Here is a band who need no introduction, whose story and tragedy have become part of rock history, but they since they reformed in the Eighties they have stayed on the road, something which they plan to continue even though there are now no longer any original members in the band. This 50th Anniversary show was a special night, and Gary Rossington refused all the pleadings from his wife Dale to sit down and play, as for one last time he wanted to play as he always used to. Five months later he had died, but for that night he let the years fall off him as he again drove the three-man guitar attack for which they are synonymous. The line-up that night was Johnny Van Zant (lead vocals), Gary Rossington (guitars), Mark Matejka (guitars and backing vocals), Keith Christopher (bass), Ricky Medlocke (guitars and backing vocals, strange to think he was their drummer in the early Seventies), Michael Cartellone (drums), Peter Keys (piano and keyboards), Dale Krantz-Rossington (backing vocals) and Carol Chase (backing vocals). There are also a few guests with Jelly Roll (vocals on “Tuesday’s Gone”), Marcus King (vocals on “Saturday Night Special”), Donnie Van Zant (vocals on “Red, White, and Blue”), Brent Smith (vocals on “Simple Man”) and John Osborne (vocals on “Working for MCA”).
Everything you could want from a Skynyrd concert is here, and certainly if I had been there that night, I would have gone home ecstatic as the band are cooking as they play one classic after another. The last five songs (out of 15) are “Simple Man”, “Gimme Three Steps”, “Call Me The Breeze”, “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Freebird”. What a run to the close!! Apparently, this is available as Blu-Ray as well, but I only have the audio, and we finish with members of those who were involved that night spending nearly 30 minutes talking about what the concert meant to them, and their feelings about Gary. Sometimes these discussions can feel quite maudlin and add nothing to the overall release, but I urge people to listen to this in its entirety as it really does provide the climax to a wonderful set. Lynyrd Skynyrd already have their tour. As Jelly Roll says during the chat, “In the South, there’s Jesus Christ, and then there’s Lynyrd Skynyrd, right there beside each other.”
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/
https://www.frontiers.it/