LYNYRD SKYNYRD (Pronounced 'L?h-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) MFSL 1-400 - 2013 UltraAnalog

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Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced 'L?h-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) MFSL 1-400 (2013 Original Master Recording GAIN 2 Ultra Analog 180g Audiophile pressing)

Tracklist

A1 I Ain't The One 3:51 A2 Tuesday's Gone Bass, Mellotron – Roosevelt GookDrums – Robert Nix 7:32 A3 Gimme Three Steps Percussion – Bobbi Hall* 4:30 A4 Simple Man Organ – Roosevelt Gook
5:57 B1 Things Goin' On Percussion – Bobbi Hall* 4:57 B3 Mississippi Kid Harmonica – Steve KatzMandolin, Drums [Bass] – Roosevelt GookWritten-By – Al Kooper, Robert Burns* 3:57 B3 Poison Whiskey Organ – Roosevelt GookWritten-By – Edward King* 3:11 B4 Free Bird Organ – Roosevelt Gook 9:08

*(all photos are of the actual item)

• Mastered At – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Lacquer Cut At – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Pressed By – Record Technology Incorporated
• Copyright (c) – Geffen Records

• Bass – Leon Wilkeson
• Drums – Bob Burns (2)
• Engineer – Bob "Tub" Langford*, Danny Turbeville, Rodney Mills
• Guitar – Allen Collins, Ed King (2), Gary Rossington
• Keyboards – Billy Powell
• Lead Vocals, Written-By – Ronnie Van Zant
• Mastered By, Lacquer Cut By – KW*
• Photography By [On Stage] – Thomas Hill*
• Producer, Engineer – Al Kooper
• Written-By – Allen Collins (tracks: A2, A3, B4), Gary Rossington (tracks: A1, A4, B1)

Notes

180 gram vinyl
Special Limited Edition mastered from the original analog tapes.

• Matrix / Runout (Etched, Runout Side A): MFSL1-400A2 KW@MoFi 
• Matrix / Runout (Etched, Runout Side B): MFSL1-400B1 KW@MoFi

Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd on numbered limited edition 180-gram LP from Mobile Fidelity

The South rises again: Bluesy, hard-rocking 1973 debut raised southern rock flag

Forget, for a moment, "Free Bird." Consider, instead, the authentic down-home rowdiness, distinctive first-person narratives, searing triple-guitar front, gritty vocals, and bluesy boogie bluster. And the undeniable youthful hunger pumping through the subtly witty songs, all strongly rooted in Southern heritage and working-class values. Independent of the most-requested tune in history, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd bleeds red, white, and blue and encapsulates the wondrous dichotomies of Southern rock.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, this vinyl edition of the Floridian group's ground-shaking debut is the equivalent of having access to the band's amplifiers and producer Al Kooper's control boards in the studio. Affording palpable spaciousness to each of the instruments, expanding the dynamic range, and clearing away previous tonal congestion, this version presents the septet's raw, honest tunes in the most direct, hard-hitting sound they've ever enjoyed. It lays waste to all prior reissues — none of which on LP went back to the master tapes.

Months before Lynyrd Skynyrd enjoyed the privilege of recording its debut, the band entered its seventh year of playing juke joints and assorted dives in a bootstraps effort to land a deal. During a residency at a hardscrabble Georgian club, the group's rambunctious rock, swaggering attitude, blue-collar determination, and country-reared cadence caught the ear of producer/musician Al Kooper. The rest is history. Kooper inked the ensemble to his new imprint and hustled everyone into a Georgia studio for sessions that occurred March through April 1973.

It's at the Studio One space that Lynyrd Skynyrd flashed scampering tempos, cutting give-and-take riffs, loose barroom lines, and off-the-cuff vocalese that entirely separated its approach from that of the more jazz-styled affairs of the Allman Brothers Band. Confederate flags, empty whiskey bottles, cocked pistols, rotgut habits, scorned women, and prodigal drifters populate the songs, nearly all written from first-person perspectives that add to their genuineness. Prophetic touches — twinkling piano notes, soaring mellotrons, a one-off harmonica — provide ideal complements to the intertwined guitar melodies and singer Ronnie Van Zant's comfortable gruffness and way of expressing local customs.

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
     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 Skynyrd 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 Skynyrd is that they un-self-consciously blended album-oriented hard rock, blues, country, and garage rock, 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.