Lynyrd Skynyrd (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-nerd) 180g 45rpm 2LP

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What would American southern rock be without the scorching sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd? Analogue Productions and Quality Record Pressings have already brought you exceptional reissues of Second Helping and Nuthin' Fancy. Back to the well then, we go, for two more Skynyrd favorites -- the epic Gimme Back My Bullets and the band's bluesy, hard-rocking 1973 debut Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd.

Remastered from the original analog tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, our Analogue Productions reissue of Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd is the ultimate in luxurious reproduction and unbeatable sound. 180-gram plating and pressing by Quality Record Pressings, and a tip-on Stoughton Printing jacket round out the package.

The undeniable youthful hunger of Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd pumps through the subtly witty songs, all strongly rooted in Southern heritage and working-class values. Independent of the most-requested tune in history, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd bleeds red, white, and blue and encapsulates the wondrous dichotomies of Southern rock.

Months before Lynyrd Skynyrd enjoyed the privilege of recording its debut, the band entered its seventh year of playing juke joints and assorted dives in a bootstraps effort to land a deal. During a residency at a hardscrabble Georgian club, the group's rambunctious rock, swaggering attitude, blue-collar determination, and country-reared cadence caught the ear of producer/musician Al Kooper. The rest is history. Kooper inked the ensemble to his new imprint and hustled everyone into a Georgia studio for sessions that occurred March through April 1973.

It's at the Studio One space that Lynyrd Skynyrd flashed scampering tempos, cutting give-and-take riffs, loose barroom lines, and off-the-cuff vocalese that entirely separated its approach from that of the more jazz-styled affairs of the Allman Brothers Band. Confederate flags, empty whiskey bottles, cocked pistols, rotgut habits, scorned women, and prodigal drifters populate the songs, nearly all written from first-person perspectives that add to their genuineness. Prophetic touches - twinkling piano notes, soaring mellotrons, a one-off harmonica - provide ideal complements to the intertwined guitar melodies and singer Ronnie Van Zant's comfortable gruffness and way of expressing local customs.

Now such classics as the riff-rockin' 'Gimme Three Steps,' the power ballad 'Simple Man,' and the, um... immortal (or is that unmercifully deathless?) 'Free Bird' have a previously unheard clarity and depth. No longer do the guitars of Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, and Ed King all run together in a sonic wash. A new level of definition makes Ronnie Van Zant's always surprisingly good vocals even more so... the heavyweight packaging is lush - and the pressing quality, from AP sister company Quality Record Pressings, is excellent... These albums have never sounded better, and it's not much of a leap to say they never will.

It's not the first time the ill-fated band's astounding debut has been 'audiophiled' but this version is arguably the best.