listened to this one four times today. It doesn't feel like nine minutes!)

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Tue Oct 26 2021
5

Històricament sempre havia preferit 'Second Helping', imagino que per la inclusió de 'Sweet Home Alabama', primer tema que vaig conèixer d'ells. Amb el temps, però, aquest disc de debut s'ha anat reivindicant i ja no només és per mi el millor disc de la banda, sinó un dels millors discos de debut de la història. Cada cançó és un monument en si mateixa. 'Tuesday's Gone', 'Simple Man' o 'Gimme Three Steps' sobresurten de primeres, merescudament... però amb el temps un acaba meravellant-se amb els riffs de 'I Ain't the One', el ritme del delta sureny pantanós a 'Poison Whiskey' o 'Things Goin' On' o la divertida 'Mississippi Kid'. 'Free Bird' mereix menció apart és clar; poca cosa a dir d'aquesta bogeria de tema, candidat a encapçalar rankings de millors cançons de rock de tots els temps

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Thu Oct 28 2021
5

A stone cold classic of Southern Rock. You don't have to have a redneck to be able to rock out to these songs. There's a mix of FM classics, blues, riffs and honky tonk. Get tuning that air guitar. Best Tracks: Simple Man; Things Goin' On; Free Bird

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Sun Nov 07 2021
5

The southern rock magnum opus. And it’s a debut album! Tuesday’s Gone, Free Bird, and Simple Man existing together on the same album blows my mind. I fucking love it.

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Tue Nov 09 2021
5

I've never heard a Lynyrd Skynyrd album all the way through. So glad that has changed. This is a great album, it jus keeps rocking and rambling. There's not a bad track here.

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Wed Nov 10 2021
5

I Ain't The One has a surprising intro and sound. The rest of the album is classic. Amazing debut.

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Thu Oct 07 2021
5

Tuesday's Gone, Simple Man - what's not to like. And then FREE BIRD!!!!!

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Sun Nov 14 2021
5

Fantastic album. Front to back amazing blues rock. Great vibes. Have heard all the singles and the other songs are just as good

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Mon Nov 15 2021
5

Really good. Somehow never heard this before. Makes me want to retroactively rate a couple of 4s I gave into 3s.

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Sun Jan 02 2022
5

Lean and mean. Southern rock that really rocks. It's been probably 10 years or more since I've played this album all the way through. I forgot just how good it is. I almost went for a 4 but I mean, come on. An album this great is a rare thing. Several of these songs get heavy rotation on classic rock radio, to the point where you don't really want to hear them. But you really need to listen to these songs together as an album to appreciate how Lynyrd Skynyrd really was on to something special musically. Nobody sounded quite like this when they came out. And there have been so many imitators to this sound over the years. It all falls flat when compared to the original. Skynyrd pulls on a lot of musical threads that were around in the early seventies - blues, rock, country. They take those threads and turn them into something distinctively theirs. It's a heavier and bluesier than a lot of their contemporaries, but also with a soulfulness and heart that's unexpected. Only the Stones and the Allmans were able to navigate such varied waters so effortlessly. These are all strong tracks, and a lot of fun to listen to. Fave Songs: Gimme Three Steps, I Ain't the One, Simple Man, Things Goin' On, Mississippi Kid, Poison Whiskey

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Wed Jan 19 2022
5

I was very surprised at what a solid record this one.

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Fri Jan 28 2022
5

Ronnie Van Zant is my spirit animal. Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, Free Bird and Simple Man are must listens. The other 4 songs grow on you with each listen. Can't believe producer, Al Kooper wanted to leave Simple Man off of the album.

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Thu Feb 03 2022
5

-"I Ain't The One" has cool reversed cymbals, and a great bass to go along with all the guitar jamming -I like "Tuesday's Gone" in the same way I like most ballads, which is that it's fine. -"Gimme Three Steps" is incredibly catchy and also has great bass backing up the shredding guitar -"Simple Man" is very anthemic. It's relatively simple riffs just ring out with power -That's a big old honkin' bass riff at the start of "Things Goin' On." I also really like the ragtime-esque piano. -"Mississippi Kid" is probably my least favorite on the album. Just kinda mellow. -"Poison Whiskey is a solid groove of a song, with all the bits have been cited for the previous songs, ie solid guitar riffs, great bass and drums, and nice piano jams to go along with it -"Free Bird" is obviously an absolutely epic song. The song starts mellow and increases in intensity at a gradual, but not snail-like pace, and then the guitar solo/band jam totally rips. I think the solo is hugely aided by the rest of the band playing along and supporting, making the whole solo more epic than if it were left as pure guitar. I especially love the drum accents in between guitar riffs.

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Fri Feb 11 2022
5

Finest guitar-driven southern rock. The only song I new so far was the fantastic Free Bird, but the entire album is just highest quality rock.

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Fri Feb 18 2022
5

Free Bird! Ok, now that that's out of the way... Side 1 is PERFECT. Four amazing songs in a row. Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, and Simple Man are all stone-cold classics. I didn't know "I Ain't the One" but it absolutely rocks. Love the guitar solo in the middle. The first three songs on Side 2 are not nearly as perfect. All of them are good (my favorite of the three is Poison Whiskey), but it's not at the level of the four songs on Side 1. BUT, then we have Free Bird, which really is one of the greatest rock songs ever (with one of the best guitar solos (plural) ever), so Side 2 averages out to amazing anyway. Between a perfect Side 1 and an amazing Side 2 (thanks to Free Bird), this album is a clear 5.

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Fri Feb 18 2022
5

I never really listened to Skynyrd though I liked songs here and there. A few of those songs are on here. This album was an education. As I listened to the opener I Ain't the One, I thought "Yep, there's the good guitarwork they're known for. Oh, and a second harmonized guitar. Very nice. Wait what? A third lead guitar. Holy shit." I did not know about the Three Guitar Army, until I read up on who all the musicians were. So that was already changing my opinion in a good way. Gimme Three Steps is probably my favorite track of theirs - no, it's not overly complicated but the combination of thumping beats and cheeky lyrics/vocals ("I said Excuuuse me") always hooked me. As much as Freebird and Simple Man get played a lot, they are very good. I'm not going to go ga-ga over either like some, but the lyrics and the sad melody tug at you just enough (and of course there are good guitar licks). Still, I prefer the sweeping beauty of Tuesday's Gone. This album is at least a 4 but if I gave the Black Crowes' southern rock debut a 5 I gotta give Skynyrd's southern rock debut the same.

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Mon Feb 21 2022
5

You know, I don't support the use of the Confederate Flag, but this album is amazing. That's all I have to say.

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Fri Mar 11 2022
5

This album is so fucking good. And it's not JUST because of Free Bird (an undeniably excellent track), but because the whole album is full of shredding Southern rock. This album is the American South's Dark Side of the Moon. No skips, it really is that good. Like a truly good Southern album it's a rambling journey of great storytelling.

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Sat Mar 19 2022
5

Astonished by how much I enjoyed this, it was never not interesting. Still not sure if they're racist though.

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Fri Apr 01 2022
5

Such a great album. True classic

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Mon Apr 11 2022
5

Growing up in the South, I heard this so much that I was sick of it. Only recently could I appreciate this again.

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Thu May 05 2022
5

Absolute knockout album from start to finish. The first four tracks are all instant classics, and while the second half slows down slightly, it finishes right up at that high again with Free Bird.

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Fri May 13 2022
5

What an album! An absolute masterpiece. Banger after banger with guitar mixes in every song.

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Mon May 16 2022
5

A beautiful example of southern rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd has an incredibly focused musical identity as a band and I really like their no-frills approach to rock and roll. The songs are authentic, the band is strong, and the music just feels good. (Note these guys were actually progressives and the the band's image got distorted by those who survived the infamous plane crash). Finally, FREEEEEBIRRRRDDDD!!!! As much as it has become a joke to yell at encores, this song and the guitar solos at the end are just phenomenal with each measure elevating the guitar parts further into the stratosphere.

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Mon May 16 2022
5

A foundation of the wave of southern rock to come in this decade. Didn’t realize there were so many hits on their first album.

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Mon May 16 2022
5

This album is incredible. Every song on it is dope. I am very familiar with this album and I don’t think it’s too much to say it’s the quintessential Skynyrd. Most of their best songs are on this. It’s sick. Highlights besides the obvious Freebird are Gimme Three Steps and Simple Man. R.I.P. Ronnie your legacy will live on through your art for generations to come

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