southern rock Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Lynyrd Skynyrd “(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)”

sfilzen — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 17:27:24 +0000

Lynyrd Skynyrd “(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)” 1973. Today’s spin of their debut LP in commemoration of Gary Rossington’s death yesterday, March 5th 2023, at age 71. He was the last remaining founding member of the band, having survived the infamous plane crash of ’77 that killed fellow bandmates Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines. (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) went to #27 in the US and is still ubiquitous on classic rock stations 50 years on. The album includes some of the era’s most recognizable southern-fried blues rock songs: “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and, of course, the ultimate arena rock ballad, “Free Bird.” “Free Bird” is still considered one of the best rock songs of all-time; it went to #19 in ’74 (when it was released as a single) and then charted again after the plane crash. It’s also the longest running joke in rock history (I’m assuming anyway), its name still screamed out by audience members at shows regardless of the band or style on stage. I’m pretty ambivalent about Skynyrd in general, but there’s no denying the anthemic appeal of (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and its influence on the rock genre.

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White Denim “Live at Third Man”

sfilzen — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 21:10:12 +0000

White Denim “Live at Third Man” 2011. Third Man Records, recorded “live to tape” on April 1, 2011. Southern-fried garage rock meets Grateful Dead swirly noodling psychedelia. Complex hallucinogenic solos (like on “Burnished” and “Drug” – go figure) transport me back to the late 80’s/early 90’s when I went through my Dead phase, hopping around the Midwest for concerts, doing the hippie-girl dance. Haha – it’s awesome! “Burnished” (which also injects some Roger Daltrey swagger in the vocals) is from White Denim’s 2011 LP D, as are most of the other songs they performed on the Third Man stage, practically in album order. They lead off with D‘s opener “It’s Him” and then run through the tracklist, only injecting the hard-edged “Say What You Want” (from the 2009 album Fits) into the mix midway through Side A. White Denim shakes up the order a bit on Side B, moving the lovely lilting World Music tinged “River to Consider” a bit later in the performance and adding in the aptly titled ass-shaker “Shake Shake Shake” from their debut LP Workout Holiday (2008). Also of note is the rocker (with noodling!) “Bess St.”

I’ve been a very casual White Denim fan for quite awhile: I picked up their first EP Let’s Talk About It from 2007 probably that year or just slightly later after hearing the song “Let’s Talk About It.” I haven’t followed them closely since, only purchasing Corsica Lemonade (2013) on vinyl, though my iTunes library tells a different story – apparently I have four of their albums digitally.

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The Weeks “Two Moons”

sfilzen — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:41:01 +0000

The Weeks “Two Moons” 2019. Romanus Records, limited edition (50) Glow-In-the-Dark Sand-Filled vinyl (first of its kind!). Two Moons is The Weeks’ 7th release (also available on Crooked Letter Records though probably not on nearly as cool vinyl); they’ve been around since 2006 when guys were young teens. Hailing from Mississippi, The Weeks are an indie/alternative band with a southern twinge. It’s hard to avoid Kings of Leon comparisons: southern indie rock composed of siblings (The Weeks have twins Cain and Cyle Barnes, Kings of Leon has a slew of Followills) plus The Weeks signed to Kings of Leon’s label Serpents and Snakes, putting out two albums in 2012 and 2013. (All of that said, I really like The Weeks and not so much Kings of Leon, mainly because of the vocals. Cyle Barnes vocals are rich and melodic while I find Caleb Followill’s voice whiny and irritating. Sorry!) My top tracks on Two Moons are “Paper Mache Houses,” a really lovely anthemic indie ballad, “Comin’ Down,” a hard-driving rocker (those two tracks I blogged about previously after getting the single on a coffee-and-creamer filled 45, also on Romanus Records), “Believe Whatever,” another rocker, “Scared of the Sunshine” which has a fabulously groovy bass line and little tinges of southern psychedelia, and “Fools Gold” which reminds me a bit of Pearl Jam with a little less grunge.

Here it is, all glow-in-the-dark!

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