LYNYRD SKYNYRD
One More For The Fans (2015)


Here we get it! This double album, recorded at the famous Fox Theater in Atlanta in November 2014 and waited for a long time, is now available for the fans. We get here nineteen songs played by different Rock or Country artists, some new ones, some famous and some legends. That's good for the Lynyrd Skynyrd legend.

Some songs are especially good and I give you my favorite tierce. First, the winner is Jamey Johnson with his simple but efficient cover of "Four Walls of Raiford". With his dobro and his voice, he gives his own way of this close to Ronnie Van Zant spirit. Applauses at the end of his song show how good he was.

Gregg Allman is good too on "Tuesday's gone" that he changes in a kind of Southern soul song with choirs on the choruses, a harmonica and a beautiful piano solo. The nostalgic voice of Gregg totally fits at this song ambiance and melody.

Warren Haynes is perfect too on his own version of "Simple Man". There are no different guitars but his solo is incredible.

Then we get the very good covers, after these three perfect moments.

Blackberry Smoke offers us a heavy "Workin' for MCA" which is not a simple cover but also heavy and rock guitars. Jimmy Wall (former in Wet Willie) and Robert Randolph are close behind on "You got that Right". Jimmy's voice is till at the top and Mister Randolph steel guitar makes a hell of intro and a heavy rock solo.

Some famous old glorious musicians are good too, such as John Hiatt (with the band Moe) on an honest "Curtis Loew" cover with a good slide guitar solo. And Peter Frampton is perfect on "Call Me The Breeze" with a special but original solo.

Alabama country band is close to the perfection on "Gimme Three Steps", with a good guitar solo by Jeff Cook, but horns and choirs are too heavy and slow for that song. But, in spite of this mistake, it is still a good cover. Trace Adkins, a country singer, hurries on "What's your name", close to the original song, and Warren Haynes gives us a soft cover of "That Smell", horns don't fit on that song. Happily, Warren Haynes magical guitar hides this default. Jason Isbell creates a swing cover of "I Know a Little", with horns and choirs and a very good slide solo.

Behind all these good songs arrive the dust eaters.

The Country singer Randy Houser try to sing "Whiskey Rock n' Roller". His cover Could have been good but too many horns bring the Rock n' Roll spirit out. His colleague Aaron Lewis does the same mistake on "Saturday Night Special with, however, a good guitar solo. And the Rock band O.A.R. gives us a not so good cover of "Don't Ask Me No Question" with a surprising but not good Saxophone solo.

Worst song is Cheap Trick's "Gimme Back My Bullets" cover, totally different of the original song and a creepy guitar solo.

At the end arrive the musical legends : Charlie Daniels and Donnie Van Zant offer a wonderful cover of "Down South Jukin'" with horns, harmonica and the great guitar of Father Charlie.

At the end arrives Lynyrd Skynyrd. Johnny Van Zant pretends that all the musicians in the Rock n' Roll heaven are present in the Fox Theater tonight, just before a duo with his brother Donnie on "Travelin' Man". Then all the musicians play the unforgettable "Free Bird", even is this cover is not especially great. Johnnie thanks the audience, asks him to support the band for the next forty years and the evenings ends on "Sweet Home Alabama" with all the guests.

As it is written on the Internet, there will be no bonus-song on the DVD. So it's a CD for the fans, some of these covers worth to buy it. So don't ask too many questions about the reasons and the motivations of such a show and recording, and just enjoy, each one of us with his own sensibility, this album which is a testimony of the long reputation and quality of Mister Ronnie band songs.

Olivier Aubry





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