Soundbite: “God & Guns”
By Alex Goodman
Sept. 28, 2009 9:05 p.m.
On the “knowing what you’re gonna get” spectrum, there’s Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates at one end, and Lynyrd Skynyrd at the other. Decades and band members may pass, hip-hop may take over the Billboard charts and Barack Obama may bring change to America, but back in Skynyrd Nation, home is still where God and the guns are.
The task of carrying on the legacy has, since the mid-’80s, fallen on the shoulders of Johnny Van Zant, whose older brother Ronnie led the band through its golden years until he died in a plane crash in 1977. “God & Guns” is the seventh studio output from the new gang, and it’s pretty much business as usual, down to the family resemblance of Johnny’s gritty drawl.
Any hint of newness is in the occasional resemblance to the work of bands who probably grew up on Skynyrd albums. “Still Unbroken,” the hard-driving lead single, could conceivably have come from the likes of Seether or 3 Doors Down, while the climactic power chords in the title track could fit into one of Shinedown’s mid-tempo songs.
But for the most part, this is the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd sound, by way of Lynyrd Skynyrd, with hints of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Expect lots of meaty riffs, a little bit of slide guitar and enough Southern attitude to keep you talking with a twang for a while. The rhythm section comes through especially strong ““ bassist Robert Kearns and drummer Michael Cartellone keep things locked in boot-tapping step even when the tunes fall a little short.
And say what you will about Skynyrd’s politics, their social concerns, or the quality of their lyrics, but no one can argue that these guys don’t have conviction. “God & Guns” covers American traditionalism and no-good girls with total earnestness, plus has “Floyd,” a rockin’ song about some guy who got eaten by a gator.
The big bold mission statement is that America just isn’t the way it used to be. In “That Ain’t My America,” Van Zant takes on disrespect for American troops, restrictions placed on prayer in school and “No Smoking” signs, and he provides the theme song for the next decade of Republican National Conventions. The title track, “God & Guns,” hones in on the two things that make America a great country ““ Can you guess what they are? ““ a message that unfortunately comes across as a little scary in the midst of the town-hall-meeting craze. “Simple Life” piles on the nostalgia for the good ol’ days when people sat down to dinner with their kids and didn’t have to lock their doors.
The best songs on “God & Guns,” though, are the ones that embody that simplicity rather than talking about it. “Little Thing Called You” and “Comin’ Back For More” are two solid, straightforward rockers about girls and their song-inspiring ways. The Skynyrd brand may be built on rebellious Southernism, but it’s not opposed to a few tunes about a topic that is relatable ““ even to us Californians.
So maybe the point of “God & Guns,” and of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s entire career, is actually something much bigger ““ one long stunt proving that, even with ideological differences, good music can bring us together. Because the question remains: Of all the countless people who’ve ever loved “Sweet Home Alabama,” how many have actually been there?
““ Alex Goodman
E-mail Goodman at [email protected]
