God & Guns

God & Guns
Studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Released September 29, 2009
Recorded 2008–2009 in Blackbird Studios, Nashville, Tennessee; Studio Sea, Fort Myers, Florida; Sound Kitchen, Franklin, Tennessee;
Genre Southern rock, blues rock, heavy metal, country rock, hard rock
Length 49:32
Label Roadrunner
Producer Bob Marlette
Lynyrd Skynyrd chronology

Vicious Cycle
(2003)		 God & Guns
(2009)		 Last of a Dyin' Breed
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
MusicReview [2]

God & Guns is the thirteenth studio album by the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on September 29, 2009. The single "Still Unbroken" was released on July 27, 2009 followed by another track, "Simple Life", on August 4, 2009. Hughie Thomasson contributed to the writing of many songs, including this first single, before his death. "Still Unbroken" was written after the death of original bassist Leon Wilkeson in 2001.[3] The album features guitar work from John 5.[4] It is also the last Lynyrd Skynyrd album to feature the band's longtime keyboardist Billy Powell, who died in January 2009. Ean Evans, who replaced Leon Wilkeson on bass, also died before this album came out. This album is the first with Mark Matejka and Peter Keys, and the only album with Robert Kearns on bass.

The album's title comes from its eighth track, "God & Guns", written by Mark Stephen Jones, Travis Meadows and Bud Tower.

The lyrical shift from "Saturday Night Special" to "God & Guns" has been taken into account by band member Johnny Van Zant, who explained how the song was not a direct contradiction to "Saturday Night Special."[5]

Tracks

  1. "Still Unbroken" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Hughie Thomasson) - 5:06
  2. "Simple Life" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Jeffrey Steele) - 3:17
  3. "Little Thing Called You" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5) - 3:58
  4. "Southern Ways" (Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5, Bob Marlette) - 3:48
  5. "Skynyrd Nation" (Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5, Bob Marlette) - 3:52
  6. "Unwrite that Song" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Jeffrey Steele, Tony Mullins) - 3:50
  7. "Floyd" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5) - 4:03
  8. "That Ain't My America" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Brad Warren, Brett Warren) - 3:44
  9. "Comin' Back For More" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Blair Daly) - 3:28
  10. "God & Guns" (Mark Stephen Jones, Travis Meadows, Bud Tower) - 5:44
  11. "Storm" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5, Bob Marlette) - 3:15
  12. "Gifted Hands" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, John 5, Bob Marlette) - 5:22

Special Edition Disc 2

  1. "Bang Bang" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Trey Bruce) - 3:10
  2. "Raining In My Heartland" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Trey Bruce) - 3:54
  3. "Hobo Kinda Man" (Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Trey Bruce) - 3:53
  4. "Red, White, & Blue" (Live) (Johnny Van Zant, Donnie Van Zant, Brad Warren, Brett Warren - 5:42
  5. "Call Me the Breeze" (Live) (J.J. Cale) - 5:49
  6. "Sweet Home Alabama" (Live) (Ed King, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant) - 6:25

Personnel

Additional personnel

Strings on "Unwrite That Song" and "Gifted Hands" arranged by Lisa Parade

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ MusicReview review
  3. ↑ Still Unbroken Songfacts
  4. ↑ "God & Guns"
  5. ↑ Lynyrd Skynyrd Track by Track 5 - "Comin' Back for More" & "God & Guns", Retrieved 2010-9-14