Due October 13, the 4CD/digital package “FYFTY” features a career-spanning 50 tracks, starting with songs from the group’s 1973 debut, "Pronounced 'Leh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd", and running through a series of fan favorites and classic tunes.
The set traces the band’s roots by way of their early Muscle Shoals recordings through an abundance of iconic songs that defined the literal soundtrack of the ’70s. From there, listeners can revisit live cuts from the historic 1987 tribute show that ignited the band’s ensuing reunion, then continue onward and upward with the determined last-band standing defiance of fist-pumping latter-era tracks like “Last Of A Dyin’ Breed” and “Last Of The Street Survivors,” and eventually touch back down on earth with a special previously-unreleased live performance of “Gimme Three Steps” that was culled from the band’s final show with co-founding guitarist Gary Rossington in November 2022.
“We just kind of notice what’s going on around us and write songs so people relate to them,” Rossington observed in the liner notes. “That’s always been our style. We learned that from Ronnie [Van Zant]; he always had a great way to take a subject and write a cool story around it so people could relate. We’re just trying to keep that going.”
“FYFTY” comes housed in the sturdy, vinyl-size 12x12-inch format, with a gatefold jacket that holds a detailed 40-page booklet featuring opening notes penned by a longtime friend of the band —esteemed rock journalist, screenwriter, and director, Cameron Crowe — along with detailed liner notes and track-by-track analysis by respected Detroit rock journalist Gary Graff. Additionally, "FYFTY" is filled with unreleased photos of the original band and the reformed band, a stirring visual chronicle of Lynyrd Skynyrd both then and now.
The last of the group’s original members, Rossington passed away this past March at the age of 71.
As Johnny Van Zant himself put it quite touchingly in the liners about his lifelong friend Gary, “We miss him so much. What kept me going was calling [Rossington] and having these conversations. He was my cheerleader. So now I’m gonna have to remember his voice to keep my spirits up and keep this thing going. . . as a tribute, and so people remember him and Ronnie and all the others who have been part of this.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd are playing dates this summer on a North American series with ZZ Top under the billing “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour.”
Ahead of the new box set, check out Lynyrd Skynyrd’s catalog here.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
"FYFTY"
Release date: October 13
CD 1
01. Comin' Home (Original Version)
02. I Ain't The One
03. Gimme Three Steps
04. Tuesday's Gone
05. Simple Man
06. Sweet Home Alabama
07. The Ballad Of Curtis Loew
08. Workin' For MCA
09. On The Hunt
10. Made In The Shade
11. Whiskey Rock-A-Roller (Live)
12. All I Can Do Is Write About It (Acoustic Version)
13. Gimme Back My Bullets
14. Double Trouble
CD 2
01. Saturday Night Special (Live)
02. T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) (Live)
03. Travelin' Man (Live)
04. Free Bird (Live – Unreleased)
05. What's Your Name
06. You Got That Right
07. I Know A Little
08. Down South Jukin'
09. White Dove
10. Was I Right Or Wrong?
11. Georgia Peaches
12. Mr. Banker
CD 3
01. Call Me The Breeze (Live)
02. That Smell (Live)
03. Smokestack Lightning
04. Southern Women
05. The Last Rebel
06. Born To Run
07. Devil In The Bottle
08. Talked Myself Right Into It
09. Berneice
10. Voodoo Lake
11. Tomorrow's Goodbye
CD 4
01. Mad Hatter
02. Pick 'Em Up
03. Red White And Blue
04. Skynyrd Nation
05. Simple Life
06. Still Unbroken
07. God & Guns
08. Gifted Hands
09. Start Livin' Life Again
10. Mississippi Blood
11. Last Of A Dyin' Breed
12. Last Of The Street Survivors
13. Gimme Three Steps (Live – Unreleased)
See also:
Lynyrd Skynyrd preview 50th anniversary concert theater event
Lynyrd Skynyrd bring 50th anniversary concert to the big screen
Lynyrd Skynyrd announce future plans following death of Gary Rossington
Slash and Billy Gibbons rock Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute at CMT Music Awards
Search Lynyrd Skynyrd at hennemusic
