Like blues, Southern rock was music of an era. While blues was a product of the social injustice and economic hardships of the mid-1900s, Southern rock marked the emergence of the new South -- and the assertion that it would "rise again."
"God & Guns"
Lynyrd Skynyrd
www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
Roadrunner Records
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Like blues, Southern rock was music of an era. While blues was a product of the social injustice and economic hardships of the mid-1900s, Southern rock marked the emergence of the new South -- and the assertion that it would "rise again."
One of the original (and best) of those groups was obviously Lynyrd Skynyrd. From its music (a three-guitar attack and attitude to spare) to the band's tragic history (the infamous plane crash and four members dying this decade), the group embodied a new Southern gothic. That LS has soldiered on, touring and making records long after its heyday, has been championed by fans and derided by critics.
That said, the group's latest offering stakes out some different territory and sounds like the work of a group that has (finally) found a new voice (thanks in part to cameos by Rob Zombie). The tracks are full-fisted, tight and aggressive. The songs are not particularly distinctive -- you'll hear echoes of past hits in a number of tunes -- but they do the trick. "Skynyrd Nation," a tribute to the band's generations of fans, works, as does the dark "Floyd" and the catchy "Comin' Back For More."
"God & Guns"
Lynyrd Skynyrd
www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
Roadrunner Records
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Like blues, Southern rock was music of an era. While blues was a product of the social injustice and economic hardships of the mid-1900s, Southern rock marked the emergence of the new South -- and the assertion that it would "rise again."
One of the original (and best) of those groups was obviously Lynyrd Skynyrd. From its music (a three-guitar attack and attitude to spare) to the band's tragic history (the infamous plane crash and four members dying this decade), the group embodied a new Southern gothic. That LS has soldiered on, touring and making records long after its heyday, has been championed by fans and derided by critics.
That said, the group's latest offering stakes out some different territory and sounds like the work of a group that has (finally) found a new voice (thanks in part to cameos by Rob Zombie). The tracks are full-fisted, tight and aggressive. The songs are not particularly distinctive -- you'll hear echoes of past hits in a number of tunes -- but they do the trick. "Skynyrd Nation," a tribute to the band's generations of fans, works, as does the dark "Floyd" and the catchy "Comin' Back For More."
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