 
While this version of Lynyrd Skynyrd isn’t
the golden line up of the 60’s and 70’s
but for the past 25 years the new line up has
been keeping the Skynyrd name alive and kicking
after the unfortunate plane crash of 1977 which
killed 3 members, Gary Rossington is the only
remaining member from the original line up. Since
the plane crash there has been 8 studio albums
thus just ups the number to 9, not only that but
from what I can hear they’ve picked up to
pace and opted to experiment with a harder rock
style. With some new blood in the fold also the
lads are keeping the good Skynyrd name alive,
but can they keep up the impeccable reputation
too?
To be fair to it any album released now with only
1 original member remaining can’t really
be compared with albums of the past, but then
on the other hand how do you measure it as a part
of the discography? I’m going to attempt
to do both. Vocalist Johnny Van Zant has done
an impeccable job as the bands frontman for over
2 decades and has really proved himself, his range
and tone are impressive and not so unlike that
of his brothers which is a factor in helping keep
his memory alive as well as the band itself. When
talking about lyrics however I must say they aren’t
the most initiative structure of words, borderline
cheesy at times but not all is lost as some still
retain some southern power.
In a world where true Southern Rock is hard to
come by its a good thing to see one of the strongest
living veterans are still trying to keep it together,
at least in spirit as this is not one of the best
albums they’ve ever put out as the heavy
country presence just takes something away from
it; we’ve got the high octane “One
Day at a Time”, infectious chorus baring
“Home Grown”, powerful ballad “Ready
to Fly” and many more some of which will
be memorable, others may just fade into the past
as times go on. Not a bad album, I had a good
listen to it and enjoyed it, but will it fit into
my ever-growing CD changer? Maybe not.
3/5
Review by James Webb
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