Customer Reviews

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama

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THIS IS A WELCOME "SURPRISE" DVD FROM LYNYRD SKYNYRD.THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING 14 SONG DVD, THAT WAS FILMED AT THE ROCKPALAST "LORELEY" FESTIVAL IN GERMANY, DURING 1996. IT WAS FILMED BEFORE A VERY LARGE, ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD. THE BAND IS GREAT, THE ATMOSPHERE IS GREAT, THE MUSIC IS GREAT, MAKING THIS ONE GREAT CONCERT DVD!!! YOU EVEN GET THE REBEL FLAG AS A BACKDROP.

They perform all their classics, plus you get a few rare ones, like "I ain't the one", the entire version of "double trouble" instead of the medley version, and "SWAMP MUSIC" (This is a great rarity for concert dvd's, It's a great song, it has a reference to the late Bluesman Son House - ..."when the hound dogs start barking, they sound like Son House singing the blues..."). These make this concert more special.

You get the line-up of Johnny Van Zant on Lead Vocals, Gary Rossington on guitar, Rickey Medlocke on guitar, and the late Hughie Thomossom on guitar, Billy Powell on keyboards, the late Leon Wilkeson on bass (this is another reason this dvd is special - it includes both Leon & Hughie who are both now deseased), Owen Hale on drums and Dale Kranz-Rossington and Carol Chase on backing vocals.

The "3 guitar" performances of Gary, Rickey, and Hughie are awesome!!! This was quite a team of guitar players. Just like Gary, Allen and Steve (or Ed), were an awesome team.

THE BONUS MATERIAL CONSISTS OF 3 SONGS: "WORKIN' FOR MCA", "FREEBIRD'AND "SWEET HOME ALABAMA". This was filmed in Hamburg, Germany during 1974. The line-up consists of Ronnie Van Zant on vocals, Ed King on guitar, Gary Rossington on guitar, Allen Collins on guitar, Billy Powell on keyboards, Leon Wilkeson on bass, and Bob Burns on drums.

NOTE - THIS BONUS MATERIAL IS SOMEWHAT "RAW" AND "UNPOLISHED", BUT IT IS VERY,VERY GOOD, ESPECIALLY FOR EARLY SKYNYRD FANS. I LOVE IT!!!

HOWEVER, IF YOU REALLY LIKE THIS BONUS MATERIAL OF THIS VERSION OF EARLY SKYNYRD, I RECOMMEND THE LYNYRD SKYNRYD "ROCK CASE STUDIES" DVD, BECAUSE IT CONTAINS MORE FOOTAGE OF THIS VERSION OF SKYNYRD, MORE FOOTAGE THAN THIS BONUS MATERIAL.

I LIKE ALL VERSIONS OF LYNYRD SKYNRYD, THE OLD SKYNYRD AND THE NEW SKYNYRD. THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING CONCERT DVD. IT even contains great liner notes included in the dvd package. YES, I RECOMMEND THIS CONCERT DVD!!! IT'S A GREAT ONE!!! THANKS AND ENJOY!!!!

The main concert featured on this DVD is pretty good, but some of the performances from some of the band members are a little off. The two main redeeming highlights of the main concert with the more contemporary lineup is them performing "Workin' For MCA" (which they no longer could do once they signed to CMC) and the cool guitar solos performed in series by the three guitarists. The band's performance on the Lyve From Steel Town DVD is flawless, and overall I recommend that one over this one if you don't want to get both. However, I encourage you to get both, because several songs on this DVD do not appear on the Steel Town DVD because the latter was recorded shortly after their awesome "Twenty" album was released, so several of their old numbers were replaced with material from "Twenty."

The best thing about this DVD, of course, is the vintage footage of the old Lynyrd Skynyrd with Ronnie, Ed King, et al performing back in 1974. The sound quality is predicatably bad, but not unbearably horrible like some bootleg VHS recordings you can find on ebay. One cool part of that footage features Ed King doing a nice, melodic solo before the last verse of "Free Bird" that later was always occupied by Billy Powell--interesting--never heard a live version of Free Bird without Billy's solo. The only bad part (and it's just humorous rather than annoying) of this classic footage is Ed King singing harmony on "Sweet Home"--yikes! No wonder they got the Honkettes later on! :)

Here's the breakdown. A complete show from Loreley Festival 1996:

Setlist:
Workin' for MCA
I Ain't the One
Down South Junkin'
Double Trouble
I Know a Little
Saturday Night Special
Swamp Music
What's Your Name
That Smell
Simple Man
Gimme Three Steps
Call Me the Breeze
Sweet Home Alabama
Free Bird

There are 3 bonus performances from Hamburg 1974:

Workin' for MCA
Free Bird
Sweet Home Alabama

This lineup has the main core of the classic line up of VanZant, Collins, Rossington, and Powell. Ed King and Bob Burns are on guitar and drums respectfully.

These 3 songs are worth the price alone!

Enjoy.

The Good
The main portion of the DVD is from Skynyrd's appearance at the Loreley Festival in 1996, which was filmed for the German television program Rockpalast. The group's set is flawless as they rifle though some of their best material. The set didn't really get interesting for me until about eight songs in. For the first half Skynyrd focuses on lesser-known material; "I Ain't the One," "Double Trouble," and others. Once the crowd is into it, Skynyrd fires off hit after hit; "What's Your Name," "That Smell," "Simple Man," "Gimme Three Steps," "Call Me the Breeze," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "Free Bird."

The DVDs bonus material is from another performance in Germany. Only this time it features the original Lynyrd Skynyrd back in 1974. This three song performance of "Workin' For the MCA," "Free Bird," and "Sweet Home Alabama" is surprisingly of high quality. It was interesting to go from a hugh arena performance to a small club performance. After watching the '74 show you'll see how easy it was for the band to become as big as they did. As great as Johnny Van Zant is with Skynyrd today, his brother Ronnie was truly a better choice at vocals.

The Bad
A longer performance of the '74 show or another show around that time would have been a better contrast to the main show.

The Verdict
Two great Lynyrd Skynyrd performances on one DVD. How can you beat that?

This Lynyrd Skynyrd DVD is one for your collection. Johnny Van Zant does his brother Ronnie's music like no other.

PQ is pretty good. SQ is very good. Great music and the extras are a nice addition.

Love this DVD - Good to have old footage although sound quality is not good. Concert footage good.Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson original members with Ronnies Brother on lead vocals and Rickey Medlocke linked to the original band.Gives them some authenticity. they do a good job of the classic skynryd tracks.They were the greatest band cut down in their prime. Like Hendrix one can only imagine the type of stuff they had left to do.

This DVD is a great look at the band when they picked up the pieces and carried on after the crash. You can tell that Gary Rossington still has so much in him left to give. His guitar solo, as well as the other guitarist is phenominal to say the least! I highly recommend this product, and consider it a "must have" for Lynyrd Skynyrd fans!

I lovelly! Simple the best video of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Thank you for your attention,

Alcino Moreira
Rio de Janeiro -Brasil

SWEET HOME ALABAMA: THE ROCKPALAST COLLECTION features several vintage 1974 performances by the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd. Whether it's Bob Burns or Artimus Pyle on drums doesn't really matter, because they're both great in their own ways. If you love Southern rock, be sure to buy this video.