Guns if fh

The double-disc Live: Era '87-'93 was designed to do two things – satiate die-hard fans longing for old-school GNR, while clearing decks for a new studio album. It sounds good in theory, yet it suffers in its execution, since it relies on tapes "recorded across the universe between 1987 and 1993…

During one of Tracii Guns' infamous breaks from L.A. Guns, Killing Machine was unleashed upon the world. First impressions bring The L.A. Guns' American Hardcore to mind, yet a little more palatable. The first track, "Kill Machine", sets the tone for this semi-dark, semi-thrash release - "No feelings, no emotions, no beauty, no nothing," no shit! When "Shitkicker" starts cranking I dare you not to get up and turn your living room into a mosh pit, smashing whatever and whomever is foolish enough to not get out of your way.

This limited Special Edition adds a second disc of bonus tracks, including live versions of J.J. Cale's "They Call Me the Breeze" and "Sweet Home Alabama." With their classic early lineup, anchored by the swagger, grit, and heart of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd merged Allman Brothers guitars with barrelhouse piano (courtesy of keyboardist Billy Powell, a bigger part of Skynyrd's classic sound than most people realize), then tossed in a big dose of hard rock attitude and gave it all credence with a kind of blustering and cocky honky tonk sensibility. The original band just sounded so, well, right, and if its legacy in most casual listeners' minds is just "Sweet Home Alabama" and the ubiquitous "Free Bird," that's not a bad legacy to have, really.