God & Guns

by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Overview

With their classic early lineup, anchored by the swagger, grit, and heart of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd merged Allman Brothers guitars with barrelhouse piano (courtesy of keyboardist Billy Powell, a bigger part of Skynyrd's classic sound than most people realize), then tossed in a big dose of hard rock attitude and gave it all credence with a kind of blustering and cocky honky tonk sensibility. The original band just sounded so, well, right, and if its legacy in most casual listeners' minds is just "Sweet Home Alabama" and the ubiquitous "Free Bird," that's not a bad legacy to have, really. Skynyrd's story is also a gothic Southern tragedy, haunted by fatal plane crashes and death, and if the 21st century version of the band (current membership includes ex-Blackfoot guitarist Rickey Medlocke, drummer Michael Cartellone, vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and guitarist Gary Rossington, who is the only member left from the original version of Skynyrd) seems more like a facsimile than a continuation, one could chalk it up to pure attrition. So what to make of God & Guns, the group's new album from Roadrunner Records? It certainly sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd, maybe with a little more contemporary Nashville on board, and there's plenty of that Southern redneck rocker attitude on display, but what's missing, unfortunately, is compassion and heart, two qualities that were the secret ingredients in Ronnie Van Zant's singing. Johnny sounds like him, sure, but where Ronnie came across slightly disappointed, wounded, and -- God forbid -- regretful underneath his swagger, Johnny comes across like an archetypal Southern redneck convinced that America is all about guns and God -- one assumes Ronnie would wonder if those two things were ever a good idea to mix together. The lead single from this set, "Still Unbroken," is a decent song, but unfortunately that's about it, although the album has a big, full feel. There just aren't many songs, really, to go with that fullness (God & Guns was produced by Bob Marlette) -- "Southern Ways" has a certain charm, maybe because it's essentially a slowed-down rewrite of "Sweet Home Alabama" with the same riff as an anchor, and "Floyd" has some ragged atmosphere going for it, but most of the songs here are far from memorable. It ends up feeling like an album that stomps and roars and sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd but somehow just isn't the same -- maybe because it isn't. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2023
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	8719262028616
Rank:	6065

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lynyrd Skynyrd   Primary Artist
Carol Chase   Featured Artist
The Original Honkettes   Featured Artist
Dale Krantz-Rossington   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Tony Mullins   Composer,Lyricist
Trey Bruce   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Blair Daly   Composer
Bob Marlette   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Musician,Producer
Billy Powell   Group Member
J.J. Cale   Composer
Ed King   Composer,Lyricist
Carol Chase   Performer
Ben Fowler   Mixing,Drum Engineering
Lynyrd Skynyrd   Producer,Executive Producer
Gary Rossington   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Greg Morrow   Musician
John 5   Composer,Lyricist
Hughie Thomasson   Composer,Lyricist
Rob Zombie   Musician
Johnny Van Zant   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Perry Coleman   Musician
Rob Robinson   Engineer
Monte Conner   A&R
Brett Warren   Composer,Lyricist
Brad Warren   Composer,Lyricist
Ean Evans   Group Member
Michael Cartellone   Group Member
Rob Dennis   Producer
Jeffrey Steele   Composer,Lyricist
Ronnie Van Zant   Composer,Lyricist
Rick Medlocke   Composer,Group Member
Michael Rhodes   Musician
Donnie Van Zant   Composer,Lyricist
Martin Weiss   Photography
John Netti   Assistant Engineer
Mark Stephen Jones   Composer
Ross Schilling   A&R
Gail Marowitz   Art Direction
Lisa Parade   Musician,String Arrangements
Travis Meadows   Composer
Ken Levitan   A&R
Chris Marlette   Digital Editing
Tom Lipsky   A&R
Ed Sherman   Design
Rickey Medlocke   Composer,Lyricist
Bud Tower   Composer