Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pronounced

The Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of the greatest bands in the history of Southern Rock, will be remembered mainly for the repeated strokes of bad luck they have carried over the years. In 1976, indeed, right during their golden moment, the band was struck by a grievous tragedy: two band members (including the singer Ronnie Van Zant) lost their lives in a tragic plane crash, and that's not the end of it. The guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, together with bassist Leon Wilkeson, later formed the "Rossington-Collins Band," a project with which they produced two albums, before Collins died of pneumonia in 1990.

Truly phenomenal bad luck for the band that took the Allman Bros. Band's baton and managed to keep Southern Rock at the highest levels. Therefore, I want to remember the band with their debut album: "Pronounced." Dated 1973, "Pronounced" is the debut album for Lynyrd Skynyrd, and it is a very Southern record, sure, but with much more elaborate sounds compared to other groups of that time, as we can see, for example, in "I Ain't The One" and "Tuesday's Gone." However, the album will be remembered mostly for a single song, one of those rare pearls of rock music: "Freebird"; Van Zant, with his melodic and unmistakable voice, teleports us to paradise with 4 and a half minutes of slow rhythm, followed by a overwhelming yet exceptional solo lasting another 5 minutes, performed simultaneously by the Collins-Rossington duo (even though it is worth remembering there were 3 guitars), which transports us straight back to hell. The composition of the solo is truly something sensational, especially considering that Lynyrd Skynyrd never excessively used virtuosity in their songs. Either way, I hear it, I listen to it again, I never get fed up with it. I'm speechless. It is beautiful. I even like it more than their classic "Sweet Home Alabama" (please don't kill me). It’s perhaps one of the most engaging songs that has ever crossed my ears.

Incredible, nothing else to add. We could practically say that "Pronounced" would be worth 10 purchases just for this immense song. Any other comment is wasted. Five, Five, and Five again.