10 Perfect Albums That Defined The 1970s
5. Lynyrd Skynyrd: (Pronounced ‘l?h-’nérd ‘skin-’nérd) (1973)
The debut album from America's southern rock darlings, was exactly what hard rock needed, to keep it fresh. They might not have had the same guitar eccentricities as Led Zeppelin, but Skynyrd reeked of enough Southern swing, to make up for it.
With no less than three guitar players, Skynyrd's sound was driven by intertwining blues licks, and emotive solos. Augmented by honky tonk piano, and the vocal swoons of Ronnie Van Zant, the album quickly caught the attention of critics and fans alike; securing the group a spot supporting the Who, on tour.
Besides from all the Southern rock boogie jams, it was also the world's first real introduction to the Southern rock ballad. Tuesday's Gone, Simple Man, and Free Bird, all captured the romantic ideal of the South. It was an image of the South, divorced from the troubling topics of slavery and racism, that usually went hand in hand with the idea of the 'Southern rebel'.
Apart from the emotive resonance of Van Zant's lyrics, it was the evocative guitar work that really captured peoples imagination. Simple Man's wailing guitar leads, were only outmatched by one of the greatest slide guitar songs of all time, Free Bird.