Nuthin 'Fancy

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Nuthin 'Fancy
Lynyrd Skynyrd's studio album

Publication
(s)

March 24, 1975

Label (s) MCA

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Southern rock

Title (number)

8th

running time

37m34s

production

Al Cooper

Studio (s)

WEBB IV Studios, Atlanta , January 1975; Track 1 Studio One, Doraville , Georgia , August 1974

chronology
Second Helping
(1974) 		Nuthin 'Fancy Gimme Back My Bullets
(1976)

Nuthin 'Fancy is the third studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd and was released in the spring of 1975. It reached number 9 on the Billboard 200 album charts, making it the band's first in the top 10. The single Saturday Night Special reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nuthin 'Fancy was awarded gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in June 1975 and platinum in July 1987. The title of the single is a slang term in the US for a small-caliber , inexpensive pistol . The text deals critically with the subject of gun ownership , in the chorus it says: “Ain't no good for nothin ', but put a man six feet in a hole.” There were some personnel changes for Lynyrd Skynyrd at this time. The drummer of the first two albums, Bob Burns, left the group because he could no longer endure the stress of touring. Ronnie Van Zant wrote the song Am I Losin ' on the album about Burn's decision. After Burns went on touring Europe in December 1974, he was replaced by Artimus Pyle. This was known with bands like Charlie Daniels or Marshall Tucker Band , both of which had several joint appearances with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ed King left the band in May 1975 while on tour due to personal and alcohol problems in the group. After Pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd and Second Helping, Nuthin 'Fancy is the last album with Al Kooper as producer.

Track list

  1. "Saturday Night Special" (E. King, R. Van Zant) - 5:08
  2. "Cheatin 'Woman" (R. Van Zant, G. Rossington, A. Kooper) - 4:38
  3. "Railroad Song" (E. King, R. Van Zant) - 4:14
  4. "I'm a Country Boy" (A. Collins, R. Van Zant) - 4:24
  5. "On the Hunt" (A. Collins, R. Van Zant) - 5:25
  6. "Am I Losin '" (G. Rossington, R. Van Zant) - 4:32
  7. "Made in the Shade" (R. Van Zant) - 4:40
  8. "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller" (E. King, R. Van Zant, B. Powell) - 4:33

1999 CD bonus tracks

  2. "Railroad Song" (Live) (E. King, R. Van Zant) - 5:27
  3. "On the Hunt" (Live) (A. Collins, R. Van Zant) - 6:10

occupation

Additional musicians

  • David Foster - keyboards, piano
  • Bobbye Hall - percussion
  • Jimmy Hall - harmonica
  • Barry Harwood - Dobro , mandolin
  • Al Kooper - Moog synthesizer, piano, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals

reception

  • Music journalist Robert Christgau wrote that some tracks were a mix of heavy metal and funk and that Saturday Night Special was a great song. ( Two or three cuts here sound like heavy-metal-under-funk - check out "Saturday Night Special," a real killer. ) He also praised the singer's subtle commitment. ( Ronnie Van Zant has never deployed his limited, husky baritone with such subtlety. ) The album was rated A-.
  • Bud Scoppa wrote in Rolling Stone that Ronnie van Zant's lyrics, in contrast to their predecessor, would appear trite and cumbersome on this album. ( Singer Ronnie Van Zant's lyrics, so lucid and sly on the last album (especially in "Workin 'for MCA" and "Sweet Home Alabama") are now sometimes hackneyed ("Railroad Song") or heavy-handed ("Saturday Night Special ") .) Nuthin 'Fancy is disappointing for Lynyrd Skynyrd and bears no relation to the live quality of the band. ( Nuthin 'Fancy ... would be an accomplishment for most American groups, but for Skynyrd ... it's slightly disappointing. Having just heard Skynyrd in concert, I long for a generous live album, recorded with that same clarity. )
  • Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote on Allmusic.com that the biggest difference with Nuthin 'Fancy was that the music had gotten heavier and the album would fit so well with the rock bands of the 70s. ( The biggest difference with this record is that the band, through touring, has become heavier and harder, fitting right in with the heavy album rock bands of the mid-'70s. ) The recordings would be paler than their predecessors, but most of them Hard rock bands would give their left arm for an album to match. ( Yes, this does pale in comparison with its predecessors, but most hard rock bands would give their left arm for a record that swaggers and hits as hard as Nuthin 'Fancy. ) Nuthin' Fancy was rated three out of five stars.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nuthin 'Fancy at lynyrdskynyrd.com ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
  2. ↑ Chart placements at allmusic.com
  3. ↑ Nuthin 'Fancy at riaa.org
  4. ↑ Saturday Night Specials at nraila.org
  5. ↑ Lyrics at lyricsfreak.com
  6. ↑ Tom Dowd & Gimme Back My Bullets at lynyrdskynyrdhistory.com
  7. ↑ Artimus Pyle biography at lynyrdskynyrdhistory.com
  8. ↑ Gary James' Interview With Ed King at classicbands.com
  9. ↑ Nuthin 'Fancy at discogs.com
  10. ↑ Lynyrd Skynyrd albums at robertchristgau.com
  11. ↑ Nuthin 'Fancy Album Review at rollingstone.com
  12. ↑ Nuthin 'Fancy at allmusic.com