(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973)

Top Tracks: “Free Bird”, “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone”

What is Southern Rock? I mean, you know it when you hear it. When the Allman Bros began their shift from blues jams toward more focused rock songs was likely the start, but when Skynyrd put out their debut, I think was when this really became a genre of its own. Do I need to hear this album ever again? Probably not, but I know for a fact that it held a level of importance to me while discovering different styles of guitar playing, and I respected all three guys — Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, and Ed King — as players (May 2020).

Band on the Run (Paul McCartney and Wings)

Band on the Run
Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)

Top Tracks: “Band on the Run”, “Jet”, “Bluebird”

It’s funny that both John Lennon and George Harrison beat Paul McCartney to the punch for a really good post-Beatles album. But Band on the Run is very solid and definitely was a huge forerunner to the mellow sounds of the early/mid-70s (May 2020).

Catch a Fire (The Wailers)

Catch a Fire
The Wailers (1973)

Top Tracks: “Concrete Jungle”, “Stir It Up”, “Kinky Reggae”

While this was their fifth album, The Wailers (and reggae in general) were pretty underground in the USA in 1973. It was actually their following album and Eric Clapton’s subsequent cover of “I Shot the Sheriff” that broke Bob Marley out as an international star. But Catch a Fire, with that Wailers core of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer, established a sound that would resonate for decades to come and bring reggae into the forefront. Memorable side note: I was really high one day at age 16 while at Berklee College of Music when I did a cover of “Stir It Up” with some classmates in a dorm room (May 2020).