God & Guns [Special Edition] [Digipak]

Performer: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Engineer: Jimmy Daniels; Rob Robinson; Trey Bruce; Bob Marlette
Producer: Robert Dennis; Rob Dennis; Trey Bruce; Bob Marlette
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Additional personnel: Greg Morrow, Jerry Douglas , Rob Zombie, Perry Coleman, Bob Marlette. Audio Mixers: Trey Bruce; Ben Fowler; Bob Marlette. Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN (07/15/2007); Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY (07/15/2007); SOund Kitchen, Franklin, TN (07/15/2007); Studio Sea, Ft. Myers, FL (07/15/2007). Arranger: Lisa Parade. What to make of GOD & GUNS, the group's new album from Roadrunner Records? It certainly sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd, maybe with a little more contemporary Nashville on board, and there's plenty of that Southern redneck rocker attitude on display. What might be missing however is a little more compassion and heart, two qualities that were the secret ingredients in the late Ronnie Van Zant's singing. Johnny sounds like him, sure, but where Ronnie came across slightly disappointed, wounded, and--God forbid--regretful underneath his swagger, Johnny comes across like an archetypal Southern redneck convinced that America is all about guns and God. The lead single from this set, "Still Unbroken," is a decent song, but that's about it, although the album has a big, full feel. There just aren't many songs here to go with that fullness (God & Guns was produced by Bob Marlette)--"Southern Ways" has a certain charm, maybe because it's essentially a slowed-down rewrite of "Sweet Home Alabama" with the same riff as an anchor, and "Floyd" has some ragged atmosphere going for it. It ends up feeling like an album that stomps and roars and sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd but somehow just isn't the same. With their classic early lineup, anchored by the swagger, grit, and heart of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd merged Allman Brothers guitars with barrelhouse piano (courtesy of keyboardist Billy Powell, a bigger part of Skynyrd's classic sound than most people realize), then tossed in a big dose of hard rock attitude and gave it all credence with a kind of blustering and cocky honky tonk sensibility. The original band just sounded so, well, right, and if its legacy in most casual listeners' minds is just "Sweet Home Alabama" and the ubiquitous "Free Bird," that's not a bad legacy to have, really. Skynyrd's story is also a gothic Southern tragedy, haunted by fatal plane crashes and death, and if the 21st century version of the band (current membership includes ex-Blackfoot guitarist Rickey Medlocke, drummer Michael Cartellone, vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Gary Rossington, who is the only member left from the original version of Skynyrd) seems more like a facsimile than a continuation, one could chalk it up to pure attrition. So what to make of God & Guns, the group's new album from Roadrunner Records? It certainly sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd, maybe with a little more contemporary Nashville on board, and there's plenty of that Southern redneck rocker attitude on display, but what's missing, unfortunately, is compassion and heart, two qualities that were the secret ingredients in Ronnie Van Zant's singing. Johnny sounds like him, sure, but where Ronnie came across slightly disappointed, wounded, and -- God forbid -- regretful underneath his swagger, Johnny comes across like an archetypal Southern redneck convinced that America is all about guns and God -- one assumes Ronnie would wonder if those two things were ever a good idea to mix together. The lead single from this set, "Still Unbroken," is a decent song, but unfortunately that's about it, although the album has a big, full feel. There just aren't many songs, really, to go with that fullness (God & Guns was produced by Bob Marlette) -- "Southern Ways" has a certain charm, maybe because it's essentially a slowed-down rewrite of "Sweet Home Alabama" with the same riff as an anchor, and "Floyd" has some ragged atmosphere going for it, but most of the songs here are far from memorable. It ends up feeling like an album that stomps and roars and sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd but somehow just isn't the same -- maybe because it isn't. [This limited Special Edition adds a second disc of bonus tracks, including live versions of J.J. Cale's "They Call Me the Breeze" and "Sweet Home Alabama."] ~ Steve Leggett With their classic early lineup, anchored by the swagger, grit, and heart of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd merged Allman Brothers guitars with barrelhouse piano (courtesy of keyboardist Billy Powell, a bigger part of Skynyrd's classic sound than most people realize), then tossed in a big dose of hard rock attitude and gave it all credence with a kind of blustering and cocky honky tonk sensibility. The original band just sounded so, well, right, and if its legacy in most casual listeners' minds is just "Sweet Home Alabama" and the ubiquitous "Free Bird," that's not a bad legacy to have, really. Skynyrd's story is also a gothic Southern tragedy, haunted by fatal plane crashes and death, and if the 21st century version of the band (current membership includes ex-Blackfoot guitarist Rickey Medlocke, drummer Michael Cartellone, vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Gary Rossington, who is the only member left from the original version of Skynyrd) seems more like a facsimile than a continuation, one could chalk it up to pure attrition. So what to make of God & Guns, the group's new album from Roadrunner Records? It certainly sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd, maybe with a little more contemporary Nashville on board, and there's plenty of that Southern redneck rocker attitude on display. The lead single, "Still Unbroken," is a fine song, "Southern Ways" has a certain charm (maybe because it's essentially a slowed-down rewrite of "Sweet Home Alabama" using the same riff as an anchor), and "Floyd" has some ragged atmosphere going for it, but there's nothing as memorable as "Free Bird" here, but it's probably not fair to ask this version of the band to compete with its own past. This is Skynyrd in the 21st century, nothing more, nothing less, and they still rock hard. That part of the legacy is still intact. [This limited Special Edition adds a second disc of bonus tracks, including live versions of J.J. Cale's "They Call Me the Breeze" and "Sweet Home Alabama."] ~ Steve Leggett

During their 1970s heyday, Lynryd Skynyrd emerged as the preeminent practitioners of Southern rock. Their triple-guitar attack and country-tinged songs carved a permanent spot on the playlists of classic rock radio. Since its first release in 1973 their epic hit "Freebird" has received more airplay than anything this side of "Stairway to Heaven." The tragic deaths of visionary lead guitarist Steven Gaines and lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zandt in a 1977 plane crash cut down the band at its peak; but after parting ways for several years, the surviving members re-formed the group, with Van Zandt's little brother Johnny at the helm.

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