Customer Reviews
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Another Solid Release
Original drummer Bob Burns is replaced by Artimus Pyle. Skynyrd's 3rd album sees the first changes in the band's lineup. The album was a bit of a rush job as the record company was pushing the band to come out with a new album as quickly as possible after the huge success of their previous effort. As the title suggests the songs here are a bit on the simpler side, but the band still breathes plenty of life into them. "Saturday Night Special" was the big hit from the album with "On The Hunt" and "Whiskey Rock-A Roller" also receiving airplay. The rest of the material is pretty typical Skynyrd all well written and performed. The album is probably not as strong as the first two, but is still well worth owning for Skynyrd fans.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy
I like that it had a history of the band up to this point in their career on the inside sleeve. Love this group. I like the bonus tracks as well.
A Very Underrated Album
They were in quite a rush and didn't have nearly as much time to make this album as they did for their first two. After Skynyrd had released their debut album and "Second Helping", they were under much pressure from their record company to put out their next album. Hence the title, "Nuthin' Fancy". That's one of the things I love about this band; not only is there so much meaning in most of the songs, but even the album titles have a meaning.
We start off with "Saturday Night Special", a song that they had written for some Burt Reynolds movie (I don't remember the name). Ronnie Van Zant wrote this song basically to protest against certain hand guns. He wasn't against having a gun in the house in case of burglars, but he was writing about hand guns that were only good for close-range shooting, so he's saying that those guns were just made to kill people, not for protection. Just listen to the words: "Hand guns are made for killin' ain't no good for nothin' else; ain't no good for nothin', but puting men six feet in a hole".
Next we have "Cheatin' Woman", one of the weaker tracks on the album. It's basically the story of a depressed man who's girlfriend is cheating on him; pretty basic.
After that, we hear "Railroad Song", a tune about a hobo who basically rides on a train from town to town trying to get his music out there, but nobody in town wants him around. So it's basically a never-ending story, getting the same reaction in every town, but he refuses to give up, so he just jumps on another train and writes more songs.
Next is "I'm A Country Boy". Funny, it's not really a country song. In this song, Ronnie talks about how he is happy where he is, living in the country, and that he has no interest in living in a big city, but also tries to show that he's not saying city people and city life are bad, just that it's not for him. "What's right for me, may not be right for you. You live your way, and I'll live mine".
Next we hear "On The Hunt". This song seems to basically be about a guy who is searching for a woman, who meets a woman who is always searching for a man. A pretty good song (I still give it 4/5), but the lyrics don't speak to me as much as the other songs.
Next is the real treat, and probably my favorite song on the album, "Am I Losin'". The lyrics of this song just stick with me so much, I could listen to this track over and over again. It was written about Skynyrd's original drummer, Bob Burns, who had left the band before they made this album. It's just such a sad song where Ronnie is basically asking God why he is losing someone who was one of his best friends. "Why these things happen Lord? I don't understand. But Lord, it can sure hurt a man. " This song almost brings tears to my eyes sometimes. It should've been a classic. Definitely one of my top ten favorite Skynyrd songs.
Next is the only song on this album that I can honestly say that I just don't like: "Made In The Shade". It's basically a song about a woman who has left her man, and he doesn't totally understand why; he was good to her, he tried to make her happy, but he just wasn't good enough for her, and he's just saying that she had it easy with him, so leaving was her mistake. To me, this song just doesn't fit on this album, or any other Skynyrd album. It just doesn't really sound like a Skynyrd song to me.
The album ends with "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller", a song Ronnie wrote about being on the road and that playing music and touring is all he knows; it's what makes him happy. It's basically what "Travelin' Band" was to Creedence. While this is also a very good song (another one of my favorite Skynyrd tunes), the studio version on this album pales in comparisson to the live version on Skynyrd's "One More From The Road Album".
If you don't own this album, you don't know what you're missing. No, it's not Skynyrd's best album, but it's not their worst either; that wouldn't be possible, because all of their albums are good ones.
I remember reading that Ronnie wasn't too crazy about this album, but I don't think he ever gave himself enough credit. Most songwriters just come up with words because songs need them, but Ronnie wrote lyrics that people could really understand; lyrics that were about something and told us a story. I just wish more musicians put as much thought and meaning into their songs as Ronnie did.
Fly on Free Bird.
. You can see a complete list of all Lynyrd Skynyrd discography, or go back to the Lynyrd Skynyrd tabs
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