Lynyrd Skynyrd - Lyve
(The Vicious
Cycle Tour)
Performance
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Lynyrd Skynyrd - Lyve
Performance
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Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1979 compilation album, Gold & Platinum, saw some serious rotation on my turntable throughout my high school years. Growing up in the state of Maine, I was about as Yankee as Yankee can get - but damn if I didn't love my southern rock and roll. Albums by Lynyrd Skynyrd and such other southern rock luminaries as Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, and The Allman Brothers all carried equal weight in my collection as those by Zeppelin, Sabbath, and the Stones. As most music fans know, Lynyrd Skynyrd suffered a great tragedy in 1977 when, at the beginning of their most successful headlining tour to date, a horrible plane crash took the lives of their lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, lead guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and also left the rest of the band in the hospital to recuperate from numerous injuries. In what was meant to be a one-time tribute to the original band, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited in 1987 for a full-scale tour with crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, and Artimus Pyle, as well as former guitarist Ed King. Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, also stepped in to fill his big brother's shoes. The overwhelming reaction to the reunion tour, which was captured on the double-live album Southern By The Grace Of God / Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour - 1987, showed that Lynyrd Skynyrd's fans wanted this band to soldier on. And soldier on is exactly what they did. The lineup you see on this DVD is one of the strongest they have ever assembled. Led by ex-Blackfoot frontman Rickey Medlocke, and ex-Outlaws frontman Hughie Thomasson on guitars, this here "tribute" lineup was one hell of a force to be reckoned with. I was too young to have seen the original Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup perform live, and I never really had much of an interest in seeing any of the reunion or tribute tours. Although "Freebird The Movie" is a wonderful documentary that provides some killer live footage of the band in their prime, the extremely dated audio/video quality leaves you wanting more. I picked up The Vicious Cycle Tour DVD after reading several good reviews and then coming across it at a very reasonable price while out doing some recent DVD shopping. Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve was recorded on July 11, 2003, at the AmSouth Amphitheatre in Nashville, Tennessee, during the band's Vicious Cycle tour. It was also a celebration of Lynyrd Skynyrd's 30th anniversary. The video begins with alternating footage of the band arriving at the venue in their tour bus, going through some backstage preparations, as well as shots of the sold out crowd anxiously cheering for their arrival. The tour was obviously sponsored by Jim Beam, considering that the stage is adorned with dozens of large, oak, distillery barrels, Ronnie is wearing a black Jim Beam tee shirt, and one of the bonus feature is a promotional Jim Beam video shot at the Jim Beam distillery. Hey, I'll drink to that! This tour was in support of Skynyrd's new album, Vicious Cycle, and they kicked off the show with one of the album's best song's, "That's How I Like It". They would play three more songs from the new album, and each one was worthy of the Lynyrd Skynyrd name. It is the classic 70's material that really sends this southern crowd into a frenzy though. The newer band members, especially Medlocke, play these songs like they have as much reverence for them as the fans do. Van Zant always refers to them as Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, graciously not wanting to bestow any undo credit on himself. The rest of the setlist was a run through of the band's greatest hits, with several notable highlights. "Simple Man" was dedicated to Leon Wilkeson, Skynyrd's bassist since 1972, who died prematurely in 2001 from liver and lung disease. This moving performance was an absolute tour-de-force. Equally impressive was the epic balled "Tuesday's Gone", which was made even more grand by the accompaniment of the six-piece string section. Other highlights included an amazing performances of the countrified Second Helping number "The Ballad Of Curtis Loew", as well as the rockin' anthem "Gimme Back My Bullets", even though it was shortened somewhat as part of a three song medley. Although these were a few personal highlights, THE highlight of any Lynyrd Skynyrd concert is always going to be the closing "Free Bird" finale, and that was certainly the case here. With the string section fattening up the arrangement, and Medlocke's awe inspiring guitar performance, this was one of the best live versions of the song I have ever heard. The concert was filmed in hi-definition, and the widescreen picture is exceptionally vivid and colorful. With the inclusion of the horn and string sections there are often 15 different instruments going off at once, and this powerful DTS 5.1 surround track allows you to clearly hear each and every instrument as if they were being played right in your living room. Some excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo tracks are also included, and the camera work was about as good as it gets. Bonus features include a Lynyrd Skynyrd biography, the "Red White And Blue" music video, a photo gallery, and a Jim Bean promotional video. Yes, it may be fair to critique this video as just another tribute to the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band. But, do not overlook it for that reason alone. Considering the circumstances, the performances by this particular Skynyrd lineup were about as good as it could possibly get. To say that Hughie Thomasson and Rickey Medlocke do these guitar masterpieces justice would be the understatement of the year. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - May 2008 |
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Running Time: 114 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - November 2003 |