I hadn't thought much about Lynyrd Skynyrd's newest efforts. I liked their music, but it just wasn't the same as it had been. Something wasn't right. I was back in my hometown last October, and Mama had bought me the "Lyve from Steeltown" CD for an early Christmas present. Imagine my surprise when I popped this into the player and heard the good old original Skynyrd sound! I was very surprised to hear Johnny actually sing "FreeBird." That was great treat. If you go to their official site, you'll find that Gary Rossington is the reason why Johnny sings that song now. The new material now sounds like it should and there is a BIG reason for that. I just had the pleasure of seeing them LIVE in AUSTIN TEXAS! Why do they sound right? Three basic guitars: Gibson Firebird, Gibson Les Paul, and Fender Stratocaster. Rickey Medlocke has picked up the Gibson Firebird and you'd swear Allen Collins was playing it. Hughie Thomasson is playing the Fender Stratocaster and does a great job just like Ed King and Steve Gaines did! Of course, my all time favorite and standard is Gary Rossington on the Gibson Les Paul. No one can make a Les Paul talk like Gary. They have went back to their roots with these three Guitars. These three guitars combined are what gives them that unique sound. If you don't believe me, go check out what they played when they cut "Pronounced" and "Second Helping." Two of their most recent songs, "Bring it on" and "We Ain't Much Different" are great. I can only hope they do a "Lyve from Longhorn Town" with this performance they gave on Dec 30th here in Austin. For a moment, I was in the Fox Theater in Atlanta GA circa 1976! You ain't gonna believe this, but they did "T for Texas" that night and blew the lid off the place! They were playing with ZZ Top that night. ZZ Top couldn't hold them a candle. A Phoenix rises from its own ashes...so has Lynyrd Skynyrd! Theeeeeerrrrrrrr BACK! Go see them for youself if you get a chance. It is definitely worth it!

There is no shortage of live Skynyrd out there; two double live albums featuring Ronnie van Zant and two featuring the latter-day incarnation and little brother Johnny. And this one isn't really all that different from any of the others.
Johnny van Zant is a completely adequate replacement for his unfortunate brother, his slightly hoarse voice both flexible and expressive. And with the combination of original guitarist Gary Rossington and long-time members Leon Wilkeson and Billy Powell, and then-newcomers Owen Hale and Rickey Medlocke and the late Hughie Thomasson, the "old" songs manage to sound both authentic and fresh. They sound like you'd expect them to, with all the riffs in place, but they never come off stale.

The powerful three-guitarist combo is impressively tight, and there are some fiery (but tasteful) solos and lead breaks, a little more "hard rock" than in the 70s, perhaps, but Skynyrd and their songs sound all the more lively because of it.
The sound is excellent as well. No mush of overdriven guitars just droning away, everything is clear and well separated, and admirably produced. The piano is at the fore when it needs to be, the right guitarists are cued in at the right times, and Johnny van Zant's vocals are neither too loud nor too low in the mix. Well, maybe the bass is lacking just a little bit.

"Lyve in Steel Town" is a conscientious mix of classic Skynyrd material ("Sweet Home Alabama", "Saturday Night Special", "Gimme Three Steps", "What's Your Name" and the inevitable "Free Bird"), and a few songs from the post-1987 band's catalogue, or, more specifically, from their then-current album "Twenty": The opening "We Ain't Much Different", and "Bring It On" is classic Lynyrd Skynyrd even if it isn't, muscular Southern rock. The slightly John Fogerty-like "Voodoo Lake" is very good as well, and even if the final latter-day number, "Berneice", is sort of generic, it still packs a pretty decent punch.

I think it's a bit of shame that they didn't fill out disc 2 with a few songs from their other three post-87 albums rather than just a never-ending "Free Bird" jam and 20 minutes worth of interviews with various band members. And there's half an hour left on the disc as it is.
But the 7-minute "Sweet Home Alabama" is a treat, with plenty of great guitar and a rollicking piano solo. And "On The Hunt" sounds much better and more energetic live than on the original studio album.

All in all, if you like Skynyrd, it's very hard not to like this album as well. Again, a couple more surprises would have been great, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with what is here. Highly enjoyable!

Seen Skynyrd live twice now (luckily I got to see them before my man Leon passed away) and this CD and the video really help to supress the Skynyrd cravings until the next show comes around. I even like the new songs, and that is rare for me and classic rock bands. No, it isn't the same but it still rocks HARD.

This review is not only for the steel town lyve cd, but for the dvd as well. All the songs are A-1 and i should admit that the acoustics / mixing of this lyve album are v.good and equivalent to studio recordings. The three guitars are crystal clear, Billy's piano is super and the drums are just right and steady. No comment about Johnny's intense voice which is harsher than Ronnie's and peronally i like it much better. I have watched the dvd / heard the cd over many-many times and still cannot find a musical error / glitch in it (10/10), although the picture is 8/10. Sometimes i wonder which Skynyrd line-up was the best, the original one 25 years ago, or the present one. I recommend 'lyve from steel town' 100%.

I was in the 2nd Row for this show, and the album sounds as good as it did the night it was recorded. The mark of a great band is their ability to endure and roll with the changes, and NOBODY has done that like Lynyrd Skynyrd !! Bring it On !!