Since I've wrote about their album Robot Hive/Exodus from 2005 I also came over this album and the same guys as then minus organist Mick Schauer continues their attack at heavy riffing rock and hard rock including funky rhythms and more in their very strange but charming way of playing heavy music. This album has a more straight rock'n'roll-approach than Robot Hive/Exodus. It reached nr. 15 on the Billboard chart. Love this album!

1)Earth rocker (8,0)

2)Crucial velocity (8,5)

3)Mr.Freedom (8,0)

4)D.C. sound attack (7,5)

5)Unto the breach (8,0)

6)Gone cold (8,0)

7)The face (7,5)

8)Book, saddle and go (7,5)

9)Cyborg Bette (8,0)

10)Oh, Isabella (8,5)

11)The wolf man kindly requests... (9,0)

Score: 8,05

Neil Fallon-vocals, guitars and percussion (b.1971)

Tim Sult-guitars

Dan Maines-bass (b.1971)

Jean Paul Gaster-drums (b.1971)

I remember this album from my uncle's record collection in the late 70's when I started exploring he's records. The Black Sabbath albums were frightening and strange and I did not really get the music by then but as time has flown by I really really like the sheer quality of the early Sabbath albums. This, their 2nd is no exception and it's super heavy, melodic, variated with great attacking vocals and tempo changes and guitar solos to kill for. They were of course inspired by the progressive movement of the time that was huge in heavier music and I not many bands were NOT inspired by that and it can clearly be heard even on this album and they make the best possible of it.

The album was recorded only 4 months after their debut album was released and it reached nr. 1 in the british charts and the single Paranoid nr. 4. The album has sold 10 million copies worldwide! It was released in USA the year after and reached nr. 12 there and is ranked as nr. 131 on the Rolling Stone-magazine 500-list of the best albums of all time.

What is sure as hell is that this album inspired all heavy music to follow and created a way for heavy music to reach the top lists and people all over the world.

1)War pigs (9,0) 8-minute oozin' slow heavy metal with brilliant progressive and melodic parts.

2)Paranoid (8,0) Simple riff and short hit song.

3)Planet caravan (7,0) Strange sounds from hell...

4)Iron man (8,5) See song 1.

5)Electric funeral (8,5) Super slow and devilish...

6)Hand of doom (9,5) My favourite song on the album, see song 1. but better!

7)Rat salad (8,0) 2-minute progressive and great chaos.

8)Fairier wear boots (8,5)

Score: 8,38

Ozzy Osburne(John Michael Osburne)-vocals (b.1948)

Tony Iommi(Anthony Frank Iommi)-guitars and flute (b.1948)

Geezer Butler(Terence Michael Joseph Butler)-bass (b.1949)

Bill Ward(William Thomas Ward)-drums (b.1948)

+

Tom Allom-piano on 3.

3 years after their last album Axl Rose and his companions returned with a blast with 2 double albums and this is the "first" one, but the 2 albums were released at the same time in september 1991. It marks a change in the band's music since other members than Rose sang on some songs, they included longer songs and they got inspiration from other kinds of music than hard rock which can clearly be heard throughout the album, and I think it adds to the sheer quality to many of the songs. With 76 minutes of music it may seem like too much but this album never gets dull or boring. A great party album still in 2013!

Matt Sorum from The Cult replaced Steven Adler on the album because of Adler's drug problems.

The album has sold 5,5 million copies!!

1)Right next door to hell (8,0) Kick ass kick start!

2)Dust'n'bones (7,5)

3)Live and let die (7,0) Paul McCartney-cover.

4)Don't cry (9,0) Wonderful ballad and one of GNR's most classical songs that still rock!

5)Perfect crime (8,0) High octane rock'n'roll.

6)You ain't the first (6,0) Acoustic Stradlin-song.

7)Bad obsession (8,5) Good and variated heavy hardrocker including harmonica.

8)Back off bitch (8,0) Rock'n'roll!

9)Double talkin' jive (6,0) Strange rocker with acoustic ending.

10)November rain (8,5) A 9-minute rock classic by Rose. A powerful ballad!

11)The garden (7,5) Featuring Alice Cooper.

12)Garden of Eden (7,0) Full tilt rock'n'roll chaos!

13)Don't damn me (9,0) An absolutely grat hardrock song! This albunm never gets boring, that's for sure!

14)Bad apples (8,0)

15)Dead horse (7,5)

16)Coma (6,5) 10-minute strange riff and talked vocal-song to end the album.

Score: 7,63

Axl Rose(William Bruce Bailey)-vocals, piano and keyboards (b.1962)

Slash(Saul Hudson)-guitars and bass on 1. (b.1965)

Izzy Stradlin(Jeffrey Dean Isbell)-guitars and percusson on 7. (b.1962)

Duff McKagan-bass and guitars on 6. and 9. (b.1964)

Matt Sorum-drums (b.1960)

Dizzy Reed(Darren Arthur Reed)-piano and keyboards (b.1963)

+

Alice Cooper-vocals on 11.

Michael Monroe(from Hanoi Rocks)-harmonica and saxophone on 7.

plus many more

Debut album from my all time favourite band. I discovered this band through a friend in the early 90's and has not turned back since then! This album is full of strong songs that nods to their everyday life in Jacksonville, Florida and I can really FEEL how they lived, rocked, drank, went fishing and chased women in their younger wild days. What I don't feel is all the drugs they took, but then again, maybe I am an boring man? Anyway, the music speaks for itself, it rocks and it's mellow and it's small bar room-style cowboy country-stomp! Enjoy!

Lynyrd Skynyrd was formed in Jacksonville in 1964 as The Noble Five by Ronnie Van Zand, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins. In 1965 the named changed to My Backyard when new members Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined and in 1968 they played the opening slot for the psychadelic band Strawberry Alarm Clock after winning a local Battle Of The Bands contest. In 1970 the band's name changed to Lynyrd Skynyrd, or at firstly Leonard Skinnerd, after a teacher at their school. The band toured hard and Larry Junstrom (later in 38 Special) left and was briefly replaced by Greg T. Walker and another friend of the original band members, Ricky Medlocke joined on second drums and vocals. In 1971 Walker and Medlocke left to form the harder rocking southern rock band Blackfoot.

In 1972 when the band were making recordings at the Muscle Shoal Studios roadie Billy Powell joined the band on piano and keyboards. Actually Walker and Medlocke did record with Lynyrd Skynyrd during the time but tracks including them were not released until 1978. Al Kooper discovered the band and signed the to he's label Sounds Of The South and started recording their debut album.

The song Free Bird reached nr. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the band toured with The Who which increased their popularity rapidly.

The cover photo of the album was taken in the main street in Jonesboro, Georgia, featuring all the members of the band. Bassist Leon Wilkeson had left the band during making of the album and only play on 2 of the songs. Ed King from Strawberry Alarm Clock played on the rest and Wilkeson returned in time for the cover photo and tour and King switched over to guitar to make the band a 3-guitarrist band. In 2003 Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the album nr. 401 of the 500 greatest albums of all time and it has sold about 2 million copies worldwide. Harmonica player Steve Katz was a member of Blood, Sweat And Tears, and also Al Kooper came from that band.

1)I ain't the one (8,0) Heavy energic rocker with a great guitar solo.

2)Tuesday's gone (8,5) 7 minutes of sweet balladry with a great sensivity and touching lyrics.

3)Gimme three steps (8,0) Another good rocker.

4)Simple man (9,0) Fantastic melodic ballad that also rocks and has a superstrong chorus. Great stuff!

5)Things goin' on (8,5) Great song that sounds like it's played in a western bar in the 30's.

6)Mississippi kid (7,5) Acoustic stomp.

7)Poison whiskey (8,5) Heavy slow rocker. Goodigoody!

8)Free bird (9,0) Another sweet ballad that in steps builds up to a frantic rocker and guitar-duelling-mania of the wildest art there was in the beginning of the 70's and that set the standard for many southern rock bands to follow.

Score: 8,38

Ronnie Van Zandt-vocals (1948-1977)

Gary Rossington-guitars (b.1951)

Allen Collins-guitars (1952-1990)

Ed King-bass on 1,3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, guitars on 6 (b.1949)

Leon Wilkeson-bass (1952-2001)

Bob Burns-drums (b.1950)

Billy Powell-piano and keyboards (1952-2009)

+

Al Kooper (Roosevelt Gook)-mellotron, mandolin, bass drum and organ (b.1944)

Robert Nix-drums on 2

Bobbye Hall-percussion on 3 and 5

Steve Katz-harmonica on 6 (b.1945)

This band is among the absolutely best newer bands that has emerged no matter what musical style we're talking about! They play a blend of country, rock'n'roll, blues, r&b and so on and it never gets a hard rocking edge like for example Black Stone Cherry or Lynyrd Skynyrd, instead there's a great melodic mellowness to it and fantastic singing accompaning the absolutely great songs. It's Southern Rock at it's absolutely best! Buy and enjoy!

This album reached the american country (8), indie (10), rock (12) and overall (40) charts.

1)Six ways to sunday (8,5) Rockin' and groovin' the pants off in the first song! Great!

2)Pretty little lie (7,5) Very much in the Tom Petty melodic rock vein.

3)Everbody know she's mine (8,5) Super groovy and heavy slow southern rocker with great guitar- and piano playing.

4)One horse town (9,0) An absolutely wonderful melodic low key rocker!

5)Ain't much left of me (7,5)

6)The whippoorwill (8,5) Another great soulful calm song, almost ballad-like. Such a feeling in playing and singing!

7)Lucky seven (7,0)

8)Leave a scar (8,0) Rock'n'roll!

9)Crimson man (8,0) Black Crowes-copy but with more feeling. Strong refrain!

10)Ain't got the blues (6,5) Southern stomp.

11)Sleeping dogs (8,5) Great!

12)Shakin' hands with the holy ghost (8,5) Simple riff, exciting bridge, good refrain, great vocals and guitar solo and it rocks like hell!

13)Up the road (7,5)

Score: 7,96

Charlie Starr-vocals, guitars and banjo

Paul Jackson-guitars

Richard Turner-bass

Brit Turner-drums

Brandon Still-piano and organ

+

Clay Cook-percussion

Matt Mangano-acoustic guitars on 4.