Lynyrd Skynyrd - One More From the Road
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Free Music Notes for One More From the Road
Free Music Review: Which version to buy?
Hit: 5 Stars
The Amazon description of this cd is not accurate. This is not a Japan release. Also, the reviews of all the editions are mixed up with each other. But here's what I think of the three different releases of this legendary, essential album.
Mixing/Frequency response:
1990 -- Limited by lackluster original, early cd mastering
1996 -- Much improved by remaster, but somewhat harsh
2001 -- Improved, but sounds light, and high hat is annoyingly prominent
Imaging/Separation:
1990 -- Sounds good, but could be fuller
1996 -- Great separation, but bad, flat imaging
2001 -- Great separation; imaging warm but unnaturally full
Sequencing/Bonus tracks:
1990 -- Original album sequence, but with Traveling Man and T for Texas missing
1996 -- The "actual" order, but with a 2nd Sweet Home Alabama awkwardly inserted
2001 -- Several alternate takes, the actual Free Bird solo, and more stage banter
Bottom line:
1990 -- I'll stick with this one. This version is the most soothing to me, because--even though it could definitely use improvement--it sounds "right". I'm annoyed by resequencing of classic live albums to the "original" live order. I don't care what order they actually played the songs -- I care about the order they were in on the album that I've heard hundreds of times. Also, the original cd release, despite its limitations, sounds more like the lp to me than either remaster. My vintage receiver, outboard d/a converter, and equalizer more than compensate for any sonic defects in this version. (but I hate not having those two missing songs.)
1996 -- This is enjoyable. You get the two missing songs and the clarity is improved. I'm annoyed, though, by the bad imaging and the weird sequencing.
2001 -- I don't like this one. The extra banter and bonus tracks are cool, but the mix sounds terrible to me. It's got no power, and the high hat dominates the sound. I also don't like that the Free Bird solo is different than the original album. If the lp version was included with the "original solo" version and the alternate take that would be fine, but I want to hear the solo that I know note for note, not a historical artifact. Overall, this is a failed effort. They need to try releasing this one more time--with the original lp order and a mastering job that has improved frequency response but is faithful to the original lp mix and overall sound.
Free Music Review: The Greatest LIVE album......
Hit: 5 Stars
Lynyrd Skynyrd is probably the best American rock band that have ever recorded. Still can't figure out why they are not in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
One More From The Road was always a great live album. The BEST live album just got better. It captured Skynyrd at their peak it July 76. Steve Gaines was still pretty new to the band, but he kick started something special that tragically would end shortly in that terrible plane crash.
I can't say enough about this album. I have owned it in every format - 2LP vinyl, cassette, the original single CD, the remastered 20th anninversary 2CD (which I thought was so awesome, BUT to put an alternate SHA in the middle didn't make sense. You have 2 SHA in the set) , then the Deluxe double CD. I was totally blown away by this one. The sound and mix is unbelievable. Who would have thought that a live concert from 76 could sound so amazing. Advances in recordings and mixing have come a long way. I compared the sound to my other OMFTR CD's and this by far blows them away.
Skynyrd's setlist was white hot. They literally smoked on every track. You can actually feel the energy of their performance coming through on this CD, something which only a select few groups can do. The addtion of Ronnie Van Zant's between song talking is such a great treat. Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines were cooking up something great during their run at the Fox. Artimus Pyle shines with drumming on this and Billy Powell's piano is just too perfect. Leon Wilkeson tasty bass lines are just phenomenal. These boys came to play and show the world that Skynyrd kicks butt.
The setlist is a best of Skynyrd. Powerful , rockin' and high energy. This is the way Rock & Roll should be. You will find no better live versions of Skynyrd classics(MCA, SHA, SNS, Freebird) and some great covers(T For Texas , Crossroads). MCA did an outstanding job of putting the tracklist back to the original concert running order. Everything flows magically. The alternate versions on disc 2 are awesome. It is great to hear the differences on the songs such as SHA, Freebird , 3 Steps between the nights they played there.
I recommend this Deluxe CD to anyone who is a fan of Rock & Roll and any fan of Skynyrd. Even a casual fan will be amazed that Skynyrd has this kind of energy and magic on this CD. You can't go wrong .
Long live Lynyrd Skynyrd
Free Music Review: A Definitive Live Album
Hit: 5 Stars
Back about a year and a half ago, I managed to pick up Lynyrd Skynyrd's excellent box set a pretty much becaem a huge fan overnight, loving every one of the 47 songs on the set. Of course, with so much overlap on many other Skynyrd recordings, I really wasn't in haste to get another album, but other fans eventually convinced me that the live album had to be heard. With that in mind, I broke down and bought the classic ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD. All I really need to say is that I definatly got my money's worth out of this one. Regardless of whether think the live recordings provide better verions of the songs, or if you think the studio recordings sound better, this is still essential. Even for those who prefer the more polished studio sounds, there's still simply a whole different feel in hearing the band when it has a live audience in front of it. Skynyrd interacts well with its very enthusiastic audience, Ronnie in particular obviously relishing the comaradarie between himself and his fans. This chemistry can be felt by the listener of this record, even nearly 30 years after it was recorded. The songs themselves are played with energy and intensity, and many songs such as "Gimme Back My Bullets," "Searchin'" and even "Simple Man" sound better live than the studio releases.
The Deluxe Edetion, even though I never got to hear the original, is fantastic. The sounds is crystal clear, but still retains the warmth of vintage 70s equipment. The mix is very good, bringing ou the instruments well at all the right times (I will concede the Billy Powell's piano is a touch quiet in "Workin' For MCA," but the rest is fine). Even though it wasn't entirely intential, I was pleased to read that Collins' guitar solo in "Free Bird" is the original, and not an overbud. Live albums should be heard as they were played live. The alternate takes don't sound much different from the originally released numbers, but they are still outstanding and thus highly welcome.
The bottom line is this: no Lynyrd Skynyrd fan should be without this live album. It is an excellent demonstration of why they were such a popular live act, and captures them playing at their peak.
Free Music Review: Allmans apples, Skynyrd oranges
Hit: 5 Stars
This is Skynyrd at their peak, I will argue this was the best rock band on the planet at the moment this album was recorded.
I could partake in the Allman v. Skynyrd argument for eternity. I'm a Sourthern musician myself, and I think there's room for both bands and both albums (as well as many of their other works) in any collection.
I find it intriguing that the aforementioned Skynyrd ripper listed later Black Crowes and Widespread Panic albums as better than Skynyrd live; the "Allman wannabe" label is a much better fit for those latter-day jam bands. All the guitar players I've ever known (including Al Kooper, who I don't know but who I respect the hell out of, considering his pedigree) thought the Skynyrd axe men were very progressive for their day.
The Allman-Skynyrd comparison is apt only from 10,000 feet. Yes, they came from the same area, and many of the influences were similar. But Skynyrd followed the more modern English blues-rock paradigm (see: Cream, Free), and they were more of a pop-song-type band (in the gunslinging, Allmans tradition, of course).
I would even venture to say that Skynyrd followed in the Allmans' footsteps. Indeed, Brother Duane is up there with Hendrix, methinks, and I find the Allmans' work during his lifetime unimpeachable and some of the best modern music ever made.
It gets iffy for both bands after their key members passed. Skynyrd was poised to become even bigger and better with the addition of Steve Gaines -- listen to the guitar work on "Street Survivors." And Ronnie Van Zant knew what the hell he was doing. Meanwhile, everyone knows what happened to Greg and Co. after Duane's untimely death. (I think I sense a pattern here.)
I saw both bands in the space of a year in '75-'76 (including all 3 nights at Fox for Skynyrd), and there was no comparison at that point. Allman biographer Scott Freeman considers that '75 Allman tour to be the band's nadir, and the Skynyrd boys were going for the gold about 9 months later.
I don't think any other Southern band has come close since then. . .
Free Music Review: The Zenith of Southern Rock!
Hit: 5 Stars
Sure Lynyrd Skynyrd were could make phenomenal studio albums, but in the end (like most dirty, raunchy, simple, have a beer and rawk groups) their claim to fame was without a doubt the live show. In their prime they were a first class live act, and One More From the Road proved to be the perfect example.It was the '70s, and in this long gone era the mainstream was loaded with great live acts. A live album could be an artist's entrance into the mainstream (The Allmans At Fillmore East, Kiss's Alive!), an artist's claim to fame (Frampton Comes Alive), or the peak of an artists' catalougue (see previous examples). Lynyrd Skynyrd was the perfect sample, and here they caputure it perfectly, performing all their best songs from Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama to Call Me the Breeze and Tuesday's Gone in all their power and fury. Most, if not all of these versions are better than their studio counterparts and songs such as Searching, Travelling Man, T for Texas, and Crossroads are simply stunning on the live stage. Then their is of course their magnum opus the epic Free Bird, played ten times better than ever with the triple guitar onslaught.
However this new version isn't perfect. The alternate versions are at times exact replicas of their original release counterparts, making it at times repetitive. (Plus putting Free Bird at the beginning of a disc seems VERY misplaced) However this is made up for amazing liner notes (some of which are written by Cameron Crowe) and the overall quality of the music, not to mention the magnificent sound.
Bottom Line. If you love raw, energetic, raunchy, simple southern rawk then this is for you. In some ways I see this deluxe edition a cruel coincidence. The original Lynyrd Skynyrd was ended thanks to a tragic plane crash. This new edition was released on September 11th , one of the darkest days America has ever known. Lynyrd Skynyrd is so synonymous with American rock, and if you ever need to cut loose from all the terrible things that happen in the world, grap a drink and a burger and rock with some of the greatest rockers in the world, and one of the greatest live albums EVER!