Lynyrd Skynyrd Endangered Species CD

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Johnny Van Zant (vocals); Mike Estes (acoustic guitar); Gary Rossington (acoustic & National guitars); Ed King (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Billy Powell (piano); Leon Wilkeson (acoustic bass); Owen Hale (drums, percussion); Debbie Davis, Dale Krantz-Rossington (background vocals).
Additional personnel: Wendall Mobley (background vocals).
Recorded at Masterfonics Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.
Personnel: Johnny Van Zant (vocals); Gary Rossington (guitar, acoustic guitar); Ed King (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Billy Powell (piano); Leon Wilkeson (acoustic bass); Owen Hale (drums, percussion); Dale Krantz-Rossington, Debbie Davis (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Wally Buck.
Okay, it's the latter-day band with lots of replacement members, but this is a great record, and this time out there are no repertory problems. This is Skynyrd's "unplugged" album, with the band performing most of its best-known songs without amplification, on an array of instruments that includes mandolin. The songs come off very strong and surprisingly natural in this setting, and it's all good enough and different enough to make Endangered Species a necessary addition to the collection of any fan of the original band. ~ Bruce Eder
In the early-mid '90s, the "unplugged" album was king. Such classic rock artists as Eric Clapton scored huge hits with the acoustic format, and just @about every rock act followed in issuing a stripped down and intimate set, including Lynyrd Skynyrd with 1994's ENDANGERED SPECIES. Versions of Skynyrd's classic tunes are featured for the most part, but newer selections round out the collection as well, however it's acoustic versions of "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special," "Down South Jukin'," and "I Ain't the One" that longtime fans will want to hear most. Credit should also go to producer Barry Beckett (a longtime regular at the famed Muscle Shoals recording studio), who helps Skynyrd achieve a sparkling yet warm sound throughout.