From the first moment Lynyrd Skynyrd graced a stage, their southern roots were immediately evident.  The band actually created a subgenre of rock called southern rock and to this day their songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Simple Man” and “Free Bird” have defined the subgenre.  Nowadays instead of inspiring rock bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd seems to have inspired the fans and artists of modern country music more than perhaps any other ‘non-country’ band.  Artists like Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson meld their love of ‘outlaw’ country and ‘southern rock’ equally into their distinctive music while others like Eric Church simply follow more of the Skynyrd model than the Waylon or Willie model.  Waylon’s own son, Shooter Jennings, has crafted his own brand of countrified rock as well using multiple source genres as inspiration, including Southern rock.  These four current artists mentioned joined with Eli Young Band, Uncle Kracker and newcomers Ashley Ray and Randy Montana to craft this new 8 song tribute album. 

Eric Church’s version of “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” isn’t too different from the Skynyrd original yet it also fits right in with Church’s own tunes, to the point that he could actually have put this tune on his album and I’m sure it’s already part of his energetic set of songs.  With his soulful voice Randy Houser has gained a reputation as one of Nashville’s ‘singer’s singers.’  That is, he’s a singer that singers love to see perform.  While some people have claimed that he ‘shouts’ too much while singing radio hits like “Whistlin’ Dixie” and “Boots On,” Randy absolutely slays “Simple Man.”  If it were under four minutes long (instead of nearly 6) I would think that it would do well on the radio.  There is passion in the vocal and it really feels like a tribute to one of his heroes.

Uncle Kracker’s participation in the album may be a bit surprising but given his own rock roots and current country music success, he actually fits in here.  His version of “All I Can Do Is Write About It” is performed admirably while Shooter Jennings version of “Call Me The Breeze” is as iconic as the original was.  Shooter is a natural for this type of environment and he really does the bluesy shuffle right by injecting the spirit of the original with his own style.

 Jamey Johnson has earned a reputation as a man with unwavering sense of what he wants to sing and what he doesn’t want to sing.  “Four Walls of Raiford” is not as well known as any of the other Skynyrd tunes on Sweet Home Alabama: The Country Music Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd.  It’s a song taken from Skynyrd’s ‘rarities’ album Legend.  It’s also something that wouldn’t be out of place on Johnson’s own albums and with the Dobro providing all the backing accompaniment that Jamey needs, the song feels like an intimate demo.  As the least ‘well-known’ artists on this record, Randy Montana has perhaps the most to lose of anyone as he tackles the classic “Tuesday’s Gone.”  Sung straight-up, Montana doesn’t add much that you can’t get from a Skynyrd hits disc other than the fact that he is paying tribute to the group which has obviously influenced him.    

Eli Young Band’s version of “Gimme Three Steps” is interesting in that it sounds like Mike Eli isn’t singing the lead vocals or if he is he’s doing an extremely stylized trbute to one of Skynyrd’s most well-known songs, a song that is often played on classic rock radio stations today despite never being a chart hit for Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Eli Young Band showcases their strong musicianship skills on the tune while newcomer Ashley Ray, who has gained popularity on Texas radio stations while also touring on the National Country Throwdown Tour, tackles one of the two most identifiable Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes, the title song of this short album: “Sweet Home Alabama.”  With a moody feel this is the only song on the album that sounds quite a bit different from the original.  Depending on your opinion of cover tunes you’ll either love or hate the tune.

While only 8 songs, Sweet Home Alabama: the Country Music Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd works for what it is, a tribute to an iconic band that has inspired generations since the 1970s.  Even the 8 songs –short by todays standards – is a tribute of sorts as most of the bands records in the 70s were only 8 songs long, due to the size of LPs and the bands propensity to play long, unedited songs.    While not ‘groundbreaking,’ not every cover song needs to be ‘new and fresh’ rendering.  In fact, if a song is as iconic as many of these songs are, why even bother changing a great song and melody.   The album will likely introduce some of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classics to a new, younger audience who may have previously thought of the band as their ‘father’ or ‘grandfather’s’ music.  Now, they can hear them again, or for the first time, from some of their favorite artists.

Click the image below to purchase your own copy of this new album.