Published on May 6, 1998
A decade after stepping into the big shoes left behind by his
late brother Ronnie, Johnny Van Zant has finally made Lynyrd
Skynyrd his own.
On the band’s latest release,
Lyve From Steel Town, Lynyrd Skynyrd plows through a mostly
well-chosen list of new favorites and old classics, and serves as a
great portrait of what this band is now capable of on the concert
stage.
Back in 1987. Van Zant took over the role of lead throat during
the
Tribute tour; as evidenced on
Southern By The Grace Of God, he had a solid voice, but
sounded very tentative singing the songs that his big brother had
helped make famous. Now, it’s 1998, and Van Zant has the knowledge
and experience to sound comfortable with the material – and he has
new songs to back him up as well.
Of the new material, the ghost of Ronnie Van Zant is still
present on “Travellin’ Man,” which he sings with Johnny (through
video and audio archival footage), much to the delight of the
Pittsburgh audience. And though I still have yet to purchase their
last studio album
Twenty, if songs like “We Ain’t Much Different” and “Voodoo
Lake” are any signs of what’s on that disc, I’ll be at Best Buy
tonight. (Only one song fails to impress me, “Berneice”.)
But when it comes time to sing the old standbys, Johnny Van Zant
simply blows all doubt away. From “Saturday Night Special” to a
surprise inclusion, “On The Hunt,” Van Zant powers through the
vocals, sounding similar to his brother (but with enough difference
that keeps the sound fresh) – and is even comfortable enough to
ad-lib an occasional vocal. Another surprise is hearing “Free Bird”
sung again – on the last live album, Van Zant politely refused to
sing it, saying only one person had the right to sing that
particular song. (And as touching as it was to hear the audience
sing it in 1987, it feels right now to hear Johnny Van Zant singing
the song.)
Two minor things that I wasn’t fond of on
Lyve From Steel Town. First, they could work horns into a
couple of songs, but they couldn’t use them on “What’s Your Name,”
where they were very much missed? And, as much as Van Zant wanted
to pump up the crowd, he seems at times to be a bit pushy in
forcing a louder response from them. (I also have to admit, I’ll
always miss the guitar work of Ed King and the drumming of Artimus
Pyle – sorry, I’m still living in the past.)
Lyve From Steel Town contains a few non-musical surprises as
well. The inclusion of two live radio interviews might be
distracting to the casual fan, but for the drooling Skynyrd fan
like myself, these are incredibly interesting to listen to (even if
the sound quality isn’t the greatest). And though I couldn’t get it
to work on my antiquated CD-ROM, this release is enhanced with two
movies from the corresponding home video release, as well as lots
of other goodies. (You’ll have to tell me how good they were; I’ll
take your word for it.)
And as much as I’ve enjoyed Lynyrd Skynyrd’s previous two live
albums, there is something special about
Lyve From Steel Town. It could very well be that the ghosts
of the past, though still gently guiding the band into the 21st
Century, no longer cast a pall on the performances like they did in
1987. It’s also amazing that the music has hardly aged a day,
sounding as fresh today as they did as far back as 1973.
Lyve From Steel Town is one of the better live albums I’ve
heard in a long time, and quite possibly could be the definitive
Lynyrd Skynyrd live album. By keeping one foot in the past and the
other in the present, Lynyrd Skynyrd prove to even the greatest
skeptic they’re planning on being relevant in the future.