Lynyrd Skynyrd – Last of a Dyin’ Breed
Loud and Proud Records
www.loudandproudrecords.com
Rating: BOn August 21st Lynyrd Skynyrd will release their latest album, Last of a Dyin’ Breed. The album is poised to meet, or beat, the success of 2009’s God & Guns, which debuted at # 18 on the Billboard album charts.
This time around, the band kicked it up a notch, delivering eleven songs that fit together well and exemplify everything great about the genre of Southern Rock.
For the album, the band returned Bob Marlette to the studio, who also produced God & Guns. Gary Rossington comments on the album and working with Marlette, “It was great to get back in the studio with Bob for this new album. We kind of went back old school this time. All of us playing together in the studio as a band, tracking songs and creating licks. We had a lot of fun and the music really flowed for us, so that’s when you know you are on to something good. We can’t wait to let the fans hear these songs and play ‘em live.”
The core members of today’s Skynyrd are Gary Rossington (guitar), Johnny Van Zant (vocals) and Rickey Medlocke (guitar). Together, they wrote the album, which features some amazing guitar work, southern fried vocals, and lyrics, and plenty of toe-tapping good tunes.
The album beginnings with the title track, which features some of the best slide playing the band has cranked out for thirty years. Other great songs are “Homegrown,” which is about girls and not the green stuff and “Good Teacher,” which pays homage to the fallen all time leader of Lynyrd Skynyrd Ronnie Van Zant.
At the end of the day, there is no “Free Bird” style anthem and there is nothing that is going to be as iconic as “Sweet Home Alabama.” Skynyrd, however, are still a great band, and while time has tragically removed many beloved members of the band, this lineup is ready and willing to keep the legacy alive, both on the road playing the band’s most famous songs, and by delivering a quality album that will be welcomed by their fans.
The band are still flying the flag for Southern Rock, and doing it well. Don’t miss out on this one, as good music is just that, good music. And this album is full of it.
Jeb Wright
