Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars

The Fast Life and Sudden Death of Lynyrd Skynyrd

By: Mark Ribowsky

Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

This intimate story of Lynyrd Skynyrd tells how a band of lost souls and self-destructive misfits, with uncertain artistic objectives, clawed their way to the top of the rock 'n' roll world. Based on interviews with surviving band members, Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars shares how lead singer and front man Ronnie Van Zant guided the band's hugely successful five-year run and, in the process, created not only a new country rock idiom, but a new Confederacy in constant conflict with old Southern totems and prejudices.

Placing the music and personae of Skynyrd into a broad cultural context, this book gives a new perspective to a history of stage fights, motel room destructions, cunning business deals, and brilliant studio productions. It also offers a greater appreciation for a band whose legacy, in the aftermath of their last plane ride, has since descended into self-caricature.

©2015 Mark Ribowsky (P)2015 ListenUp Production, LLC

This author has NO clue on MANY things...

Would you try another book from Mark Ribowsky and/or Jeremy Arthur?

doubtfully

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Ribowsky? Why or why not?

not really

Which character – as performed by Jeremy Arthur – was your favorite?

na

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

probably

Any additional comments?

For this guy to not know that Zakk Wylde was NOT the guitarist for Black Sabbath in the 70's (or ever for that matter) is a literal sin. Zakk was maybe 8 or 9 years old when the author had him with a quote about a Skynyrd gig. Amazingly bad info in this one. So many more things, though to much to list here. AT least the narrator was fair.

Wow great book

As a fan for 40 years this book was a real eye opener. It seems the only "nice " guys were Steve Gaines, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkinson. The author seems to have no hidden agenda, just tells it like it is. Ironically that's the way Ronnie would have liked it...warts and all. If you love Skynyrd music, you have to read/hear this book. You will a new appreciation for the band and the music.

Moving Story of the Group that Gave Us Free Bird

Any additional comments?

A quite moving account of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the trials and tribulations, the mercurial rise to fame from obscurity and the subsequent tragedies of the group that sang the music of a generation. Jeremy Arthur is a compelling storyteller (one of my favorites!) and is masterful at bringing the listener into the story...I would often forget I was listening to an audiobook so immersed was I. For any Skynyrd fans, or fans of music in general, I would highly recommend a listen to Whiskey Bottles & Brand New Cars.

Great book.

I found this to be very interesting and learned some new things about the band. Narrator was excellent.

great book so full of information

lends another look at a very complex band and the man Ronnie Van Zant ...and brings home the songs he wrote

about what you would expect

This is the kind of life I imagine for any hard living rock and roll band. No earth shattering revelations, but every bit as roudy, drug crazed and drunk as they could be.

Frynds of Skynyrd

I found the book to be a complete and insightful look inside the Skynyrd family and its core members. the author did a good job of presenting an overall picture of the music scene in the late sixties and early seventies it was somewhat focused too much on the music scene and less one Skynyrd. all in all though it was a good book and very entertaining.

Wow! What a Ride!! Great Audiobook!!

Any additional comments?

Wow, what a great ride it was listening to this audiobook! It was made all the better by the wonderful narration by Jeremy Arthur, who, with his authentic rough hewn southern accent, made you feel like he was a Roadie for the band, sitting back and taking in all of the crazy antics that they went through. There are lots of great tid-bits about the band that you will discover. Like how they got their name, and also Ronnie Van Zant’s friendship with Neil Young. Upon the journey of garnering their fame, you get to hear how the band really reacted to MCA’s manipulations of their presentation and how Ronnie never bought into any of the pretensions thrust upon them and how he actually fought them. I’ll listen to this audiobook over and over again! You won’t be disappointed in this audiobook because it’s a fun way to pass the time.

Life and Loss of a Renaissance Rebel

This book gives an intriguing look primarily into the life and views of Ronnie Van Zant.
Other members of the band are covered, but make no mistake, this is Ronnie's book.

Listening to the songs of Lynyrd Skynyrd growing up in the 70's, even then I could recognize that this was not the typical perspective of southerners I'd known. Not that it could be called progressive or (heaven forbid) liberal, but it evoked a more nuanced view of the South, southerners and the issues of race, history and heritage. Whether Ronnie was truly uncomfortable with the Confederate flag as a symbol of the band may never be known. But I'd *like* to think he had a broader view of what it meant to be proud and from the South, more than the feeble claims of "heritage, not hate" from future generations. Perhaps it was a shallow deference to commercial pressure, who knows? But the death of Ronnie Van Zant may have left in tatters any possibility of progressivism in the Southern psyche, at least in any mass appeal way.

The book presents a flawed man, certainly. He's a man with family demons and problems with substance abuse. But one that seems (perhaps too romantically presented) to have had his sights on being a 2nd Southern Renaissance Man, post-racial, post-redneck, as it were. It's all the more poignant considering how 40 years later, we've regressed so much as to have the 21st century iteration of the band, as referenced in the summary, as a self-caricature, seemingly unaware of the potentiality of inclusion, with no-talent buffoons like Kid Rock presuming to carry their banner. It always seemed that the biggest albatross around the band's neck, and which allowed for it to often be left in the shadow of other southern artists, was the boorishness (and flat-out racism, to be honest) of the hardcore fan base. A fan base which took to the rebel symbolism, oversimplified it, and ignored the deeper cultural resonance of the band and its music. More's the pity.

The book, is has to be said, has some questionable citations, people and times don't always seem to match up. But it does present a tragic story of squandered potential. If Ronnie (assuming he was truly as dedicated to social justice as is claimed) had been assertive in his role as a rock star and opinion-maker, might the popular impression of Lynyrd Skynyrd been more than merely the southern rock band with the rebel flag? Had he lived longer, might the course of Southern rock taken a more pro-active role in race relations and unity? All pie-in-the-sky supposition, to be sure, but it allows for a bittersweet feeling of what might have been.

I wish this were a movie.

What did you like best about Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars? What did you like least?

When the story talked more about stories instead of name dropping and business.

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Ribowsky? Why or why not?

I don't know. Maybe not. His story telling could use some work!

Which character – as performed by Jeremy Arthur – was your favorite?

I don't know that I've heard any of stories performed by this guy other than this book or not. So none yet so far.

Could you see Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes. It would be better if it was! Or a movie.

Any additional comments?

You can list to this for 5 minutes or hours. You can start at the beginning or in the middle or the end and it all sounds the same. I even fell asleep on this book and when I woke up I didn't feel like I had missed anything. So I would say this was sorta dull and not that interesting as I was hoping. I would watch this tho if it were a movie or tv series! Too much tech and not enough details and stories to draw me in. Too much name dropping too. I get they are famous. DUH!