One of the greatest Southern rock bands of all time, Lynyrd Skynyrd, will be reissuing its first six albums on vinyl. The box set, out Jan. 26, will include albums from 1973 to 1977 like the group's seminal debut Pronounced 'Leh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd. Hits like "Simple Man," Gimme Three Steps" and "Freebird" will all be included on the reissues.
The set will include Pronounced from 1973, Second Helping from 1974, Nuthin' Fancy and Gimme Back My Bullets from 1975, One More for the Road from 1976 and Street Survivors from 1977. As Ultimate Classic Rock notes, Street Survivors was the band's final album with the original lineup. Guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and frontman Ronnie Van Zant were killed after the group's plane crashed on the way to a gig in Baton Rouge. The rest of the band and crew survived.
In 1987, the band reunited for a tour with Ronnie's younger brother, Johnny Van Zant, on lead vocals. Since reforming, the band has recorded nine additional albums and have been on the road religiously year after year. Their last album, Last of a Dyin' Breed, came out in 2012 and made it to No. 14 on the Billboard chart.
"You know, back then rock radio played albums, so all of the sudden, BOOM, Second Helping, the whole album was being played on FM radio and then BOOM, they went back to Pronounced and it was being played on the radio," Johnny said about the band's early catalog in 2012. "Pronounced Leh-Nerd Sky-Nyrd is a great record, man. You go back and you listen to that and I think Al Kooper came into the picture and I think Kooper was great for them."
Pronounced ranked 403 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list. "From the git-go, these Southern rockers played hard, lived hard and shot from the hip (with three guitars!). Discovered and produced by Al Kooper, Skynyrd offered taut rockers including 'Poison Whiskey' and the ultimate anthem, 'Freebird.'"
Pre-orders for the set are going on now.
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