Lynyrd Skynyrd Collection CD - Import

THE COLLECTION is a 17-track anthology of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most essential songs, featuring "Sweet Home Alabama," "That Smell," and "Simple Man."
A Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation that doesn't include "Free Bird"? Sounds preposterous, but that's the exact cardinal sin that the 17-track The Collection commits. With such a glut of Skynyrd comps flooding the market place in recent years, the competition is fierce, and this is quite a handicap right off the bat. But what this set does accomplish is spotlight just about every other expected Skynyrd fave, as well as feature a handful of strong tracks that are usually overlooked. Included are the well-known gems that almost single-handedly touched off the "Southern rock explosion" of the late '70s -- "Sweet Home Alabama," "What's Your Name?," "That Smell," "Saturday Night Special," etc. And if you want to dig a bit deeper than just the tracks that have become standards on classic rock radio, this set has some of them, too -- "Swamp Music," "Needle and the Spoon," "Railroad Song," etc. But that's what ultimately hinders this set. By not being either a straight-ahead "best-of" set or a collection of tracks that haven't been included on countless other compilations since Gold & Platinum, it's neither a solid intro for new fans or a neat career summary for longtimers. ~ Greg Prato

Import only compilation by the definitive Southern Rock band, who managed to blend gritty Blues-Rock, a touch of down-home Country and a Hard Rock edge and virtually created a new way to Rock 'N Roll! 17 tracks including 'Sweet Home Alabama', 'Gimme Three Steps', 'Simple Man', 'Needle And The Spoon', 'I'm A Country Boy', 'What's Your Name', 'I Ain't The One', 'Gimme Back My Bullets', 'Saturday Night Special', 'Whiskey Rock A Roller' and 'That Smell'. Universal.