The Allman Brothers
came first, but
Lynyrd Skynyrd
epitomized
Southern rock
.
The Allmans
were exceptionally gifted musicians, as much bluesmen as rockers.
Skynyrd
was nothing but rockers, and they were Southern rockers to the bone. This didn't just mean that they were rednecks, but that they brought it all together -- the
blues
,
country
garage rock
, Southern poetry -- in a way that sounded more like the South than even
the Allmans
. And a large portion of that derives from their hard, lean edge, which was nowhere more apparent than on their debut album,
Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd
. Produced by
Al Kooper
, there are few records that sound this raw and uncompromising, especially records by debut bands. Then again, few bands sound this confident and fully formed with their first record. Perhaps the record is stronger because it's only eight songs, so there isn't a wasted moment, but that doesn't discount the sheer strength of each song. Consider the opening juxtaposition of the rollicking
"I Ain't the One"
with the heartbreaking
"Tuesday's Gone."
Two songs couldn't be more opposed, yet
sounds equally convincing on both. If that's all the record did, it would still be fondly regarded, but it wouldn't have been influential. The genius of
is that they un-self-consciously blended album-oriented
hard rock
, and
, turning it all into a distinctive sound that sounds familiar but thoroughly unique. On top of that, there's the highly individual voice of
Ronnie Van Zant
, a songwriter who isn't afraid to be nakedly sentimental, spin tales of the South, or to twist macho conventions with humor. And, lest we forget, while he does this, the band rocks like a motherf*cker. It's the birth of a great band that birthed an entire genre with this album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine