Lynyrd Skynyrd is getting back to its roots.

In its third decade as a band, this quintessential southern rock outfit is rediscovering and redirecting the music toward the very elements that garnered Skynyrd their legendary status.

At the forefront of this thought process is guitarist/songwriter Mike Estes. While having been with guitarist Gary Rossington, keyboardist Billy Powell, guitarist Ed King, bassist Leon Wilson and drummer Owen Hale for only a little more than two years, Estes has known and worked with the group for quite some time and been a die hard fan even longer. In a way, his fresh set of ears can be instrumental in the band's quest for their original, groundbreaking sound.

"I can't say from a band point of view how they totally felt about a couple of those (recent) records because I wasn't on them," Estes said. "I know that they are not unhappy with those records but they want to kind of go back and make a record where every damn song is a killer and has the passionate performances like they had on the old Skynyrd stuff."

Estes says the old Skynyrd sound can be revived by changing their approach to recording and writing.

"I know for a fact that we're going to cut a lot of stuff live in the studio," Estes said. "The records that they've done since the [1977] plane crash I think were kind of produced sounding and Skynyrd to me was never a producible band. I think it was more of a production thing and some of the material they wished they had waited on, and waited and written more songs. What I think has been learned from this is the next record we'll do is going to take most of this year to write and record. We're not going to record it in the studio per say, not go in and do a record. It's like when we get two or three songs that are great, we're going to go in and record them. And then go play them live and test them out. I think we're going to get a chance to put our record together from what goes over in live shows. You can see what works and what doesn't that way."

Estes and crew have been touring (and testing songs) at breakneck pace. The band recently hit the road with Hank Williams Junior. Prior to that, Skynyrd toured in support of their acoustic guitar-based release Endangered Species. According to Estes, the experience gave him the opportunity to show his skill as a guitarist, whether he wanted to or not.

"I think my strong suit is writing. I'm a better writer than a guitar player," Estes said. "But with Ed King and Gary Rossington, I don't have to be great. I got to prove that I could play because Ed has a heart problem and had to leave at the end of the tour. We had to do eight shows without him. Gary and I had to split his parts. It was tough and we did it. I felt like a better guitar player after that tour."

Estes said that his Gibson axes helped by enabling him to get all the right sounds on stage and at his Gibson clinics.

"The (Chet Atkins) SST is what I use on tour when we play acoustics," Estes said. "I used that for the whole tour and I use it every chance I get. I just love it. I liked it so much and believed in it that it made me want to do clinics with it. I play and sing three or four songs with that. Then I have a Nighthawk that I love almost as much. It's a killer guitar. I'll play some Skynyrd stuff with it. Because with that thing, you can get "strat" sounds and "tele" sounds and almost Les Paul sounds. So I can stand up there and play a bunch of different Skynyrd songs with totally different tones on one guitar. Which is real cool. So I just kind of show (the audience) how that works. I can do "Sweet Home Alabama" which is a Stratty tone then I can just hit a switch and and do something like "Three Step" or "Saturday Night Special," you know, more humbucking sounds. The reason why I dig the guitars is the versatility of them."

According to Estes, the raw, acoustic work of Endangered Species will be a touchstone for the band's upcoming projects. Expect stripped down, electricized, authentic Skynyrd sound in the upcoming months.

"That is the definate proposed plan," Estes said jokingly. "And I think that we can do that if we produce it ourselves. In the past, I don't think the producer was a problem, but whenever you have somebody like that, he's going to put his stamp on stuff. You can hear production stamps on the records whereas in the earlier records, you couldn't. It just sounded like the band slammin' it live. That's what we're going to do when we record this record."

Those who can't wait can catch a glimpse on the Sony/NASCAR follow-up to Runnin' Wide Open. The compilation will feature Skynard playing "White Knuckle Ride," penned specifically for this project. Estes says it afforded the band its first opportunity to try out its rejuvunated approach.

"We're going to start with this NASCAR song," Estes said. "The guy that's producing it at Sony is Blake Chancey, but he's pretty much told everybody that he just wants us to be Skynyrd. That's easy."