If you’re a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan, Eagle Rock went to bat in 2015 with two lively releases — one on DVD and Blu-ray, and the other as a double CD. Filmed in 2015 in the band’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nérd ‘Skin’nérd & Second Helping – Live From Jacksonville At The Florida Theatre features the songs exclusively from Skynyrd’s first two studio albums, Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd and Second Helping. And with that, you get to see the current lineup rip through Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most beloved tunes, including “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Workin’ For MCA,” and “Call Me The Breeze” in high definition.
Sweet Home Alabama, Skynyrd’s double live CD set released over the summer, is more of a variety pack, featuring the aforementioned classics — “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Free Bird,” and “Gimme Three Steps” — alongside other classics like “I Know A Little,” “What’s Your Name” and “That Smell.” Three-quarters of the set was recorded at Rockpalast’s Loreley Festival on June 23, 1996 with a lineup that included two additional original members — keyboardist Billy Powell and bassist Leon Wilkeson — in addition to the band’s current sole original member, guitarist Gary Rossington. The last quarter of the album comprise three songs from another show in Germany at the Hamburg Musikhalle on December 5 1974. This one, of course, has Ronnie Van Zant out front with Rossington, Allen Collins and Ed King on guitars. That alone should gain plenty of points with any diehard Skynyrd fans on your list.
~ Shawn Perry
