Customer Reviews

Freebird The Movie: Music From The Motion Picture

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant and Leon Wilkenson. Seven of rock's legends took the stage in Hertfordshire, England during the summer of 1976 for one unforgettable concert. They presented hits such as "Workin For MCA," "Saturday Night Special," and "Sweet Home Alabama." A little under a year later, Skynyrd performed in Oakland, California and gave probably the best performance of "Freebird" I have ever heard. This version surpasses the one that Ronnie and friends did Live At The Fox. Finally, ten days later the band put on another tremendous performance in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which included the first live performances of "What's Your Name?" and "That Smell."

Finally, twenty years after the plane crash that took the life of Steve Gaines, Ronnie Van Zant, back up singer Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick, Cabin Fever Entertainment has compiled some of Skynyrd's finest live performances and put together...Freebird: The Movie. While the movie may be out of print, the soundtrack is alive and well.

I've heard parts of One More From The Road and I have the DVD of Lyve, but the intensity from lynyrd Skynyrd on this album is unbeatable. From the opening "Hello How are you?" to the final strum of a guitar, Lynyrd Skynyrd gives a great performance. Johnny, Billy, Leon, Ricky, Hughie, Gary, and whoever is on drums these days are wonderful, but without Ronnie, Steve, Artimus, and Allen '...things just couldn't be the same.'

So said Artimus about their performance at the Knebworth festival. Although the choice of songs is very similar to One More From the Road, and smaller as well, it still stands out on its own as an album worth buying. The production, though on the rough side, gives a good feel of an outdoor concert. Leon's bass is more prominent then in "One More...", and has a different, more earthy sound IMO. Speaking of the setlist, it is somewhat of a tradeoff. We get 1977 live versions of That Smell and What's Your Name, both superb, plus Freebird from the same year. On the other hand, we have an incomplete Knebworth setlist, leaving out Freebird (even though the liner notes call it one of the most inspired moments ever witnessed on British soil) as well as a couple other songs, judging from their set being 90 minutes as also indicated in the liner notes. And as a previous reviewer stated, it leaves out Gimme Back My Bullets and Cry For the Bad Man (from a spring 1976 concert pre-Gaines), both shown on the video. If you crave more than just One More From the Road, then by all means buy this album. Otherwise, perhaps get the video first and decide. Either way, this album shows Skynyrd at its peak prior to the plane-crash, full of energy and eager to play a perfect show.

An earlier review stated that 13 of the fourteen tracks were recorded at Knebworth Fair, Hertfordshire England this was incorrect, the following is the correct breakdown.

Tracks 1-6 were recorded at Knebworth Fair, Hertfordshire, England on August 21, 1976.
1. Workin' For MCA
2. I Ain't The One
3. Saturday Night Special
4. Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
5. Travellin' Man
6. Searchin'

Track's 7-8 were recorded at Convention Hall Asbury Park,NJ on July, 14 1977, you will even hear Ronnie Van Zant mention that their new album (Street Survivors) which these tracks are from, will be released in September two months from this date, just a month before their ill fated plane crash.

7.What's Your Name
8. That Smell

Tracks 9-11 were from Knebworth Fair, Hertfordshire, England on August 21, 1976.

9.Gimme Three Steps
10. Call Me The Breeze
11. T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)


Track #12 From Knebworth Fair, Hertfordshire, England on August 21, 1976.
12. Sweet Home Alabama

Track#13 was recorded at Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, CA at Bill Graham's Day On The Green July 4, 1977

13. Free Bird

Track#14 was a studio recording

14. Dixie

This soundtrack is really a live album, and a great one at that. Thirteen of these fourteen songs were recorded on August 21, 1976, during Lynyrd Skynyrd's appearance at Knebworth House, and while I don't think it's a better live album than "One More From The Road", it is certainly just as good.
The band sounds tight, but very loud, very brash, and very gritty, significantly more so than on their studio recordings. The opening performance of "Workin' for MCA" grinds and swaggers like you won't believe, and it's followed by equally powerful renditions of "I Ain't The One", "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller", and the thumping riff-rocker "Saturday Night Special" with its not very redneck-like anti-gun-sentiments.

The sound quality is very good, just fuzzy enough for this to sound like an authentic concert recording, and Ronnie van Zant is magnificent.
So, for that matter, are guitarists Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Allen Collins. "Searching" is normally one of my least favorite Skynyrd numbers, but even that one really smokes. And it's all due to the amazing power and cohesion of the entire band...they just click, locking into the groove like a train going down the track (or some other tired cliché).

Most of these songs were on "One More From The Road", but "That Smell", and "What's Your Name" made their live debut here. It's not the greatest "That Smell" ever, but it's good, and it's followed by a high-octane "Gimme Three Steps" which pretty much just epitomizes Southern rock n' roll! And the boyz do a fun, up-tempo rock n' roll-ish take on Jimmie Rodgers' ancient "T For Texas (Blue Yodel #1)".

The sound quality is good, it's not ice-pick sharp, but all the more authentic and "live" sounding for it.
I don't love the elongated guitar break on "Free Bird"...such a bunch of great guitarists should've been able to come up with something better than a couple of minutes of triads. But that's pretty much all I have to complain about. Great, great renditions of most of Skynyrd's best songs, including a hard-hitting "Sweet Home Alabama", a tremendous live "feel", and a band at the very top of their game. It's not Bob Dylan (I love Bob Dylan), but it's great nonetheless.
Very highly recommended!

Though alot of the songs are the same as the classic first live Skynyrd album, this album is amazing. The energy is incredible, though this version of Freebird isn't quite as good as the One More version it is damn close. I think T for Texas here kicks. Live versions of That Smell and What's your name are excellent. I listen to this and then the Lyve from Steeltown album and there is no comparison, the new version is a fine band but the intensity is not there. Ronnie Van Zant approached life as a fight for his life and that energy and spunk shows in this album. Fly on Ronnie!

The music is fantastic but the post-production and fake audience sound completely ruined it for me. It's unbelievable! They used some sort of audience loop and you get to hear the same shouts after every song plus fake audience over the music!!! Compare the version of Whiskey Rock and Roller on the Lynyrd Skynyrd box set that was taken from the same concert to see what I'm talking about. A horrendous job.

This group is ultimately the best southern rock band out there. If you like ZZ Top, or Allman Brothers, this is the CD to get. With such hits as Working for MCA, Saturday Night Special, and the more memorable ones such as Gimme Three Steps, T for Texas, Sweet Home Alabama, and Free Bird. Freebird is the longest song about 10 minutes. Everybody's jamming. It's awesome. I've had this CD for almost 5 years and it's still kicking alive in my CD player. This is a must! I was lucky to see lynyrd skynyrd do Freebird at a concert in the front row. The only difference though was that it was with Jeff Van Zant. Without the originals it's not the same.

Freebird The Movie is a great movie to watch. However the sound quality on this CD is just horrible. There is no stereo separation at all between the instruments. Whoever put this on CD obviously didn't take much time to mix it. If you're a Skynyrd fan, the only reason you should buy this CD is to have live versions of That Smell and What's Your Name. The rest of the songs are available on One More From The Road and have pretty much the same arrangements with much better sound quality.

I agree with the other reviewer who noticed the poor sound. In some places the sound levels swell up like a narcoleptic's lurch back to consciousness and then recede just as suddenly. This record's also comparable to Grand Funk's Live Album in its hamfisted intrusion of crowd cheers. Couldn't a major label do better?

First of all let me start out by saying that I have not been the same person since I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1976, and bought "One More From the Road" several days after that concert. "One More From the Road" is one of my favorite cds and the new collectors edition is excellent, because the song sequence is the same as the original concerts at the Fox Theatre. The Freebird sound track is a better live recording due to Steve Gaines familiarity with Skynyrd material. On "One More From the Road", Gaines had only been with the band a short time and it is rumored that his guitar was turned off on songs he had not fully practiced on. On the "Freebird the Movie" soundtrack, the guitar threesome is in full force and Steve Gaines playing blends beautifully with Gary Rossington and Allen Collins lead riffs. The sound quality on some of the songs on this disc is weak, but the singing and playing over come the poor sound quality. There were a few songs from the movie which did not make the disc, which too bad. Rent or buy the movie because it is awesome. Another reason I like this disc over "One More" is that it includes live versions of "Whats Your Name" and "That Smell" which are not on previous live recordings. This disc is a must for all "die hard" Skynyrd fans. Owning the movie is also a must. The music and the concert footage bring back sweet memories of the best American rock and roll band.