(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Music to empty the bar.

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

Nö…

The absolute peak of Southern Rock. These Skynyrd boys have it all, from rock solid bass and drums to beautiful piano and crunchy organ, not to mention their three-guitar army and killer southern vocals. The band stays mostly in the rock and blues genre, but crafts songs with surprising diversity and intentionality; no two songs sound quite the same. Even in their wildest moments, the band never gets sloppy or chaotic; all guitar solo work is carefully planned and expertly executed. Simply a joy to hear. Also, "Free Bird" is a masterpiece; How a band can get three guitarist to arpeggiate in harmony for that long is beyond me. Stand out tracks include "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man", "Mississippi Kid", and "Free Bird".

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the best

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.

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

I imagine this is music people would like to have sex too.

Better than I remembered. Been years since listening to this from top to bottom.

Love every bit of it. Things Goin' On was a new find for me

An amazing debut album. But honestly if free bird were the only good song on the album I would probably still have to give the album a 5 -one of the most epic guitar solos ever. But that’s not the case, as all the songs are really good and Three steps, simple man, Tuesday’s gone are all pretty great. Album cover is great, just the band hanging out. Very sad, everyone on that cover has passed. No current surviving members of the band which is very unusual. After the plane crash and loss of many in the band it was never the same, seemed more like a tribute band. An the name of the band is great!

I've mostly avoided Lynyrd Skynyrd my whole life. I'm not sure really why. The meme of Freebird might be the reason. Growing up my parent's listened mostly to classic country, outlaw country and classic rock and roll. So those were my building blocks. Later in life I learned to play the harmonica and became fascinated with the Blues. Anyway this album feels like a concentrated collection of my personal history with music.

Rock & roll de la vieja escuela.

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.

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

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!

50% of this album is all time classic songs. Of the rest Things Goin' On is great, Mississippi Kid is good and the other two are mercifully short. If you take away the band's history and bullshit confederate flags it'd be an easy 5 but this defining 'Southern' so much for the worse means I can't separate the art from the artist as much as I'd like.

I'll confess to having only really listened to a couple of Skynyrd's biggest hits. You can't avoid "Freebird", it's become woven into pop culture, although as it and those around in the 70s have aged, it's faded. I gotta say this is an impressive debut album, self-assured and fully fleshed-out. Having "heard it all" at this stage in life, I am impressed with "Tuesday's Gone" which I think I've heard before. I did, however, want it to be over half-way through, instead of it repeating itself with riffs on top ad infinitum, but that tends to be how I feel about a lot of classic rock I missed that I've gone back to... "Gimmie Three Steps" is one of those hits I've heard. Didn't know it nor "Free Bird" were on the debut album. Classic rock riffs and solos. "Simple Man" I hadn't known but learned last year, as a friend who died had requested it be played at the memorial service. I can appreciate its earnestness more through my friend's love of the song He was a good, good dude. Hey there's seven people on the album cover... did they really need that many to make this record? --- Okay, checked out the comments. Folks, I can't help but notice there's no racism nor is there a confederate flag on the album cover or in the lyrics. The only political-leaning song complains about Vietnam and the government not protecting the people from the effects of pollution, and instead spending money on going to the moon. "Help the poor", it seems to say. You want to argue against any of that? I'm trying to take this journey like a visitor from another planet, without relying so heavily on all the baggage surrounding the record and the people who made it. It's impossible to completely leave your biases at the door but it's a fun exercise while going through these albums. The more I think about "southern rock" and sunburned jerks in tank tops that used to be t-shirts drinking American whiskey in front of a confederate flag, the less I like this record. The more I just focus on the music, the more I like it.

This is one of those albums that absolutely blows my mind to find out it was the bands first album. Nearly prefect with some of the bands biggest hits. And then to end it with Free Bird may be one of the biggest mic drops in musical history. Really enjoyed this one!

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Gritty, raw, and delightful

Sweet home Alabama extended versions, alt takes and mixes, + hit single Free Bird.

The epitome of southern "hard" rock - really exemplary. Better than their follow up album, 'Most of Us Are Dead"

average

much guitar. lots of hits

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.

I guess maybe it’s necessary to separate the original incarnation of the band from what they became, since we can’t really tell whether Ronnie Van Zant would’ve made the same decisions that the band did, had he lived. Maybe they were more liberal-minded in the early days and Sweet Home Alabama really is a skewering of conservative policies and values and they actually didn’t care for segregationist governor George Wallace - which would make sense with the “Boo Boo Boo” chant following his mention in the song, but it’s contradicted by accounts that Van Zant did, in fact, like Wallace by Skynyrd bassist Ed King and Charlie Daniels. One thing that overlaps both versions of this band is the use of the Confederate Flag in their imagery and stage shows. That was kind of a constant and is also a choice where their intent is unclear. It’s been explained away by the band that their record label, MCA, encouraged them to use the flag as a way to accent their Southernness and rebellious nature, but they also continued to associate themselves with it in their merchandise and stage shows for nearly 40 years following the band’s formation. Accepting the charitable interpretation, that Skynyrd merely used the flag as a marketing ploy, leaves us with an explanation: Lynyrd Skynyrd was fine with being tied to all the things that flag stood for, so long as they made money off of it, which is…a different kind of awful. So Skynyrd has left us with a choice to make: Do we accept their explanation that they were just playing the game, that they were actually more socially progressive, but had to lean into stereotype to make money? There’s an old saying, “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything” and I think that applies here. By adopting the rebel flag, they’ve forever tied themselves to its history and whatever good intentions they may have had outside of that are tarnished by the flag’s legacy. …and like I said, that’s the charitable explanation.

No

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.

Free Bird is a good tune, the rest not so great

Blegh. In researching this album, I’ve dug up some archival transcripts from a real conversation between Allen Collins and Al Kooper: AK: You know what’d be great? A guitar solo to end the album AC: Oh hell yeah, sounds cool, man! People love solos! What are you thinking? AK: Make it…. Long AC: Ahhh great, brother! Like a minute-long closer?! AK: No. Longer. AC: …2 minutes? AK: Try 4. AC: Uhhh but I only know like five licks AK: Bah, so much to learn, Leh-nerd. You just gotta repeat them a bunch! Like, I’m talking multiple bars of the same thing. And when your five riffs run dry, just bend the strings! Trust me, the audience won’t know the difference. AC: Hmm what about my artistic integrity? AK: BROTHER JUST REPEAT IT. WE’LL FADE IT OUT AT THE END. (Free Bird would go on to inspire millions) Official count of unique riffs in Free Bird: 7

Boring

One good song. Free bird.

This stinks

it’s an album with free bird and simple man. of course it gets 5 stars, all the other songs are real solid too

What a debut album! Not only does it have the amazing 1-2-3 punch of Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, and Simple Man, it ends with one of the most iconic rock songs of all time, Free Bird. And the rest of the album is in no way bad either. How could this not get 5/5?

"Pronounced" as it was affectionaly known at the time of it's release, gave the world Southern Rock. Southern Rock had been porculating in the Southern US for sometime and hints could be found in band's like The Allman Brothers southern blues rock. That was all under the covers. When Lynyrd Skynryrd's debut dropped, however, Southern Rock was suddently everywhere. The sheer number of Southern Rock classics on this album should alone make it one for the record books. Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, Simple Man, and the iconic anthem Free Bird are still classic rock radio staples, more than 50 years after their release. Modern country rock bands, such as the Zac Brown Band still play these songs in concert, typically performing them faithfully with little intrepretation. Skynyrd only produced five albums before half the band died in a plane crash, with Pronounced Lynryd Skynrd, they came out swinging, making the most of their short time on earth.

As a young boy... a song came on the radio... what made it different was it was kind of country, yet ALL ROCK n ROLL... and... it was almost TEN MINUTES LONG!!! and they played the whole thing on the radio.... why... because how can you edit all the great parts in "Free Bird"... which over the decades has become a punch line, and a bit cliche... but, back then... it was magical... the vocals... the guitar ATTACK... solos flying in from everywhere... the piano, bass... and the DRUMS... it was ELABORATE, yet right... not a note of it could nor should be deleted... "Free Bird" was like Faces' "Stay With Me" or The Stones "Satisfaction" in the fact that all red blooded kids would immediately start belting out the chorus... and play air guitar to the solos... or air drums, which was the case a lot of the time lol... when you add a great opening track like "I Ain't The One" and then "Tuesday's Gone"... THEN you do "Gimme Three Steps" and "Simple Man"... wow... "Things Goin' On", "Mississippi Kid", and "Poison Whiskey" are not hits, but solid rock workouts... and country rock virtuosity... and then the record ends with "Free Bird" what more do i have to convey? FIVE Stars, son... it's a whole lotta fun... ya boi d

Very good album - great guitar playing and vocals, and epic tunes without being overly ridiculous. Just a good time. I was close to docking it to 4* because side 2 isn't quite as strong, but closing on Free Bird makes it all fine again. It's simply one of the best rock songs ever, full stop

Was perfect to get this in the summer, because is there any better grill out music in existence? Naturally, Tuesday’s Gone is best suited for playing golf with a hockey stick, and Freebird’s good no matter the season or setting.

4.5. Obviously great.

Not as good as live, but still pretty darn good. Turns out Free Bird is totally awesome. Thanks for suggesting I take another listen, Dad.

Non c'è che dire, gasano un botto. È come il folk dovrebbe essere. Da recuperare, anche in vinile se lo meritano.

Fantastic album! Never listened to it before, but I knew most of the songs. Radio, TV, Movies - this album is full of great songs.

Dude, it's got free bird on it, easy 5/5. Simple man and poison whisky are also timeless. but, for real. It's got free bird on it.

Drove through 3 states listening to freebird.

This album always hits me with a wave of nostalgia; it just reminds me of my dad. But even trying to hear it with fresh ears, I know I would still be absolutely floored. It's crazy to think this was their first major-label release. A straight-up classic from beginning to end.

Half the songs are classics. Hard to argue with that.

This is classic rock gold, I literally never even thought of this music as remotely racist until I read the top reviews. I have listened to Skynyrd for 20+ years. Are we expected to scrub the south from our history? Pretend it didn't happen? I'm allowed to listen to music that I enjoy. Do I support racism? No. I understand the time this music was made in and I understand wrong and right. Listening to Skynyrd isn't going to make me, or anyone for that matter, join the Proud Boys.

Classic full of classics, nothing else to say

Separating art from artist this album absolutely smacks

Excelente

Straight up classic rock album. No bad songs, no filter. Flows really well start to finish

5 out of 5. no notes.

The entire album is good, but would've given 5 stars just for freebird. Favorite track: freebird other picks: simple man, Tuesday's gone, I ain't the one

The album is pretty dang solid, first half is an absolute masterclass, then fades a little, but not too bad, and hammers it home with the classic free bird. This many mega hits on one album, dang!

Freeeeee Biiiiirrrrrrrddddd 🦅🦅🦅

Perfect

Best Song: Tuesday's Gone If you look at the track list, I think Lynyrd Skynyrd made an entire 50+career off of this album. Oh, Sweet Home Alabama isn't on it. The other four songs I know from them are on this one.

Pleasant surprise to see this one come up. Definitely belongs in everyone’s collection. True clasic.

Intro to classic southern rock from GA/FLA. Simple Man is a true gem.

I'm usually pretty harsh on American dad rock but this album is banger after banger.

Southern rock greatness.

Finally we got Tredegar. Everyone has been right forever, one of the best albums ever. 5/5.

This thing is loaded and after 10 years of avoiding the skynyrd I’m ready to ease back into it. They are so good at groovin on a blues rock track together. I actually look forward to a guitar solo from these dudes and their keyboardist really holds it together for them. Honestly this record is fantastic 5/5

Fettbra

One of the best classical albums of all time. Easily some of the best songs of all time.

From my era, but never listened to them. I love the energy and confidence of their sound.

for free bird alone this album deserves 5 stars

Just perfect

9/10.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is probably one of the first bands I was introduced to via Guitar Hero II, rocking out to a cover of "Free Bird" on a plastic guitar controller. It was a cool time as a young teen getting into rock music, and as such, there's a certain nostalgia with checking out the bands I was exposed to early on. With revisiting Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut in mind, does it still hold up all these years later? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) represented the craftsmanship and standards the band held during their original run with vocalist and lyricist Ronnie Van Zant. His words delivered in that Southern drawl were observations from hard lessons learned in life. The relationship drama of "I Ain't the One" and "Gimme Three Steps", the perils of alcoholism on "Poison Whiskey", living in poverty while the American elite continue to profit on "Things Goin' On". These stories still feel resonant today in how they were told over the twin guitar riffing of Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, the tight rhythm section of Ed King and Bob Burns, and the complementing keyboard flair of Billy Powell. There are three songs in particular on this album that I want to highlight. Near the beginning is the seven-minute ballad "Tuesday's Gone", using the allegory of riding off a train away from a former love to speak about the band's changed trajectory after signing to MCA Records, sold with eloquence as the orchestral strings kick in. Ending side one is "Simple Man", the centerpiece of the record, about a mother passing valuable wisdom to her child, inspired by the passing of Ronnie's grandmother. It's a simple three-chord progression song, but man, does the writing and slow-burn soloing not elevate it to great heights. Finally, as I've alluded to earlier, this album ends with "Free Bird", a nine-minute ode to the desire for freedom that comes in many forms, culminating in an extended jam session with the band where Gary and Allen trade solos and a sense of euphoria rushes over me each time. I know that Lynyrd Skynyrd tends to get a bad rap with the outside associations of this band to the Southern United States' misplaced affection for the long-dead confederacy and backwards-looking ideals, and the band's rebirth in the 90s with Ronnie's younger brother Johnny did nothing to ameliorate that. But the original Ronnie Van Zant run is timeless in its simple comfort, and their debut album exemplifies that best.

Ye good

Any album that ends with Free Bird cannot conceivably be rated fewer than five stars.

It rocks.

As previously reviewed last month, still rings true after listening again: 
““Tuesday’s Gone”, “Free Bird”, “Gimme Three Steps” and “Simple Man”. 4 pure classic tracks. Loved “Mr Banker”. No brainer… 5!”

Fantastic album with great hits. No wonder they’re considered one of the best.

great album - listen again for sure

The holy grail of southern rock. End of discussion.

Easiest 5-star since Rumours

Ok this album rules . Surprising highlights included "things goin' on" and "I ain't the one". Goddamn good time.

A definitive classic

Favorite Track: Simple Man

Solid, lots of great songs. Didn't realize they were all on one album