Lynyrd Skynyrd broadly fit into the hard-driving improvisational blues format pioneered by the Allman Brothers, although the band's welcome bent for brevity keeps most of the tracks tight and to the point. On the other hand, their nine-minute "Freebird" jumps out of the group's debut LP: It offers a tour of blues guitar expertise, conducted by Allen Collins and to a riveting effect. In fact, Skynyrd work with three lead guitarists, a density of stringy instrumentation at times recalling Byrds as much as Allmans.

Eclectic (a shared predilection for much Southern rock), Skynyrd leans on everyone from Rolling Stones ("Tuesday's Gone") and Ry Cooder ("Things Goin' On") to Lovin' Spoonful ("Gimme Three Steps"). Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant mostly sounds like Keith Relf imitating Mick Jagger. Al Kooper's unobstrusively dapper production emphasizes the English connection with ever an eye to poppy parts, a mellotron here, electric 12-string there. But the blunter blues tracks form the album's meat with cuts like "Simple Man" revealing a no-nonsense powerhouse rock unit of modest proportions but considerable promise.

- Jim Miller, Rolling Stone, 11-6-73.

Bonus Reviews!

Lacking both hippie roots and virtuosos, post-Allmanites like ZZ Top, Marshall Tucker, and Wet Willie become transcendently boring except when they get off a good song. But in this staunchly untranscendent band, lack of virtuosos is a virtue, because it inspires good songs, songs that often debunk good-old-boy shibboleths. Examples: "Poison Whiskey," "Mississippi Kid," and "Gimme Three Steps," where Ronnie Van Zant, instead of outwitting the dumb redneck the way onetime Dylan sideman Charlie Daniels does in "Uneasy Rider," just hightails it out of there. Savvy production from onetime Dylan sideman Al Kooper. A

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

The debut from this Southern road/roots stomping aggregation served notice that worthy successors to the groundbreaking Allman Brothers had arrived, with one foot in rock and the other in southern sociomythology. They lived and played as if the music and the party were the only things that mattered. Strong song writing, sympathetic production provided by Al Kooper, and Ronnie Van Zant's redneck holler vocals add up to a Dixie-fried good time, making the intelligence of the lyrics an added bonus. This release includes "Gimme Three Steps," "Poison Whiskey," and the ubiquitous, progressive "Free Bird." The sound of the initial MCA CD is bright and tight, occasionally a bit edgy in the highs and mushy in the lows, but generally clean and dynamic. A-

- Bill Shapiro, Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock on CD, 1991.

With the release of this debut album, Skynyrd was immediately recognized as one of the South's premier bands. The album's highlight is "Freebird," a song that, over time, has become one of the most requested rock songs in the history of radio. "Simple Man," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Tuesday's Gone" are several other standards from this classic album. * * * *

- Rick Clark, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

Pronounced 'leh-nerd' skin'-nerd introduced the band with a bang, though it's occasionally weighed down by Al Kooper's excessive production. * * * *

- Alan Paul, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Powered by a three-guitar jam attack, the must-have debut that defined Southern dirt rock at its finest is itself defined by the rock anthem "Free Bird," a tribute to the late Duane Allman that became the second-most overplayed song on the radio. All Skynyrd is good Skynyrd, and it fact it's pronounced "a-w-e-s-o-m-e" quip connoisseurs who still consider this classic band with a unique sound phenomenal (nuff said). * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

From the git-go, Southern rock mainstays Lynyrd Skynyrd played hard, lived hard and shot from the hip (with three guitars!). Discovered by Al Kooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd offered taut rockers including "Poison Whiskey" and the ultimate anthem, "Freebird."

Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd was chosen as the 401st greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.

- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.

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