Legendary Southern Rock act Lynyrd Skynyrd are back with their first album of new material since 2003's Vicious Cycle, the enjoyable and song-fiendly God & Guns. While Gary Rossington is now the only original member of the band (technically though, guitarist Rickey Medlocke did play drums in one of the earliest incarnations of the band before leaving to form Blackfoot) after the recent death of keyboard player Billy Powell, they continue to soldier on and keep the spirit of the South alive and well. In addition to the death of Powell, longtime bass player Ean Evans also passed on prior to this album getting released, so the long list of deceased musicians from the Skynyrd camp keeps getting longer and longer. The line-up for God & Guns is: Gary Rossington - guitar, Johnny Van Zant - lead vocals, Rickey Medlocke - guitar, vocals, Sparky Matejka - guitar, Michael Cartellone - drums, Billy Powell- keyboards, Ean Evans - Bass, with backing vocals from The Honkettes, Dale Kranz Rossington and Carol Chase, but the band have since filled the bass and keyboard slots after the losses of Evans and Powell.
After the first spin through God & Guns, it's pretty evident that this is more of a 'song' based album from Skynyrd, as if their recent signing to Roadrunner Records has pushed the band to try some new things and reach a wider audience. While there's still some raunchy hard Southern tinged rockers, such as the killer opener "Still Unbroken" (with its slide guitar, dueling licks, and heavy riffs), the wild "Skynyrd Nation" (complete with vocal trades from Johnny and Rickey and some nasty guitar playing), and the beefy "Little Thing Called You", there's more than a healthy portion of catchy, melodic country/pop flavored numbers like "Simple Life", "Southern Ways", and "Unwrite That Song", all of which could easily become hit singles given the right push. And even though the band's constant reminder that they are in fact 'Americans' and pushing 'American values and American history', as heard almost ad nauseum on the cliche ridden but ultimately enjoyable "That Ain't My America", the lyrics are so good natured that you quickly forgive the band for being the proudly unabashed Americans they are . It's a nice break from that on the beer/whiskey soaked swamp rocker "Floyd", where Van Zandt gets down and dirty on what is almost his variation on "16 Tons", and producer Bob Marlette really shows how he can make this band polished and slick on the .38 Special-ish "Comin' Back For More", which for some might not be a good thing, but it's a fun song. The title track is a hell of a piece, kicking off with plenty of acoustic guitars, mandolin, slide and pedal steel, like a mix of Southern Rock and bluegrass, before the crushing, heavy rock riffs come into play, turning this one into a real powerhouse of a song that should go over well in a live setting. With some blistering guitar lines from Medlocke, Matejka, and Rossington's slide, this one's a guitar feast.
Which brings me to a few negatives about God & Guns. There seems to be missing some 'guitar power' on some of these pieces, as if the band decided to tone down solos and heavy riffs on a handful of the tunes so the vocal melodies could take center stage. This is pretty evident on "Storm", a song that is more reliant on Van Zandt's soaring vocals and the backing work of the Honkettes than anything else, and almost screams for a crazy little solo from one of the guitar players. Thankfully on the country piece "Gifted Hands" there's a roaring lead towards the end of the song, which is otherwise filled with acoustic guitar, strings, and passionate vocals. Also, the piano work of Billy Powell is almost non-existent throughout the album. I'm not quite sure how much of God & Guns was completed before he passed away, but other than some organ in spots, you really don't hear the late, great Powell here, which is a shame as he was always such a big part of their sound.
If you pick up the deluxe 2CD set, you get 3 additional new tracks, the edgy rocker "Bang Bang", ,the rootsy anthem "Raining In My Heartland", and the 70's throwback "Hobo Kinda Man", a tune that fans of the bands earlier material will certainly love. Also included are a few live tracks, red hot versions of "Red, White, and Blue", "Call Me the Breeze", and "Sweet Home Alabama".
Though the band uses some outside help with the songwriting here from folks such as John 5, producer Marlette, Brad & Brett Warren, and others, Van Zandt, Rossington, and Medlocke take up the bulk of the writing. Johnny is in fine form througout vocally-in fact, this is the best he has sounded in years. Perhaps it's the inclusion of more country flavored tunes, but he really is on the top of his game on God & Guns. In the end, this is just a solid Southern Rock album with a touch of pop & country. Though they may be down to their last original member, Lynyrd Skynrd have come up with a highly listenable album that is sure to find an audience of new listeners beyond those that just want to hear "Freebird" for the millionth time.
Track Listing
Disc: 1
1. Still unbroken
2. Simple Life
3. Little Thing Called You
4. Southern Ways
5. Skynyrd Nation
6. Unwrite That Song
7. Floyd
8. That Ain't My America
9. Comin' Back For More
10. God & Guns
11. Storm
12. Gifted Hands
Disc: 2
1. Bang Bang
2. Raining In My Heartland
3. Hobo Kinda Man
4. Red White and Blue (Live)
5. Call Me The Breeze (Live)
6. Sweet Home Alabama (Live)
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