Original Muscle Shoals version of Simple Man by Skynyrd

Westerly Wood

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https://youtu.be/gQm2e3Z_oBI

Probably one of my favorite songs of all time. I just love the chord progression and the words.

first recorded version too.

ya know we all have that song where when it comes on radio, "ok, everything stops!"
 

CA-35

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39 views 1 response. No love for Lynyrd Skynyrd around these parts. Tough crowd
 

Westerly Wood

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39 views 1 response. No love for Lynyrd Skynyrd around these parts. Tough crowd

it's a great song. the words get me every time and i love the guitar progression, especially the beginning. i would call it hauntingly beautiful.
 

adorshki

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39 views 1 response. No love for Lynyrd Skynyrd around these parts. Tough crowd

Funny you should mention that.
"Simple Man" is one of the only songs by them I'll actually give 'em grudging respect for, the other being "That Smell".
And now that I think about it, lyric content is at least 50% of the reason.
There could be others but the ratio of "liked" to "couldn't stand" of their stuff I heard on the radio prevented me from ever wanting to explore 'em further.
 

Westerly Wood

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Funny you should mention that.
"Simple Man" is one of the only songs by them I'll actually give 'em grudging respect for, the other being "That Smell".
And now that I think about it, lyric content is at least 50% of the reason.
There could be others but the ratio of "liked" to "couldn't stand" of their stuff I heard on the radio prevented me from ever wanting to explore 'em further.

That is my other fave song from them Al. Me too. These two Skynyrd songs are tops.

That Smell: https://youtu.be/hib4n9RmFrQ

My 3rd fave song by them is the one about a Colt 45? I cannot recall the song title, total brain fart. Killer electric guitar riff however.

ah, got it! Saturday Night Special: https://youtu.be/3vF66CsYEnc
 
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adorshki

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I know it sounds arrogant, but most of my problem with 'em is likely due to having been weaned on Allman Brothers caviar (the pre- "Ramblin' Man" Allmans).
Makes it hard to accept upstarts offerin' the musical equivalent of Egg McMuffins for breakfast.
:tongue-new:
Do you remember btw, speaking of Muscle Shoals and the Allman Brothers, that Duane Allman was a Muscle Shoals session man?
From his Wiki page:
"Allman's playing on the two Hour Glass albums and an Hour Glass session in early 1968 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, caught the ear of Rick Hall, owner of FAME. In November 1968 Hall hired Allman to play on an album with Wilson Pickett. Allman's work on that album, Hey Jude (1968), got him hired as a full-time session musician at Muscle Shoals and brought him to the attention of other musicians, notably Eric Clapton, who later said, "I remember hearing Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude' and just being astounded by the lead break at the end. I had to know who that was immediately – right now."

Allman's performance on "Hey Jude" impressed Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry Wexler when Hall played it over the phone for him. Wexler immediately bought Allman's recording contract from Hall and wanted to use him on sessions with Atlantic R&B artists. While at Muscle Shoals, Allman played on recordings by numerous artists, including Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Laura Nyro, Wilson Pickett, Otis Rush, Percy Sledge, Johnny Jenkins, Boz Scaggs, Delaney & Bonnie, Doris Duke and jazz flautist Herbie Mann. For his first sessions with Franklin, Allman traveled to New York where, in January 1969, he went as an audience member to the Fillmore East to see Johnny Winter and told Muscle Shoals guitarist Jimmy Johnson that in a year he'd be on that stage. That December, the Allman Brothers Band indeed played the Fillmore.[14] "
 

steve488

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I own one Skynyrd CD as a "best of" kind of thing. It holds most (if not all) of the known "good stuff" and I am good with that. I think a big part of groups like Skynyrd was the live show where the jam session for each player came to the front. As far as what showed up (or shows up currently) on the airwaves is what someone else thought would sell (record company A&R folks, etc) and may not be what the band or you and I would consider their best (be that because of lyrics, composition technicality or just a catchy riff). I have heard some interesting stuff over the last few years by listening to Sirius radio's Deep Tracks channel. Yes some of it is strange, but there is a lot of B side material and album tracks most of us never heard from the popular radio broadcasts, including lost of stuff from other parts of the world. There is plenty of good music out there to enjoy..... and some that should have never come to pass as well.....
 

Westerly Wood

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I still like your story from Wiki about Clapton showing up at an Allman Bros gig and when Duane saw him in audience, he had to turn around wth back to audience in order to keep playing and not screw up. that is amazing.

well, I cannot stand Ramblin Man, when it comes on radio , turn it like i would a modern day pop song. forgive me...

But Jessica is perfect, just perfect. and i think Jessica is post Duane...

anyway 3 tunes from Skynyrd, that is a lot for a band really. I mean so gone are the days even back then when a band would out out so many great songs, aka, Beatles, Who, Stones, Zep. that is few and far between. I guess Nirvana would be a "modern" day equivalent of actually writing so many good songs.
 
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adorshki

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As far as what showed up (or shows up currently) on the airwaves is what someone else thought would sell (record company A&R folks, etc) and may not be what the band or you and I would consider their best (be that because of lyrics, composition technicality or just a catchy riff).
I agree 100%, been bi----ing about it since high school.
But my tastes got broader and started listening to other types of music over the years.
I have heard some interesting stuff over the last few years by listening to Sirius radio's Deep Tracks channel. Yes some of it is strange, but there is a lot of B side material and album tracks most of us never heard from the popular radio broadcasts, including lost of stuff from other parts of the world. There is plenty of good music out there to enjoy..... and some that should have never come to pass as well.....
Yes it's good there's at least a channel for that, I just can't justify the expense when I've got other free sources still available on my radio dial, jazz in particular has dominated my listening time over the last ten years, and in that genre I've bought almost all my new albums in that time on the strength of hearing a single track, and rarely been disappointed.
Veering far afield, Otis Taylor's Truth Is Not Fiction comes to mind as one of those.
I like the hard stuff, straight to the vein:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...tis-Taylor-Shakies-Gone&highlight=otis+taylor
:friendly_wink:
 

FNG

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Aretha's first hit at Muscle Shoals is a great story.

We had to recite a poem from memory in school...my friend recited Gimme Three Steps. Lol
 

adorshki

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well, I cannot stand Ramblin Man, when it comes on radio , turn it like i would a modern day pop song. forgive me...
Me'n "Free Bird".
'cept I don't ask no forgiveness.
:glee:

But Jessica is perfect, just perfect. and i think Jessica is post Duane...

Yeah it is, and I have to admit so is one of my top 3 faves from them, "Les Brers in A minor" from Eat A Peach.
Eat A Peach hit big when it came out, building on momentum from Live at Fillmore East, so admittedly it's got that sentimental attachment for me that I never experienced with Skynrd.
Different time, different place.
By the time Skynrd hit, their core fan base, at least in my neck of the woods, were the football team from Dazed and Confused .
Those same guys idolizing David Lee Roth and AC/DC....
Wiki sums it up pretty good:
"Both Collins and Rossington had serious car accidents over Labor Day weekend in 1976, which slowed the recording of the follow-up album and forced the band to cancel some concert dates. Rossington's accident inspired the ominous "That Smell" – a cautionary tale about drug abuse that was clearly aimed towards him and at least one other band member. Rossington has admitted repeatedly that he was the "Prince Charming" of the song who crashed his car into an oak tree while drunk and stoned on Quaaludes. Van Zant, at least, was making a serious attempt to clean up his act and curtail the cycle of boozed-up brawling that was part of Skynyrd's reputation.[citation needed] "
In counterpoint, Duane was still part of the era when bands had some political consciousness:
"They named their next album Eat a Peach for Allman's response to an interviewer's question: "How are you helping the revolution?" Allman replied, "I'm hitting a lick for peace, and every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace....the two-legged Georgia variety. But you can't help the revolution, because there's just evolution. I'm a player. And players don't give a damn for nothing but playing...."

For balance, I'll admit I was pretty p-ssed off at Lennon at the time too, for doing "Whatever Gets You through The Night" with Elton John...

:eek:
 

beecee

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Call me the Breeze was my favorite.

Saw them in Buffalo years back at Rich Stadium. They were an opening band for Blue Oyster Cult.

They blew the crowd away...and I'm a died in the wool 'Brother.
 
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