March 24, 1975 - Nuthin' Fancy

 A month after my last release and just under a year since "Second Helping", Lynyrd Skynyrd released their third album "Nuthin' Fancy" on March 24, 1975. Original drummer Bob Burns is no longer with the band, and he's been replaced with new drummer Artimus Pyle. This 7-piece continues to make great southern rock, let's see if they can live up to the fantastic standards of their first two records!

The album kicks off with "Saturday Night Special" which opens with some nice guitar and some solid drumming from Pyle. Ed King shows off with some cool licks as Ronnie Van Zant sings in his southern rock voice. King plays a pretty good guitar solo, but there's not a lot happening in the verses and chorus. This song was the big hit single off the record but I think it's severely lacking compared to the awesome catchy radio hits from their first two albums. Up next is "Cheatin' Woman" and has a slow, groovy bass line by Leon Wilkeson and some cool organ by Billy Powell. Van Zant sings about how it hurts so much when your woman cheats on you, and his blues-y voice fits the mood well. Gary Rossington plays lead guitar on this one and he delivers a slow, but pretty solid solo. After one final verse he goes off for another solo that's a little quicker in a nice end to this slow, blues jam. Track 3 is "Railroad Song" and King leads the way with a catchy guitar riff as Pyle keeps pace with a quick drum beat. Some guest harmonica features greatly in this song and it fits the vibe well and sounds pretty good. Pyle plays some cool speedy drums in the chorus and King lets loose for a couple short guitar solos that sound great! This song has got a really catchy beat and it just makes you wanna move! "Chooooooo-choo train!" The last song on side one is "I'm A Country Boy" and Allen Collins is on lead guitar for this one as he plays a nice, southern riff. Van Zant sings about all the things he doesn't like about the big city, and how he loves the fresh air and openness of the country. Collins plays a pretty sweet guitar solo in the middle of this one before they resume this country jam. After a couple more chorus's, Collins plays the side out with some more cool guitar.

Side two starts with "On The Hunt" as Collins is on lead guitar again playing a catchy, slow riff. Powell adds some quick piano that sounds pretty good and Van Zant sings slowly along to the tune. Collins solo is alright but other than Powell's piano flashes the song is pretty repetitive and simple. It's not a bad riff, or song, but when you know they are capable of amazing things this song seems a little too basic. The next song is called "Am I Losin'" as Rossington leads the way on this track with some cool electric guitar but there's some nice acoustic as well. Van Zant's voice is more calm than usual in this one but still sounds great in this style. Rossington's solo is pretty good and they briefly switch to a different bridge section that sounds nice. The lyrics talk of a friend of Van Zant's who changed once Ronnie started making some real money, and it turns out he wasn't the friend he thought he was. Track 7 is "Made In The Shade" which opens with an interesting mandolin riff and some more guest harmonica. Powell plays some cool old time-y piano in this song that has a different southern spin than most of their songs. There are no drums in this song that really sounds like a southern country song, and that's saying something from these guys! I'm not a country music fan, but the guitars are good enough to keep me interested in this country-rock mashup. The album ends with "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" and this song is more like it, in a southern rock style. King plays lead guitar on this final track and he and Powell both lead the way with some great stuff. The guitar riff has a nice bounce to it and Powell's piano sounds fantastic as Van Zant is back to his usual style, singing about his love of whiskey and rock and roll. This song is the better side of Skynyrd for sure, a real toe-tapper that makes you want to get up and dance and is a fun way to end this record.

That wraps up "Nuthin' Fancy" and I thought it was a decent album, but not a great one. There are bits and pieces of the flashiness that makes Lynyrd Skynyrd so amazing, but most of the album is quite average. It just doesn't show off the talents these guys have enough. Their debut album was amazing, but even "Second Helping" had several songs that were just fantastic. This new album I thought had no songs that made you really go "wow that's awesome!" and so it will have to settle for third place in the Skynyrd chronology. I know these guys can really play, let's hope they step it up next time!