24 Years Ago: ‘The Last Rebel’ Is Released, And It’s Everything We Love About Lynyrd Skynyrd

Happy Birthday, The Last Rebel!

Running at approximately 50 minutes in length, Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd’s seventh studio album The Last Rebel burst onto the scene on February 16, 1993 and followed in the footsteps of the band’s comeback album 1991, released two years earlier. It’s been described as many things; AllMusic called it a “tough rocker” of an album “with a country edge,” while Rolling Stone contributor John Swenson hailed The Last Rebel for its “brash, textured rhythms” supplied by Lynyrd Skynyrd veteran (or, “veteryn” as it were) guitarist Gary Rossington.

One thing’s for sure, though – The Last Rebel was a labor of love for a band getting back into the studio for only the second time since 1977, and it shows!

The Last Rebel At A Glance

• Recorded between July 13, 1992 and December 9, 1992
• Reached the #64 slot on the Billboard 200
• “Born To Run” reached #37 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart
• “Good Lovin’s Hard To Find” peaked at #6 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart

Recorded between July 13, 1992 and December 9, 1992, The Last Rebel celebrates everything we’ve ever come to love about Lynyrd Skynyrd and even sets the tone for future albums; with songs like “The Last Rebel” and “Can’t Take That Away” that appeal to the parts of us that lament the loss of traditional American values and a cherished way of life, the boys set out to be the last vestiges of days gone by in a world gone mad and boy – do they ever succeed.

On the other side of the coin, songs like “Good Lovin’s Hard To Find” and “Best Things In Life” are The Last Rebel’s characteristic, rollicking good time tracks that remind that at the end of the day, Lynyrd Skynyrd is still a band that is passionately in love with what they do and even more so with having a good time doing it, sporting that rockin’ Southern rock flavor that we missed out on during the band’s decade long absence. Here’s to 24 years of The Last Rebel: a great album written by some of the finest musicians the world has ever seen!

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd & Second Helping Live’ is available now on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats – it’s the perfect gift for the Lynyrd Skynyrd fan in your life. Buy it here on Amazon!