More than Greatest Hits

When you start listening to 30 for the first time, you begin to realize its not just any greatest hits compilation. While big acts like Aerosmith and the Stones are either reuniting for big bucks or still holding steady after decades, Skynyrd has risen to the challenge and succeeded in an unthinkable task. The loss of a frontman, either through death or uninvolvement in a band, guarantees failure 99% of the time. After 30 years, the loss of three key members, and physical and emotional trauma many can't fathom... they are still rocking. Big Wheels Keep on Turnin... As I plugged in my old CD player and hit the first track, it was no great surprise that Sweet Home Alabama was starting off this experience. As the song neared its end though, I lit a couple candles, collapsed in my bed and let the tunes of the south start. The CD begins with a dose of songs from the original Skynyrd lineup including 1970's Need All My Friends and Blues Medely that last for unending lengths, but never bore the listener. For Skynyrd fans like myself who despise the 5-minute solo format of old rockers, this is the exception. The Blues Medely solo is an absolutely stunning recording, crisp and clear, that screams out like Hendrix. Rossington's massive guitar riffs are neverending in a tapestry of complexity that challenges the listener to pick up his Fender and play : but by the time Blues Medely is finished, with the proper candles lit, you'll never want to get up again. The CD takes a turn with the upbeat classic Down South Junkin but the underlying blues and rock n' roll never break the relaxation. As the CD starts compiling songs from the debut album, it takes a sudden change when you get to Second Helping Skynyrd classics such as Workin for MCA, the Ballad of Curtis Lowe, and All I can do is write about it. It is obvious not just chronologically but by the naked ear of the progression in the Skynyrd soung. Its more complex, more developed, and the tone is more confident. After all, who would have known that such unspeakable tragety would hit a band at their peak? The first CD of 30 not only conveys the tallent of Skynyrd, but the art in making a greatest hits compilation... The first CD ends obviously, with a serenade of Skynyrd at their purest :Freebird.

As the second CD begins, the candles are melting onto the ground. In a change of pace, Ronnie blasts out with a powerful live version of Whisky Rock n' Roller. There are 6 classic Skynyrd tracks, all live, with our Southern king on vocals. Street Survivors You Got that Right ends the Skynyrd legacy in the listeners minds, but the upbeat and catchy song still glorifies the members, possibly even more than an ending like Comin' Home would - which follows. This live version of Comin' Home is nothing short of mezmerizing. Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant begins with the song, vocals almost spot on as his older brother in his earlier days. This is more than a cover or a reunion - this song is a tribute to those lost on Oct. 20th. While 3 cover songs from original Skynyrd may not seem like enough to the average fan, I think it might be too much. Wrapping up the CD are 7 post-Skynyrd songs with Johnny on voclas, and while many old fans toss them aside, this isn't disregarding the legacy - its honoring it. This is Skynyrd's greatest hits - and Skynyrd is long from being over. The band, nearly 30 years after their tragety, is still a band. It is obvious, through all the effort and touring, that this is a core of members who are determined to play their passion to the bone.

Mad Hatter, in the memory of bassist Leon Wilkeson off the 2002 album Vicious Circle is just another classy song from the kings of the south. Skynyrd has been hit time and again by tragety, and has never failed to stand back up to the test of time and beat life at it's own game. By the time the listener hears Johnny sing "I was raised on the poor side of town...", the candles are burnt to the floor, and you are either high from the music of immune to it. This album takes you on a journey from past to present, with the assurance that more greatest hits will come soon. Us rednecks have a way of getting what we want. Even though we may loose in the end, we never back down. These are the Songs of the South - and absolutely the greatest hits album I have ever heard.

---Written by "Flea". Copyright 2003


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