Customer Reviews

(Pronounced 'Lh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1973 debut is no less than a classic rock album. A classic classic rock album. Eight songs, all of them great. Prime riff-rockers (Gimme Three Steps, I Ain't The One, Simple Man) one of the best rock ballads ever (Tuesday's Gone) and one genuine all-time classic song (Freebird). But the lesser known songs are great too. Things Goin' On, Mississippi Kid and Poison Whiskey are all fine songs. Not a weak spot on the whole album. In an era where great rock albums where everywhere, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd stands distinguished. The follow-up, Second Helping, is just as good as this one, if not better. Personally, I have a particular fondness for Pronounced over Second Helping. Both are excellent though, and belong in any hard rock collection.

This new remastered version is great also. I had the older release and this one is superior. In addition to the bonus tracks, there is also improvement in sound quality and thorough liner notes and song details.

This album is a rock perfection. All of the songs sound incredibly fresh, considering that it was released in late 1973. among all other rock giants with their complex studio polishing, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was totally anonimous band (from south).
When I first heard this album (it was my first Skynyrd record), just after few listenings I made a state that this is best rock'n'roll album of all time. Ofcourse, you can't pick just one album as the all-time best, as there are a few dosens of them.

And this one is ofcourse one of them. It shows what's the rock'n'roll all about. It's not just southern rock (though influences are obvious) - it breaks throug the very essence of rock music.

The fact that this album, although their first, sounds so perfect, is because these guys heve been together for a long time before making this record, and was playing gigs around and rehearsing this songs. So they new exactly what sound are going to lay down. And it came out perfect, indeed.

This album is all: hard rock, southern rock, blues, bluegras even folk. It is pure and honest music with simple yet efective and beautiful lirics, like in "Simlpe man" (one of personal favourites). Also we get a big dose of humour in songs like "Gimme three steps" and "Poison whiskey", delivefed with great riffs. No need to point "Freebird" as one of most requested rock song in rock history, along with Zep's "Stairway to heaven", and deservely so. I could write a whole review just about "Freebird" and its trademark Skynyrd guitars. Ofcourse, I must mention "Tuesday's gone" as not great but PERFECT ballad rock song, almoust a prototype.

This Exspanded edition is worth the money if nothing, just for "Mr.banker". Slide guitars and weeping lyrics&vocals are pure pleasure. And it's paricular interesting to listen demo version of "Freebird" where you can hear Allen Collins breaking string at the beginning of solo, and the band carying on further without him and then with lead guitar again as he replaced the string, and bringing the song to fiery conclusion.

So, this is as classic rock as you can get; everyone should own it.

For those who aren't familiar with Skynyrd and like rock music (in genneral) this is great place to start your Skynyrd collection. Get this and be blown away... If you won't, you obviously don't know what's rock music about.

Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd is a timeless classic from the most important group of musicians ever to come out of the South. Enough has been said about the music from this classic album so my comments center on this particular CD release. This re-release from 2001 includes bonus demos that the boys did with Al Kooper before going into the studio with producer Kooper and engineer wiz Bob "Tub" Langford (Joe South, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Blood, Sweat & Tears). The demos show how tight their arrangements were before entering the studio but they also show the magic that "Tub" was able to get on tape once the real album was recorded. The band were so indebted to the sound that Bob "Tub" Lankford found for them that they included a photo of him and a special thanks to him on the original release of the album on Sounds Of The South Records. The original album was a gatefold (like a double disc foldout) with pictures, lyrics and credits covering both pages. After the initial release MCA began pressing future orders for the album and for cost reasons dropped the gatefold and the information contained there in. The black MCA label also replaced the original yellow label that Songs Of The South had used on the first pressings of the LP. This re-release CD now contains all of the photos, lyrics and credits contained in the very first issue of this classic album along with an essay about the band's early beginnings. The sound quality is incredible on this disc and the added bonus tracks make it a must have for any music fan that appreciates what really goes into making a record of this magnitude. The 12 panel insert provides enough information about these timeless recordings to make even the first time listener feel as though they have a special insight into the beginnings of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

A Southern Man needs this kind of music. I heard it back when they played for free at Georgia Tech in '72. I saw them back up the Who's Quadrophenia Tour at the Omni in Atlanta - Skynyrd was a worthy successor to a generation of great rockers even when they took the stage first. Their music had soul, the kind that you just don't hear on the radio these days. If you want a taste of something similar and maybe a little bit rawer but just as good, check out the Drive-By Trucker's Decoration Day. And I don't get anything for that referral except the pleasure of the music being spread around. Long Live Skynyrd, they surely did create music that I still love to play to this day (and please, don't scream FreeBird at some half-crap band that doesn't hold a candle to these guys...even in fun it's disrespectful to these guys).

When an album features "Tuesday's Gone," "I Ain't The One," "Simple Man," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Free Bird," how could it NOT get five stars? Add another little-known classic, "Things Goin' On," to that list, and it starts to look like a very impressive album. And it is.

Skynyrd's debut album is at best fantastic and at worst great. It is almost a greatest hits album, with the impressive track list, and virtually all of the songs are classics. As an introduction to Skynyrd, this album works as well as a compilation -- you get most of the good stuff here, anyway!

A true rock classic that deserves 5 stars as much as any of the all-time classic rock albums out there.

The Allman Brothers started southern rock, but Lynyrd Skynrd ruled the genre during the mid-seventies. They defined not just the sound, but the attitude of southern rock. "Pronounced", their debut album, is simply as good as it gets. From the foot-stomping drive of hits like "Gimme Three Steps" and "I Ain't The One" to the sensitivity and soul of "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man", this album has it all. And of course, there's the definitive Southern Rock anthem, "Free Bird". Even the lesser known songs "Things Goin' On" and "Mississippi Kid" and "Poison Whiskey" are great (as a kid, Poison Whiskey was my favorite Skynyrd song). Every song is great! I wore out 2 copies of this album on vinyl, I'll find some way to wear out the CD!

The sound is great on the CD, and the additional tracks are good. "Mr. Banker" and "Down South Jukin'" are well known to hard-core fans, certainly worth having on disc. The 3 other demo versions (Tuesday's Gone, 3 Steps, Freebird) are interesting, but not essential.

This remains one of my all time favorite albums, I'd give it 10 stars if I could!!

How Many Performers Debut Albums have come out and are considered Classics right away ,some performers have to wait till they make a few albums to progress but not Skynyrd this album just kicks off with the Opening Track and ends with their all time classic song Freebird although the Reissue now features bonus tracks like the Demo of Freebird on it !!!
You gotta start with the best and this is the album that kicks it off!!!

Floridians Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album Prounounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd was released in August, 1973.
The band from Jacksonville, Florida first got together when a tough-looking small man with a larger than life presence and voice named Ronnie Van Zant first met guitarist Gary Rossington and drummer Bob Burns while playing baseball. As fate has it, Van Zant hit a foul ball and KO'd Burns and the two plus Rossington planted the seeds for what became Lynyrd Skynyrd. Shortly thereafter, the trio joined forces with guitarist Allen Collins and bass player Leon Wilkeson. To complete the band was ex-Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist, California native Ed King and then-roadie and keyboardist, Texan native Billy Powell. Shortly thereafter, Wilkeson quit and King went over to bass guitar and with New York music veteran Al Kooper went in the studio to record their debut.
We begin the album with one of the greatest Skynyrd rockers "I Ain't the One" which just kicks and Allen Collins' solos here remind you of Eric Clapton from his days with Cream. Next is the lengthy and melodic rock masterpiece "Tuesday's Gone" which was a great song and had a nice piano solo from Powell and guitar solos from Rossington (who screamed the late Paul Kossof of Free). Next is the southern rock classic "Gimme Three Steps" (which was the first single the band ever released yet tanked upon release and was inspired by a real-life encounter Ronnie had). The first half closer "Simple Man" is a great introspective ballad, but rocks just like the rest of the album.
"Things Go On" starts the second half off and is a classic bluesy rock number at its best (Powell's honky-tonk piano was excellent, Rossington did a classic bluesy solo and Van Zant sang like a possessed madman). "Mississippi Kid" is next and is the most country-sounding thing on the album, but it's still a good track with Ed King playing some tasty slide here (the only track he played guitar on). Next is my personal favorite, "Poison Whiskey". This rocker just smokes (especially Rossington's solo and Powell's piano solo in the middle). The Allman Brothers dld not ever rock out this hard. We close with the legendary 9 minute plus "Free Bird". Allen Collins had written the music back in 1967 and Ronnie hated for years then one day started singing a melody to it and the rest is history. Allen's riff with Rossington's slide gave the song a haunting call to it and Van Zant's lyrics were superb and then ends with the now classic triple tracked guitar solo of Allen Collins who would play this solo with alot of emotion and energy. MCA Records wanted the band to shorten Free Bird to three minutes, the standard record company single running length, but they refused. This track would become a hit two years later but by then was an FM album rock radio staple.
The album barely did get notice upon its 1973 release but over time would become a Multi-Platinum seller.
In 2001, a reissued/remastered/revamped version of the album was released! One of them is "Mr. Banker", a demo which was the B-Side to the Gimme Three Steps single and was a perfect fusion of country and southern rock. The B-Side to the Free Bird single, a little demo called "Down South Jukin'" (a completed version was issued on 1978's Skynyrd's First...And Last), can also be found here as a bonus cut. This is excellent classic southern rock and killer! Lastly, there are three previously unreleased demos of the Skynyrd classics Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, and Free Bird.
This album is definitely one of rock's greatest moments and is RECOMMENDED!!!

You can attribute that to endless plays of Sweet Home Alabama when it first came out. To me, they were 'too polished'. I much preferred the Allman Brothers.
Two thinigs attracted me to this album: the 5 dollar price tag as a download, and the demos. Here is Skynyrd in the raw, not quite shiny enough. I could really appreciate their authenticity. I then went on to purchse the first Musle Shoals album and Collectybles and scattered others. Out of these, I've created a decent playlist of Skynyrd demos and outtakes. I still turn the dial when Sweet Home comes on, but i appreciate their bona fide pedigree alot more than i used to. And there sure ani't anything more American than Lynryd Skynyrd!

I'm southern and this music speaks to my soul, always has. I grew up on this stuff. I love these boys and I miss them terribly. I still LOVE Gary and Billy, who are with the new "Skynyrd", but I don't think anyone would disagree that we lost the real Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977.
"Pronounced" is their first album and it has that feel from the road, playing gigs all over the country, driving miles and miles. You can hear that they live what they play.
I hope you will buy this album, kick back with a beer (or a coke a cola), turn it up loud and get to know these extrordinary musicians.
I love RVZ 4ever!!!!