To put it mildly I sat on a bench in 1996 aged 17, ready to end the disaster of my reality that I called life! Then a song came on the radio that made me realise I was not alone with the suffering and pain i felt, that song was 'Right or Wrong'. I then discovered 'Roll Gypsey Roll', Every Mothers Son', 'All i can do is write it in a song' and the amazing 'Walls of Raiford'. Now finally some 16 years later I have got tickets to see the band that saved my lilfe, London june 3rd.

I have been doing a top 10 countdown on my facebook and discovered that some of this great music is just not available. I had to use a cover band to show how good 'Roll Gypsy Roll' is, The band need to remember that these songs are where the soul of Ronnie is! The current line up have done some staggeringly good songs like 'Tomorrows Goodbye' but need to to think about the working mans pain again. Get that guitar singing as beautifully as the lyrics and not just complementing them!

I have every album and love every song, but I would cut of my own arm to here the band sing such songs to remind the world just how awesome the writing ability of the Van Zant- Collins era was!

I should point out I have turned my life around an enjoy a very rewarding life now doing the things I love, like sport and writing lyrics, lol

Glad you are well, I have been there myself and having "my band" and "my songs" was therapeutic to say the least. I am thankful for the JVZ era Skynyrd for providing an outlet for my loyalty and giving me a glimpse of what I missed (I was 13 in 77). I agree completely that there are many, many gems (old and new) in the catalogue that are overlooked in the live shows. The creative energy and insight that produced Simple Man is alive in the songs you mention but Simple Man seems to be the one that strikes a chord with the widest audience. I also agree, that there was a precision to Allen's solos including, but clearly not limited to, Free Bird that are hard to replicate. I have only come to appreciate those more as I have gotten older. Although I have never had a drinking problem, Devil in the Bottle was a great JVZ era song that I thought captured demons we all face (similar to Right or Wrong). I think the issue is that there are so many songs and the years have taken such a toll on Gary, that they are less inclinded for including less "popular" work and risk making the shows longer and more physically taxing for Gary. It's all great, but I agree the genius of Raiford (especially considering when it was written) and sensitivity of Things Goin On, are overlooked in the set list. I hope you enjoy the show, I took two of my daughters to the show on Friday (my first in amost 20 years) and although I wished they would have dug a little deeper into the treasure chest, missing the songs you noted, and JVZ era gems (e.g. None of us are Free) it was a release and the players were tight. You will love it.