First things first, I apologize for the delay for new posts. I recently transferred jobs, and it's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. With that being said, the Drowned In Sound blog is back and better than ever, with song reviews that we will not be doing every other day for two reasons: 1) So that I can upload them on a more consistent basis to give you all the content you subscribed to; and 2) So that I can spend more time on each review and give you the best quality of content you're looking for! Because of these changes, I think it's only proper that we start back at it with another one of classic rock's royalties: Free Bird.
The song first featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album in 1973 and has been included on several subsequent albums with differing versions including longer ending solos, and other elements not featured on the original "Free Bird". The song itself is a power ballad for all intents and purposes and is perhaps one of the greatest representations of eloquent writing and ahead-of-its-time musicality. According to guitarist Gary Rossington, for two years after Allen Collins wrote the initial chords, vocalist Ronnie Van Zant insisted that there were too many for him to create a melody in the belief that the melody needed to change alongside the chords. After Collins played the unused sequence at rehearsal one day, Van Zant asked him to repeat it, then wrote out the melody and lyrics in three or four minutes.
In terms of its legacy, "Free Bird" has become something of a humorous tradition for audience members at concerts to shout "Free Bird!" or "Play Free Bird!" as a request to hear the song, regardless of the performer or style of music. For example, during the Nirvana 1993 MTV Unplugged, a shout-out for "Free Bird!" eventually resulted in a lyrically slurred, if short, rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama". In 2016, an attendee of a Bob Dylan concert in California shouted for "Free Bird" to be played, and Dylan and his band unexpectedly obliged.
Achieving No. 3 on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos, and peaking at No. 19 on the 1975 Billboard Hot 100, "Free Bird" is without a doubt Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature song which doesn't quite sound the same in studio as it does when played live. It, historically, has been used as a finale during their live performances, and is their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live.
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