Lynyrd Skynyrd @ Palais des Sports, Paris - April 25, 2015


No one is going to argue that Lynyrd Skynyrd is the band that has been dealt one of the worst hands in rock and roll. So I would not begrudge Gary Rossington for taking any version of the band out to reap what they sowed with their first four albums. It doesn't matter that he is the only original member left: the band he has assembled is as legitimate as they come.

Those songs deserved to be played. Rossington, Rick Medlocke and Mark Matejka perfectly recreate the classic three-guitar attack and Johnny Van Zandt is a dead ringer for his late brother Ronnie, both vocally and physically.

The set was short and to the point. All killer, no filler. Workin' For MCA, Simple Man, Gimme Three Steps... Every song played last night is a staple of American classic rock radio. And of course they had to finish with Seet Home Alabama and the epic Freebird, originally written as a tribute to the late Duane Allman but which has now become an psalm for all the tragedies that have plagued the band, as well as an ode to the almighty Electric Guitar.

This is Southern Rock in its purest incarnation. Honest, resilient, and distinctly American.


















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