I get the Freebird burnout or distaste for the tune and/or the band. As musicians they are pretty much the opposite of what the Dead did. The played songs pretty much the way they recorded them. However, this wasn't a limitation of their musicianship more of a reaction to overproduced music that the artists could never pull off live. They recorded their music with a live feel so that they could actually execute the songs to their satisfaction on stage. They were pretty fucking good at it. Gary Rossington might not have been on the list of great guitar virtuosos, Allen Collins could really get it and Steve Gaines would have achieved world renown status had he not been cut down after his first record. I Know a Little is one of the most badass southern rock guitar parts ever.
I have to admit, I grew up on this stuff. Going to high school in the redneck part of Northern Virginia and playing guitar meant that I was going to play a lot of Skynyrd songs. I grew out of it when when I discovered the Grateful Dead about my senior year in high school and on into college but there's something about that band that still hits home with me. I'm not down with the Confederate flag waving nonsense. I have a master's degree in history and know full well the rightful stigma attached to that symbol. They should also stop referring to it as the "Stars and Bars" which it is not, but better the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (or the Confederate Navy Jack) which is the flag that they and others use, than the actual Stars and Bars or the political flag of the Confederacy. I believe the band has stopped using it at their shows. I did get backstage at a show back before Hughie Thomason died (another really kickass guitar player), and they couldn't have been nicer, more gracious people. They put on a great live show, not a Dead show, not loose and inventive but tight and focused. But they are primarily an act meant to see live and I dig that.
There are bands that we get, there are bands whose music that we like who aren't the greatest players out there (I really dig the Ramones), there are bands out there that are great players but just don't speak to us personally (I have to admit that I don't get Phish, I've seen them live, I've listened to most of their studio stuff and can appreciate their ability but I don't really get their music). Yes, Freebird has become a cliche. If I'm going to listen to a Skynyrd song it's not the one I'd probably pick but I think it has earned the right to be in the pantheon of rock tunes.
