Courtesy: Eagle Rock Entertainment
A little more than four decades ago, a little band named Lynyrd Skynyrd released its debut album (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd). At the time of its release, no one would have known that said album would go on to become one of the band’s biggest and most beloved. Surprise, surprise. That album has long since gone platinum at least twice over if not more, and has produced some of the band’s biggest hits of all time including: ‘Tuesday’s Gone,’ ‘Gimme Three Steps,’ ‘Simple Man,’ and perhaps its biggest hit of all ‘Freebird.’ With the quick success that that album saw, the band followed it up the very next year in 1974 with the release of Second Helping. That album proved to be just as successful if not more so. Earlier this year, the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup celebrated the ongoing success of both albums when it performed both albums in their entirety over the course of two nights at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida. Now thanks to the people at Eagle Rock Entertainment, audiences can see both performances in one package in the band’s new live recording Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre. There is a lot for audiences to appreciate about this presentation beginning with the noted two-album set list. It’s just one part of what makes te recording so impressive. The band’s stage presence throughout both sets is just as important as the complete album set lists. Last but hardly least of note is the shows’ production values. Considering the venue’s high ceilings and open space, balancing acoustics was obviously quite the task. But both the band’s production crew and those behind the mics did a superb job of balancing the concerts’ levels from start to finish. The camera work is just as impressive with shots from multiple angles, capturing the theater’s surprising size. The shows’ variety of shots and their equally impressive audio mixes partner with the band’s stage presence and the shows’ complete album set lists to make Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre a show that every Lynyrd Skynyrd fan will want to have in his or her own home DVD/Blu-ray library and Lynyrd Skynyrd collection.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s brand new live recording Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre is one that every Lynyrd Skynyrd fan will want to have in his or her own home DVD/Blu-ray library and Lynyrd Skynyrd collection. The main reason for this is its sixteen song set list. The set list in question comes from the band’s 1973 debut album (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd) and its followup, 1974’s Second Helping. Both albums are presented in their entirety over the course of a two-night stint at the Florida Theatre in the band’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. This means that not only are all of the album’s major hits there, so are the lesser known yet still enjoyable songs such as ‘Mississippi Kid,’ ‘Poison Whiskey,’ ‘The Needle and the Spoon’ and ‘I Need You.’ Front man Johnny Van Zant even points out ahead of ‘I Need You’ that the band very rarely performs that song in a live setting. That makes its inclusion in this performance all the more special. It is a truly touching work, too; one that will move any viewer regardless of his or her familiarity with the song. It is more proof–along with the inclusion of the other lesser known songs–why this live two night recording is so special and why the “hits” are not always the only hits. Just because a record label says “X” or “Y” song is a hit doesn’t mean that fans will agree. On another level, the presentation of both albums in whole gives audiences of all ages a much richer picture of Lynyrd Skynnyrd in more than one way. The performance of both albums presents a full picture of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original lineup creatively. The performance of those albums by the band’s current lineup is almost a side-by-side portrait in a manner of speaking. It’s like experiencing the “old” Lynyrd Skynyrd and the current Lynyrd Skynyrd all at the same time for lack of better wording. All things considered here, the dual set list that makes up the body of the recording shows in full why it is such an important part of the recording’s whole. it is just one part of what makes Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre such a proud success. The band’s stage presence over the course of both nights’ sets adds even more enjoyment to the recording.
The dual album set list that makes up the body of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s new live recording is in itself plenty of reason for fans to add it to their home DVD/Blu-ray libraries and Lynyrd Skynyrd collections. It is just one part of the recording’s whole that makes it so impressive. The band’s stage presence adds even more enjoyment to the concert in whole. That is because the band shows throughout both performances that the k.i.s.s. formula still works perfectly to this day. There was no need for on-stage antics, pyro or anything else. The band let the music do the talking. And it talked loud and clear, too. The energy exhibited by the band in each night’s set proves that. It showed that the band wasn’t just phoning it in at any point. Rather, it showed that the band intended to give its audiences the best show that it possibly could on both nights. Even when Van Zant did take some time between songs to interact with the audience, he didn’t just say a couple of things and go into the next song. He really interacted with the audience and made them feel that they were part of the show. As minor of an element as it may seem to be, it is just as important as the songs themselves. Together with the band’s overall stage presence and the set lists, both the set lists and the band’s presence together make for even more enjoyment for fans throughout the band’s shows. Even with their importance they are still not all that make this pair of performances so impressive. The concerts’ production values are just as important as the set lists and the band’s performance of said set lists.
The set lists that make up the body of Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre, when combined with the band’s performance of both set lists makes for plenty of enjoyment throughout the course of the recording. While both elements are of equal importance to the overall viewing experience here, they are not the only important elements worth noting. The shows’ overall production values are just as important to note as anything else. Without proper production values none of the recorded material would be worth the watch. Luckily for fans the production values incorporated into this concert are of the highest caliber. Of course that is to be expected from Eagle Rock Entertainment being that the label is the leader in live recordings. Those that have never been inside the Florida Theatre will be surprised to see the concert hall’s immensity. This critic is among those masses. Its ceilings come across as being quite high. And the overall space feels just as open. This means that sound will spread out everywhere. It also means more space for echoing. That can be a very bad thing when recording an indoor performance. Those that handled the mics and the boards for the shows’ original recordings did so with the utmost expertise. Thanks to their work audiences really get the full feel of the theatre’s size without getting any of the echoing, feedback or other issues. It shows the talents of those charged with handling the concerts’ audio and makes those individuals all the more deserving of praise. The same can be said of those behind the cameras. The venue being so large and open, the camera crew was given plenty of options for camera shots. And they used every one of those options, too providing audiences at home not only great footage of the band’s performance but of the theatre and the audience in attendance. Those shots include shots from the theatre’s upper balcony, looking up at said balcony from the stage, looking at the stage from amidst the audience and so much more. In whole the work of those behind the cameras gives audiences the best seat in the house and the fullest experience. It rounds out the ways in which Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre proves itself such an impressive experience for any Lynyrd Skynyrd fan and shows once more why Eagle Rock Entertainment remains once more the leading name in live recordings.
Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre is yet another impressive live recording released by Eagle Rock Entertainment. It is just as much a must have for Lynyrd Skynyrd fans of all ages. That is thanks in large part to the set lists which present the band’s first two albums in whole. The band’s performance of each set list adds even more enjoyment to the recording’s whole. And thanks to the work of those behind the cameras and audio boards, both concerts look and sound great. Each element is important in its own right to the whole of the recording. That goes without saying. When combined, they make Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin nerd & Second Helping Live From Jacksonville at the Florida Theatre a must have for Lynyrd Skynyrd fans of all ages and more proof of why Eagle Rock Entertainment remains to this day the leading name in live recordings. It is available now in stores and online. More information on this and other titles from Eagle Rock Entertainment is available online now at:
Website: http://www.eagle-rock.com
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/EagleRockNews
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