Gimme Back My Bullets [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Lynyrd Skynyrd | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 3, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00000JNO2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,103 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > Classic Rock > Southern Rock

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 3-AUG-1999

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Skynyrd Album, May 28, 2004

By 

L. Lawhead "LSquared" (SW Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gimme Back My Bullets (Audio CD)

Gimme Back My Bullets is generally considered the least successful of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, but it has always been my favorite. I rate it just slightly ahead of the essential "Pronounced". I remember staying up late as a teenager, to hear its midnight debut on the local radio station (WDVE, Pittsburgh), and buying it ASAP after that.

"Bullets" is a transitional album for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Most obviously, it features a 2-guitar line-up, coming after the departure of Ed King, and a few months before Steve Gaines joined. The 2-guitar sound is a bit leaner that previous albums, but Collins and Rossington are more than capable of carrying the load! But it's also their first production with the legendary Tom Dowd replacing Al Kooper who had produced their first 3 albums. And it has the debut of the Honkettes, the female backup vocal group consisting of JoJo Billingsley, Cassie Gaines and Leslie Hawkins.

Gimme Back My Bullets is very much Allen Collins' record. Over the first 3 Skynyrd albums, the songwriting was spilt pretty evenly between the 3 guitarists (along with Singer Ronnie Van Zant, of course). Allen Collins co-authors 8 of 24 songs, Gary Rossington and Ed King each co-author 7. But Allen wrote many of Skynyrd's best songs, including "Freebird", "Gimme 3 Steps", "Tuesday's Gone" and "Needle & The Spoon". On "Bullets", Allen has songwriting credits (along with RVZ) on all 8 of the original songs (Rossington is also part of the team on 3 of the songs).

Musically, "Bullets" didn't have any big hits, but does include several Skynyrd standards. All of the songs are great. The title track, "Double Trouble" and "Searchin" are all Skynyrd standards, along with the acoustic-ish "All I can Do Is Write About It". "Roll Gypsie Roll" is a reflective piece about life on the road, and one of my all time favorite songs. "Every Mother's Son", "Trust" and "Cry For The Bad Man" are all solid songs. There's also a cover of J.J.Cale's "Same Old Blues" that has a great, almost funky, feel. Trivia note: Lynyrd Skynyrd only did 2 covers on their first 4 studio albums, both were of J.J. Cale songs. The other was "Call Me The Breeze".

If you're a casual Skynyrd fan, start with "Pronounced", or the original band's live set "One More From The Road". But if you want to get deeper into the spirit of the band, this album can't be beat.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars can I make it four and a half?, August 31, 2005

By 

danielle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gimme Back My Bullets (Audio CD)

First, I'd like to say: I do recommend this album. If that's all you need, great. If not, read on:
I found this album hidden beneath a load Christmas sing-along LPs at the local thrift store; originally, I was getting it because the cover looked great (I decorate with album covers) and it was only $5. I had just gotten my new turntable needle in after a long wait, and was excited to use it. I liked Skynyrd well enough, but still don't count myself a 'true fan'. I just really like collecting records.
I put it on at home and went to make myself hot chocolate, and I could hear it start up. I was floored. This may not be one of the best-reviewed albums, but I absolutely love it to pieces. (I'm afraid I might wear it to pieces- it's been playing non-stop!) It's definitely an album you can just put on and not worry about deep meanings or hidden messages, and it's happy to be playing in the background, half-forgotten (except when you have to change it over). LP or CD, I do recommend this one. It's my 'sitting-down-reading-a-book-and-drinking-hot-chocolate' album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More like four and a half, really, April 25, 2008

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gimme Back My Bullets (Audio CD)

"Bullets", Lynyrd Skynyrd's fourth album, wasn't a great succes back in 1976. And many reviewers, professional and amateur, apparently consider it the original Skynyrd ensemble's "least great" album. Generic. Uninspired. Mediocre.
Not me, though. I think it's a wonderful, varied collection of songs, hard rockers, melodic slow and mid-tempo grooves, and effective ballads...better than "Street Survivors" and better, certainly, than "Nuthin' Fancy" as well.

I love the clanging pianos and the crunchy riffs, and with the exception of "Searching", which I've never really learned to love, I don't see a single clunker here. "Double Trouble" is a bit too predictable, but everything else is top-notch. "Trust" and the title track in particulat provide some tough, riff-driven hard rock, and songs like "Cry For The Bad Man" and J.J. Cale's "The Same Old Blues" groove along on a great combination of effective riffs and a supple rhythm section. Slower tunes like "Every Mother's Son" and the semi-acoustic country ballad "All I Can Do Is Write About It" are equally excellent, and "Every Mother's Son" in particular provide a terrific showcase for the talents of singer Ronnie van Zant.

You may well argue that a few of these songs seem more powerful and vibrant on the live "On More From The Road", which was recorded during the tour that Skynyrd undertook in support of "Bullets". And some live versions of "The Same Old Blues" do indeed outshine this one as well. But the songs certainly don't suck here either, and the two bonus tracks, previously unreleased live recordings of "Gimme Back My Bullets" and "Cry For The Bad Man", are a welcome addition, even if the live version of title track can't match the version found on "One More From The Road". The live "Bad Man" makes up for it.

Don't let negative or mediocre reviews scare you away from this album (and don't pay any attention to the otherwise excellent Allmusic guide either). Give it a try. There is a lot to love here.