After a triumphant show in Greece the great Lynyrd Skynyrd release one more studio album, their thirteenth in total, on their post-plane crash era. Quality speaking this is as good as “God And Guns”. There’s some amazing songs here that might become the new classics for the band, and overall this is a genuine Skynyrd album.
The band developed a practice that tends to become a recipe that really delivers, and maybe it could be followed by other bands as well. What’s that? The collaboration of third parties in composing. Among them we’ll find Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes, John 5, Marilyn Manson’s guitarist(!), the album’s producer, Bob Marlette etc. Sure, they didn’t write all the songs, but their contribution in some of those seems that was very important, as someone can read on the 132-page special magazine that accompanies a version of the album.
The album moves with one gear down comparing to “God And Guns”, with the fast songs being outnumbered by the slower ones. Of course throughout Skynyrd’s history so of their most popular songs like “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone” and part of “Freebird” –you can listen to the trademark bird effect here on “Honey Hole”- were ballads. Still, the atmosphere remains totally southern, original and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd. Especially on songs like “One Day At A Time”, “Homegrown”, “Life’s Twisted” the band shows that it has a lot to offer to music with songs that have the power to bring out true emotions, and that are built to last.
