Lynyrd Skynyrd Nuthin' Fancy CD

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant (vocals); Allen Collins (guitar, piano, organ, Moog synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Ed King (acoustic, electric & slide guitars, Moog bass); Gary Rossington (acoustic & electric guitar); Billy Powell (keyboards); Leon Wilkeson (bass, background vocals); Artimus Pyle (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Barry Harwood (dobro, mandolin); Jimmy Hall (harmonica); David Foster, Billy Powell (piano); Bobbye Hall (percussion).
Producer: Al Kooper.
Reissue producer: Ron O'Brien.
Recorded at WEBB IV Studios, Atlanta, in January 1975 and Studio One, Doraville, Georgia in August 1974. Bonus live tracks recorded at Bill Graham's Winterland, San Francisco, California on April 27, 1975. Includes liner notes by Ron O'Brien.
Digitally remastered by Doug Schwartz (Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles, California).
Second Helping brought Lynyrd Skynyrd mass success and for the follow-up they offered Nuthin' Fancy. It was a self-deprecating title for a record that may have offered more of the same, at least on the surface, but was still nearly peerless as a Southern rock record. 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 second notable difference is that Ronnie Van Zant may have been pressed for material, since there are several songs here that are just good generic rockers. But he and Skynyrd prove that what makes a great band great is how they treat generic material, and Skynyrd makes the whole of Nuthin' Fancy feel every bit as convincing as their first two records. For one, the record has a rawer edge than Second Helping, which helps make the slight preponderance of predictable (but not bad) material easy to accept, since it all sounds so good. Then there's the fact that many of these eight songs still showcase Van Zant at the top of his game, whether it's the storming opener "Saturday Night Special," "Railroad Song," "On the Hunt," or the rollicking "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller." 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Besides being a touring warhorse, Lynyrd Skynyrd cranked out albums at a brisk rate during its original lineup's brief recording career, averaging at least one new release per year. 1975 saw the emergence of Skynyrd's third album in as many years, NUTHIN' FANCY.
While the album didn't contain a smash hit single as had its predecessors ("Free Bird," "Sweet Home Alabama," etc.), it proved to be another solid collection of tough Southern rock. "Saturday Night Special" remains one of the band's fiercest rockers, while such other compositions as "On the Hunt" and "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" have become Skynyrd standards as well.