10 Southern Rock Albums Every Music Fan Should Own

Often considered their finest work, Alabama’s Drive-By Truckers’ ambitious double-length album confronts the turbulent history and culture of the Deep South, as told through the parallel and often converging life stories of an average southern man and Lynyrd Skynyrd during the 1970s. The concept behind Southern Rock Opera, which is divided into two acts, is best exemplified by standout track “The Southern Thing”, which speaks of glory and shame, and the “duality of the southern thing”.

Co-founded by vocalists and guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band’s clever storytelling on Southern Rock Opera is particularly strong on the spoken-word tracks “Days of Graduation” and “The Three Great Alabama Icons”, in which Hood’s low, languid vocals give the album a distinctive punk edge.

“Let There Be Rock” and “Road Cases” begin Act Two with semi-autobiographical tales of young lust for rock n' roll, and the life of a touring band, before detailing the history of Skynyrd, from their Florida beginnings in “Life In The Factory”, to their fateful plane crash in the haunting, “Angels and Fuselage”. A complex piece of social commentary, Southern Rock Opera explores southern contradictions and vast misconceptions through the lens of rock.