(2021) Lynyrd Skynyrd – Nothing Comes Easy 1991-2012          


Review:
With roots going back to 1964 when this fledgling bunch of Southern Rockers from Jacksonville, Florida were playing colleges before graduating to local bars, Lynyrd Skynyrd were primed for international success with their debut record in 1973. Tragically, their career was cut short in October 1977 when their plane crashed at the outset of their Street Survivors tour. The surviving members regrouped in 1987 for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour. Fronted by Johnny Van Zandt, younger brother of inimitable Skynyrd singer and frontman Ronnie Van Zandt, he was joined by original band members Gary Rossington on guitar, Ed King on guitar, Leon Wilkeson on bass, Billy Powell on keyboards and Artimus Pyle on drums for Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991. Guided by legendary producer Tom Dowd, and signing to Atlantic Records, “1991” kicks off with single ‘Smokestack Lightning’. This release includes the single edit of ‘Keeping the Faith’ as a bonus track. 1993’s “The Last Rebel”, their seventh album, and second for Atlantic, included the singles ‘Good Lovin’s Hard to Find’ and ‘Born to Run’. The three bonus tracks included here are ‘The Last Rebel’ (Edit) ‘The Last Rebel’ (Acoustic)’ and ‘Born to Run (Edit)’. Lynyrd Skynyrd continued to tour and release records throughout the 1990s and into the next decade, eventually releasing their thirteenth record “Gods & Guns” in 2009 on Roadrunner Records. Including guest spots from John 5 and Rob Zombie, and produced by Bob Marlette, “God & Guns” was their highest charting release since 1977’s “Street Survivors”, peaking at #18 on the U.S. Billboard chart. By this time, southern rock legend Ricky Medlocke had been a fully paid up member of Skynyrd for more than twenty years. Kicking off with the singles ‘Still Unbroken’ and ‘Simple Life’, it marked the final album to feature keyboard player Billy Powell, who sadly passed away at the beginning of 2009. The bonus tracks from the special edition are included here; ‘Bang Bang’, ‘Raining In My Heartland’, ‘Hobo Kinda Man’, plus three live tracks recorded at the Freedom Hall in Lousiville, Kentucky, ‘Red White & Blue’ (Live), JJ Cale’s ‘Call Me The Breeze’ (Live) and the perennial classic, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ (Live). Released in 2012, fourteenth studio album “Last of a Dyin’ Breed” made an even better dent on the U.S. chart, peaking at #14. Again produced by Bob Marlette and released on Roadrunner Records, the title track was released as the lead single. Released in various formats, including a Classic Rock magazine “fanpack”, this version includes six bonus tracks from the album; ‘Poor Man’s Dream’, ‘Do It Up Light’, ‘Sad Songs’, ‘Low Down Dirty’, ‘Skynyrd Nation’ (Live) and fittingly finishing off with a live rendition of a track from their 1973 debut, “(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)”, ‘Gimme Three Steps’ (Live). — cherryred.co.uk





Track Listing:
Disc 1: Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991
01.Smokestack Lightning
02.Keeping The Faith
03. Southern Women
04.Pure & Simple
05.I’ve Seen Enough
06.Good Thing
07.Money Man
08.Backstreet Crawler
09.It’s A Killer
10.Mama (Afraid To Say Goodbye)
11.. End Of The Road
Bonus Track:
12. Keeping The Faith (Edit)

Disc 2: The Last Rebel
01.Good Lovin’s Hard To Find
02.Thing
03.Can’t Take That Away
04.Best Things In Life
05.The Last Rebel01.
06.Outta Hell In My Dodge
07.Kiss Your Freedom Goodbye
08.South Of Heaven
09.Love Don’t Always Come Easy
10.Born To Run
Bonus Tracks:
11.The Last Rebel (Edit)
12.he Last Rebel (Acoustic)
13.Born To Run (Edit)

Disc 3: God & Guns
01. Still Unbroken
02.Simple Life
03.Little Thing Called You
04.Southern Ways
05.Skynyrd Nation
06.Unwrite That Song
07.Floyd
08.That Ain’t My America
09.Comin’ Back For More
10.God & Guns
11.Storm
12.Gifted Hands
Bonus Track:
13. Still Unbroken (Edit)

Disc 4: God & Guns (Bonus EP)
01.Bang Bang
02.Raining In My Heartland
03.Hobo Kinda Man
04.Red, White & Blue (Live)
05.Call Me The Breeze (Live)
06.Sweet Home Alabama (Live)

Disc 5: Last Of A Dyin’ Breed
01.Last Of A Dyin’ Breed
02.One Day At A Time
03.Homegrown
04.Ready To Fly
05.Mississippi Blood
06.Good Teacher
07.Something To Live For
08.Life’s Twisted
09.Nothing Comes Easy
10.Honey Hole
11.Start Living Life Again
12.Poor Man’s Dream
Bonus Tracks:
13.Do It Up Right
14.Sad Song
15.Low Down Dirty
16..Skynyrd Nation (Live)
17.Gimme Three Steps (Live)


Media Report:
Genre: southern rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits