Lynyrd Skynyrd Band - Gold & Platinum

This was the only album I ever bought by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It had it all, and all I needed. I played this pretty much to death back in the day, and I have to admit, rather sheepishly, I never thought "Freebird" was that great. It was too long, too meandering, and by the time the guitars let loose it was too little too late and it was too much.

Of course, over the years I have softened and have even brought into my musical fold The Outlaws' "Green Grass and High Tides" and "Highway Song" by Blackfoot. There are a few honourable mentions like "Edge of Sundown" by Danny Joe Brown. They all made their sacrifice to the rock gods at the altar of Skynyrd. However, this is all unrelated and at the time when I had this double album of rock and roll goodness, they were songs I didn't even know existed.

Now, when I found this copy for under ten bucks I was pretty stoked, and then a little disappointed when the liner notes for each album that listed the credits to each song were missing. It was part of my original experience as I would sit and listen to the album and read the lyrics and see who played what on which track. Names like Ed King on guitars, and Artimus Pyle on drums were ingrained in my brain.

Ed mainly for his work on "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Saturday Night Special," then there were Allen Collins and Gary Rossington who were stalwarts, and later when Steve Gaines joined (I would learn this later, but I knew his name from the credits), his impact was immediate and the song "I Know a Little" with his guitar fret wizardry was one of my favourites as a kid. Of course, all of this was wrapped around Ronnie Van Zant's impeccable vocals. The man laid down the blueprint that everyone else seemed to follow.

I am getting ahead of myself.

Each album had a gold and platinum side, although I suspect there was no rhyme or reason to the song placement as to whether it was gold or platinum, and frankly not every song here was a hit. There were a few live songs thrown in to add a little colour and mix things up a bit. This was particularly noticeable on "Freebird" where the song took on an added dimension, and it is this live version that is the definitive version. Period.

The pacing on each record is excellent. I will forever lean into the first record because of the one two punch of "Saturday Night Special" and "Sweet Home Alabama" not to mention "Freebird," even though back in the day it wasn't my favourite song, it got a lot of play regardless. There was no shortage of other excellent songs.

The second album to me was the one that really grew on me. Songs like "That Smell" and "Simple Man" were so good, and then there was the odd duck "I Know a Little" that was so different than anything else on the two records, and a song that blew my young mind, and still to this day will put a goofy lopsided grin on my face. They're all just so good. Count how many times I say good, you know I mean it.

There was something special here, and to me this is the definitive collection of Skynyrd's finest moments. Of course, for those who grew up with the albums will no doubt miss many of their favourite deep cuts, of which I'm sure there are many.

Gold & Platinum still hits me right in the feels, and even after all these years is still all I need. Of course, if I happen to stumble upon any of their old releases I'm not going to say no ... I may not need them, but want is another story altogether.