Lynyrd Skynyrd

Apollo Theatre, Manchester

Monday, 8 March 2010.

Southern Rock has never really been "my thing" as it always seemed to me to be a peculiarly exotic American approach to what is basically a down to earth working class British form of music. I do appreciate that the genre has produced some excellent music though, and as Lynyrd Skynyrd practically invented the format and wrote most of the best tracks, it was only right that I should make the effort to get along to their concert. The only other Southern Rock group of any major note are of course ZZ Top, and this review should be read in conjunction with that concert on 31.10.02.

As is well known to most people, Leonard Skinner was a high school teacher who hated long hair - which probably led him to endless, perpetual fury in the early seventies/ late sixties  when the founder members of this group were pupils at his school. They evidently liked him so much that they named themselves after him: and in the era when Slade's famous statement of rebellion was to misspell all their song titles, a rebellious decision was taken to remove all the vowels from Mr Skinner's name - thus Lynyrd Skynyrd became world famous for being the only popular music group to have no vowels in their name. Ah, the joys and pleasures of a simpler and more innocent age......

A major issue with many of the groups I go to see is the credibility - or otherwise - of their line-ups, because the seventies are such a long time ago now and much water has passed under many bridges. Of all the cases, Skynyrd are probably the worst example, because there is only one founding member left - guitarist Gary Rossington - and he is hardly world famous for being a leading exponent of his art. Unlike Jethro Tull, where despite being the only surviving original member for 40 years, Ian Anderson IS Jethro Tull - but in the same way it cannot be said that Gary Rossington IS Lynyrd Skynyrd - he doesn't sing, he is but one of three guitarists, and I don't think he took a key role in writing the most famous material. I procrastinated for many weeks before deciding to splash out on a ticket: but ended up taking the view that I would only go once and might well regret it if I missed the chance. Some degree of legitimacy is offered by the fact that the singer, Johnny Van Zandt, is the brother of the original singer, Ronnie, who died in the 1977 air crash which killed off the first incarnation of the band.  A big bonus is the presence of the excellent Rickey Medlocke, who was the singer and guitarist in Blackfoot, the third in the trinity of the great Southern Rock bands, but which ended up not quite "making it". And yes, my anorak knowledge tells me that he was technically a founder member of Skynyrd - but that he left to form his own group before they made their first record.

Skynyrd have got an excellent back catalogue of material - including a track which is often touted as the best rock track ever - and another one which I think should be regarded as one of the best ever.

The much hyped track is of course "Free Bird". It is a track which you either love or you hate - for many people it sums up the arch crassness and self absorption of the hard rock idea, and a former friend once somewhat surprised me when she said that the 1977 air crash was one of the best things to happen that year - a bit harsh to say the least, but that's the divisive effect that "Free Bird" can have. My view is that it IS a great track, but it is one whose impact has been greatly diluted over the years by heavy over exposure, rather like "Alright Now" by Free. It is commonly known as the American answer to "Stairway To Heaven", which rather ensures its notoriety, for both good and bad: maybe Rolf Harris could have done a cover version? It has a great moral story, being about a person with a free spirit who won't be tied down or organised. A famous person once said in a loud voice: "I am on my holiday and I will have as much to drink as I want and no-one can stop me!!", sentiments which could easily have been a line from "Free Bird". The spirit of the song applies to many people that I know, and people should not dismiss the track until they have actually listened properly to what it says.

The better track, and one that seems to be unknown outside of Skynyrd devotees, is called "Simple Man". I can do without its brief religious allusion, but it is the greatest rock track I know for setting out a whole philosophy of living your life in a respectable and humble way. I have always done my best to live my life according to such principles, but with added relevance since I first hearing this track in the early eighties. Needless to say, its message is as strong and powerful today as ever. As "Free Bird"has a beautiful melody and the most over the top guitar "solo", so "Simple Man" has one of the hardest, dirtiest and most intense riffs in the history of rock.

"Simple Man" was played in the main body of the set, and "Free Bird" of course was played as the encore. It is such an awe inspiring track that goosebumps started appearing when the riff of "Simple Man" started, and I happily sang those fantastic words out loud - it really is the sort of paean to the modest hopes and aspirations of ordinary people that jumped up pretenders like Bruce Springsteen or Bono would sell heaven and earth to be able to write. "Free Bird" was of course the signal for a mass outbreak of air guitar mayhem: but I've got better favourites than this and prefer to save my efforts for nights out in Glazebrook! 

Other highlights were classic tracks "Sweet Home Alabama", "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Back My Bullets" and "The Needle and the Spoon". There were a couple of good tracks from the latest album, but I fear that Southern red neck attitudes have taken over the sense of social justice that the original group had - "God and Guns" is a good track, but I'm not in favour of their sentiments on either topic. A sad omission was "I Need You" - a gut wrenching cry from the heart about the pains of unrequited love that tramples all over the likes of  "Alone" by Heart.

A great concert in many ways – but the best way to think of it is in terms of it being more like “the Real Diamond” than “Neil Diamond”.