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Post by Jesse on May 31, 2015 8:00:36 GMT -5
Why 25? Well, this is according to the latest issue of Guitar World:
25-Honky Tonk Nighttime Man
24-Poison Whiskey
23-Whiskey Rock'n Roller
22-Swamp Music
21-Comin' Home
20-Was I Right Or Wrong
19-Don't Ask Me No Questions
18-Gimmie Back My Bullets
17-Tuesday's Gone
16-On The Hunt
15-Needle And The Spoon
14-Ballad Of Curtis Loew
13-Down South Jukin'
12-Workin' For MCA
11-I Know A Little
10-You Got That Right
9-Call Me The Breeze
8-I Ain't The One
7-Saturday Night Special
6-Gimmie Three Steps
5-What's Your Name
4-That Smell
3-Simple Man
2-Sweet Home Alabama
1-Free Bird
Once again, this is according to Guitar World....not me. I personally think they got it wrong on several counts. Could I do better? Gimmie a few days and I will. What do you think?
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bucky
Garage Rocker
Posts: 177
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Post by bucky on May 31, 2015 19:35:26 GMT -5
I would not say I'm a super fan of Skynyrd but I'm a little more than a casual fan. I started out in the late 70's buying Gold & Platinum but after getting that Greatest Hits package(which obviously Guitar World has this as I believe all the tracks are here) it left me wanting more so I eventually picked up some of their albums and really began enjoying songs like Poison Whiskey, Needle and the Spoon, Searchin', T for Texas, Things Goin on, Cheatin' Woman, Double Trouble, I Got the Same old Blues ...etc. Now yes I can throw a few of these gems in my top 25 Skynyrd Tunes and maybe those 16 tracks from Gold & Platinum do belong on the list(maybe not in their order) but they seem to have forgotten the last couple of decades of Skynyrd especially from Gods & Guns which I really enjoyed(especially Still Unbroken,Skynyrd Nation, God & Guns,& Little thing Called you). I only have a few of the reborn Skynyrd albums (Vicious Cycle, God & Guns, & the Last Rebel) but they released a decent amount of albums since 1991and their isn't no mention of any tunes. As I said I'm no super fan so for all I know these albums all are no good but I really enjoy God & Guns and vicious Cycle was decent too(I haven't listened to the last Rebel in a good 10 years so I can't say much on that one.
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Post by Jesse on May 31, 2015 19:53:47 GMT -5
I would not say I'm a super fan of Skynyrd but I'm a little more than a casual fan. I started out in the late 70's buying Gold & Platinum but after getting that Greatest Hits package(which obviously Guitar World has this as I believe all the tracks are here) it left me wanting more so I eventually picked up some of their albums and really began enjoying songs like Poison Whiskey, Needle and the Spoon, Searchin', T for Texas, Things Goin on, Cheatin' Woman, Double Trouble, I Got the Same old Blues ...etc. Now yes I can throw a few of these gems in my top 25 Skynyrd Tunes and maybe those 16 tracks from Gold & Platinum do belong on the list(maybe not in their order) but they seem to have forgotten the last couple of decades of Skynyrd especially from Gods & Guns which I really enjoyed(especially Still Unbroken,Skynyrd Nation, God & Guns,& Little thing Called you). I only have a few of the reborn Skynyrd albums (Vicious Cycle, God & Guns, & the Last Rebel) but they released a decent amount of albums since 1991and their isn't no mention of any tunes. As I said I'm no super fan so for all I know these albums all are no good but I really enjoy God & Guns and vicious Cycle was decent too(I haven't listened to the last Rebel in a good 10 years so I can't say much on that one. That's my biggest beef with this list: that they couldn't come up with 1 song from the last 25 years to include on the list. If this were a top ten, yeah, it might be pushing it to bump a Ronnie classic for something that Johnny sung in later incarnations of the group. But in a top 25 I think there are at least 3 or 4 that are worthy from the JVZ era. If this is just top 25 "Classic" Lynyrd Skynyrd, then say so. I also would likely omit "Honky Tonk Night Time Man" as it was a cover song. A good one, but I'd rather give that spot to an original. |
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bucky
Garage Rocker
Posts: 177
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Post by bucky on Jun 1, 2015 11:34:49 GMT -5
I really look forward to your top 25 Jesse
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Post by Frank on Jun 1, 2015 15:25:17 GMT -5
Hmmmm my list would include a lot of their newer songs
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Post by Jesse on Jun 1, 2015 20:12:00 GMT -5
I think I got it, but I want to sleep on it a night or two and make sure. In Guitar World's defense, Skynyrd has a TON of great songs to choose from and ANY top 25 list will likely omit at least one song that would seem like a no-brainer to somebody. I think I have a pretty good list though, my top 10 is pretty much perfect IMO. From 11 on is debatable. If I go with what I have right now, I will have 7 songs sung by Johnny, 1 by Steve Gaines and 1 that, I think, is sung by Rickey Medlocke. Stay tuned!  |
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Post by Jesse on Jun 2, 2015 19:39:58 GMT -5
Ok, here's my Top 25 Skynyrd songs!
25-Trust. Great tune from the "Gimmie Back My Bullets" album. Love the Stratocaster intro. Very catchy song.
24-You Got That Right. Steve Gaines vocal with Ronnie in the duet role. Closest thing they ever had to a Pop song in the original incarnation. Great stuff can't imagine what Gaines would've brought to the band with another album.
23-Mean Streets. From "Edge Of Forever" Great, heavy tune. Rivals Hatchet and Blackfoot for inroads in the exclusive "Southern Metal" sub-genre.
22-Lend A Helping Hand. From "Skynyrd's First.....And Last" album. Another heavy song. Sounds like early Blackfoot, hell it basically WAS Blackfoot with Rickey Medlocke playing drums and Greg Walker playing bass.......and though my album credits Ronnie Van Zant on vocals, recent listens have me convinced that this was actually a Rickey Medlocke vocal.
21-That's How I Like It. Opener on the "Vicious Cycle" CD, you just knew the whole CD was gonna be good once the power chords to this song kick in. I thought it was pretty heavy at the time. Recent listens make me believe that this song would fit in nicely on Country Radio today.
20-On The Hunt. One......cool.......funky.....riff!
19-Whiskey Rock'n Roller. When you look up "Southern Rock" in the dictionary, this song will be somewhere within that definition.
18-Lucky Man. The would-be closer for the "Vicious Cycle" CD if not for the retarded remake of "Gimmie Back My Bullets", this is an awesome introspective ballad. Probably would not have made my list a few years ago, but today these lyrics speak to me.
17-Call Me The Breeze. I was thinking about leaving this on out because it was a JJ Cale song......but who's fooling who? This is classic Skynyrd booger wooger.
16-Simple Life. Another song like "Lucky Man" that speaks to me as I'm getting older.....but this one rocks a little better.
15-Needle And The Spoon. Damn near wore out this part of my "Second Helping" cassette. Best ever "Fuck You" to drugs.
14-Every Mother's Son. Not exactly a ballad, but too many acoustic guitars on here to be a rocker. Great way to make the same 3 chords as "Sweet Home Alabama" sound different.
13-Gimmie Three Steps. Just outside of my top 10. Originally it was in there, but I bumped it just because it's a little overplayed. Still one of Skynyrd's crowning moments.
12-Still Unbroken. One heavy sombitch from "God And Guns". I believe this was Hughie Thomasson's last co-write with Skynyrd.
11-Coming Home. Outstanding power ballad from "Skynyrd's First...And Last" Hard to believe they were sitting on this one since the beginning. Rickey Medlocke played drums and sang harmonies on this one and Greg Walker played bass.
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Post by spacel0rd on Jun 3, 2015 11:00:54 GMT -5
Here's my top 30:
1. Simple Man
2. Tuesday’s Gone
3. Free Bird
4. Can’t Take That Away
5. The Needle and the Spoon
6. Workin’ for MCA
7. The Ballad of Curtis Loew
8. That Smell
9. Born to Run
10. You Got that Right
11. Call Me the Breeze
12. Am I Losin’
13. Roll Gypsy Roll
14. Preacher Man
15. The Last Rebel
16. Was I Right or Wrong
17. Workin’
18. One More Time
19. Saturday Night Special
20. Don’t Ask Me No Questions
21. Voodoo Lake
22. All I Can Do is Write About it
23. Love Don’t Always Come Easy
24. On the Hunt
25. What’s Your Name?
26. Gimme Back My Bullets
27. Red White and Blue
28. One Thing
29. I Never Dreamed
30. Bring it On
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Post by Jesse on Jun 3, 2015 19:31:21 GMT -5
My Top 10:
10-I Know A Little. Once again a taste of what Skynyrd may have sounded like had Steve Gaines lived for a few more albums. Interestingly enough, this song is ahead of it's time as it's not far off from the type of music we'd hear in the late 80's and early 90's from regroupings of Little Feat, Doobie Brothers, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band (to a MUCH lesser extent), and even Skynyrd themselves.
9-Life's Lessons. Easily the best JVZ sung song in the catalog. Great, introspective lyrics. Catchy chord progression and some killer leads at the end. Should probably be higher on my list, but I'll take it at 9. Just shows how high a standard Johnny's brother left him.
8-Saturday Night Special. Cracks like the gun it was named after. One of the heaviest songs the original group ever did.
7-Double Trouble. Another great song from "Gimmie Back My Bullets" with a snarky Stratocaster riff. One of the coolest licks ever......apparently Molly Hatchet thought so too as their "Bounty Hunter" riff is virtually the same thing.
6-Sweet Home Alabama. Let's get this one out of the way. So simple, but so complex at the same time. I've played this song in cover bands for years, yet every time I play along to the CD, I realize that there is something I am doing wrong. Interesting fact: Ronnie's "Turn it up" was referring to his headphone mix.
5-Gimmie Back My Bullets (Live version from 1987). The original song was awesome enough with a meaty riff and hooky chorus. On the "Southern By The Grace Of God" live album, Steve Morse adds a solo at the end that takes this song to another stratosphere. 5 is as low as I can go with this version.
4-Workin' For MCA. Fantastic guitar war of a song. You got Gary and Allen with the twin leads, Ed King adds a nasty Strat solo......then out of nowhere, Billy Powell gives us an electric piano solo. All over top of one of the most bludgeoning riffs....I dunno, fuck, I'll say it: EVER! Little known tidbit: Bob Burns was the drummer for this song on "Second Helping", Artimus Pyle always had trouble with the drumbeat live.
3-That Smell. While at a Skynyrd concert around '03, it was during THIS song that I thought I was hearing perfection! Just an awesome arrangement, killer leads, well-placed backing vocals. And the real beauty of it is that this whole song is basically 2 chords!
2-Free Bird (Live version from 1976). Yeah, it's gotta be the "What Song Is It You Wanna Hear?" version. Not sure why Classic Rock radio doesn't play this version anymore. This version was actually the hit version. This is the version they were playing when I first began listening to Classic Rock radio. I dunno, but this version shits all over the original ( and the original is damn good!) Did you notice: It took me about 1000 listens, but a few years ago, I'm listening to this version and, toward the end of the soloing, I hear somebody (probably Allen Collins) two-hand tapping on guitar! This was a good two years before anyone ever heard of Eddie Van Halen! Listen for it next time you get the chance.
Well, shit, that's about all of 'em. What the hell can be ranked higher than "Free Bird"?
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Post by Jesse on Jun 6, 2015 7:31:27 GMT -5
Well, the weekend is here and I haven't given my #1 Skynyrd song yet. Ooops. You may be reading this and thinking that there are SEVERAL great Skynyrd songs missing from my list, any one of which could conceivably be #1. To narrow it down for you, let me first give you my runners-up:
In no particular order:
Simple Man-Damn near made the cut, but didn't because it is so overplayed. Not necessarily by Classic Rock radio, but by local bands in my area. EVERYBODY does this song and only a few do it well. Shouldn't be a factor. It's still a great song, but it's kinda gotten ruined just enough for me to leave it squarely outside of my top 25.
All I Can Do Is Write It In A Song-Great Ronnie song. Some of the best lyrics from the original incarnation of the band. Making this list anther time, it might have made the cut, but not this time.
The Last Rebel, Last Of A Dyin' Breed-Two songs, 20-some years apart. Both have virtually the same message. They are both great songs. Couldn't decide which one to include, wound up leaving them both off the list.
Crawl, Jake, Hell Or Heaven, Pick 'Em Up-Shit almost every song from "Vicious Cycle" was in serious contention for my list.
Home Is Where The Heart Is-Great tune off of "Twenty". Beautiful semi-ballad. Didn't quite make it.
Travelin' Man-Leon Wilkeson's lone contribution to the band's songwriting. Great song, I just had to draw the line somewhere.
End Of The Road-Pretty much the only song on "1991" worth listening to a second and third time. Good song, probably seems better than it really is because "1991" was such a disappointing album overall.
Don't Misunderstand Me-Ok, you got me, this is actually a Rossington Collins Band song, but, hells bells, there were more members of the original Skynyrd playing on this song than on any Skynyrd album since "Endangered Species". A couple RCB songs came into mind for the top 25, but this was their big hit and the only one I seriously considered putting on the list.
Ok, there you go. Anyone wanna guess my #1 just by process of elimination?
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Post by spacel0rd on Jun 8, 2015 6:24:04 GMT -5
Ummm...Born to Run?
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Post by Jesse on Jun 8, 2015 17:36:06 GMT -5
No, but thanks for playing! Here's my #1 Skynyrd Song: |
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Post by spacel0rd on Jun 9, 2015 9:48:37 GMT -5
No, but thanks for playing! Here's my #1 Skynyrd Song: For some reason I thought this was already on your list. |
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bucky
Garage Rocker
Posts: 177
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Post by bucky on Jun 9, 2015 13:47:45 GMT -5
Great list Jesse! It was cool seeing the mention of Rossington/Collins band. It was great when they first came out...I'll always remember as I used to listen every Sunday evening to the King Biscuit Flower Hour & one week they featured them in concert. I was pretty blown away especially when they played the instrumental of Freebird. I went out & bought the album right after & loved it.
...Tuesday's Gone is a great #1 choice
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