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Even Allen Collins's later-overdubbed intro to their ubiquitous epic "Free Bird" has been restored with the original. Cameron Crowe's original notes are also here, long before Almost Famous, and he insightfully puts the album in its proper historical perspective. But the real premium here is the almost full disc of bonus cuts, including previously unreleased versions of "Simple Man," "Gimme Back My Bullets," "Workin' for MCA," "I Ain't the One," "Searching," and other alternate versions recorded during the Atlanta stand ("Gimme Three Steps," "Call Me the Breeze," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Crossroads," "Free Bird"), but until now scattered elsewhere in the Skynyrd catalog. --Jerry McCulley
The packaging is incredible (so beautiful that you have to see it to fully appreciate it), the sound quality is absolutely outstanding (the 1996 reissue was very hissy and wasn't as "warm" as this), and the bonus tracks are extremely cool.
When I first picked my copy up, I thought I was stupid for spending all that money (in Australian dollars it's a bit on the expensive side) on an album that I already had. Sure, I thought the bonus tracks would have been nice, but I didn't think the sound quality or packaging could get any better than the 1996 release. Well, as soon as I opened it up and saw that the way the cover was done, and when I saw the cool crowd photo inside, I knew that I had made the right decision by buying it.
The sound quality is so good because it was remastered from the original masters and remixed on vintage equipment (tube-based, I'd assume, which would explain the "warm" feeling that these CDs have). Who did the remixing? Skynyrd's original live sound engineer. Also, if you have the 1996 version you'd know that during "Gimme Three Steps" the sound dies on one channel. Well, that's gone now! Although that may seem minor, it was an annoying glitch that took away from the album.
Extra audience response and speech have also been added to this new reissue, making it more like being at a Skynyrd concert than ever. Remember how Ronnie makes a "grrrrr" noise before "Tuesday's Gone"? We now find out that he did that because the piano broke.
... Read more ›This is a great album which any hard rock fan should own and anyone with even a passing interest in Lynyrd Skynyrd too. The newer Deluxe Edition would be the best choice to buy.