Customer Reviews

Nuthin' Fancy

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first started purchasing music back in the mid to late 80s, I bought my share of what Brian Henneman of The Bottle Rockets calls "welfare music". I never had much spending money as a teenager so to get as much music at a time as possible, I'd go to the K-Mart across town and root through the bargain cassette bin. The bin was a large metal basket filled with tapes piled several feet high, consisting mostly of country, southern rock, and oldies if I recall correctly. My southern rock collection benefited greatly from these trips to the bargain bin and I soon had my share of 4-dollar cassettes by the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.

One of the tapes I rescued from that bargain bin at K-Mart was Lynyrd Skynyrd's often overlooked classic, Nuthin' Fancy. With the exception of the opening cut, "Saturday Night Special", which made a bold stance against handguns and still gets played on classic rock radio today, Nuthin' Fancy is devoid of the hits that made Skynyrd popular outside the South. Instead, what you get is great music that refreshingly doesn't sound like it was created just to get played on the radio like the songs on many other 70s rock albums.

Stylistically, Nuthin' Fancy is all over the place. After the hard southern rock crunch of "Saturday Night Special", Ronnie gives one of his blues-iest vocal performances on "Cheatin' Woman". "Railroad Song" and "Made in the Shade" are fine slices of traditional American music, though they are probably my least favorite tunes on the album. "I'm a Country Boy" is a southern rock kiss-off to big city life, a common theme in Ronnie's lyrics over the years. "Am I Losin'" is a catchy mid-tempo song chronicling how Ronnie's relationships with some of his friends became strained once he started making lots of money. "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" is a barroom classic in which Ronnie boasts like a rapper about the female company awaiting him in every town including one special Memphis "queenie with long brown curly hair". Yes, lyrically it might put off some listeners, but "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" is still a damn catchy song. Probably my favorite song on "Nuthin Fancy", though, is "On the Hunt", the hardest song Skynyrd ever recorded. This song, which describes Ronnie's empathy for a groupie who regularly hangs out near his hotel, sounds metal enough that it wouldn't feel that out of place on Corrosion of Confomity's Deliverance album.

If Nuthin' Fancy was Skynyrd's only album, I'd give it 5 stars and move on, but since they set the standard so high with their previous albums, Nuthin Fancy rates `only' a very strong 4 stars. Still, if you enjoy their classic earlier albums, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd and Second Helping, you're almost surely going to like Nuthin Fancy too. It is damn sure impressive for an album that K-Mart considers 'welfare music'.

In a way this album is more a measure of Lynyrd Skynyrd than the previous 2 albums. It is my understanding that the songs on this record were not part of the initial catalogue the band developed (most of which can been heard on "Skynyrd's First"-good album). For this reason the album feels more like a blues album rather than a rock record. "Cheatin Woman" is a low-down blues song, complete with all the heart Ronnie Zan Vant could supply. "I'm a Country Boy" and "On the Hunt" are both strongly guitar-driven songs. "Am I Losin" may be the best song on the album which includes an excellent finish- features some nice acoustic guitar. "Made in the Shade" is a bluegrass number...you will find yourself singing it. If you liked "Mississippi Kid" off of PRONOUNCED you will like this song. "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" is a hell of a song and a top notch education in how to be a southern rambler (if you're interested). Basically don't underestimate the B-side, Skynyrd could write songs...even in a pinch. This album is no follow-up disappointment...give Skynyrd some credit.

Skynyrd did something very early on in their career that very few bands do. They released an AMAZING first album, and then followed it with a just as equally AMAZING second album (Pronounced, and Second Helping respectively.) With these two records the southern Skynyrd boys could have called it quits and still went down as legends, but fortunately MCA demanded more records.
Skynyrds third album NUTHIN FANCY, is not the absolute triumph that the first two albums were (perhaps the band recognized this when giving it the title?) but it ain't no waste of resource either.
It was 1975, and rock music was generally getting to be louder and louder all around. Hard rock bands were taking ques from the metal pioneers and cranking up the sound. This can easily be noticed on the opening track SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL and the albums first single ON THE HUNT. These songs lose a little of the heart felt personalities of the first records but are both completely pisser, and kept the band well seated at the front of the seventies Hard Rock board.
The rest of the album takes on a more down home southern style, than even the first two. Closer to an Allman Brothers feel than a Skynyrd feel, but again, this is not a bad thing. The bluesy ballad CHEATIN WOMAN is memorable, as is the moving, tonky, WHISKEY- ROCK-A-ROLLER. Other goods on this plate as well.
Some may say that this is nothing but an album of filler SKYNYRD stuff, but I can't agree with that. This is great stuff, just not as legendary as what preceeded it. Its classic rock music, from a classic rock band, its just that it prides itself in bein' NUTHIN FANCY.
I gave this one four and three fourth stars... but we can just say I gave it five.

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. 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. 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.

nuthin' fancy isn't one of skynyrd's most highly visible recordings, in terms of popularity, but it still ranks up there as one of their best. The sounds quality is excellent, one of the best out of all their studio albums, to be honest. The guitars are nice and crisp, Artimus' drums get wicked good treatment comapred to later showings, and Leon's bass even comes more to the forefront, showing what a good musician he is (many other of the band's recordings tend to shortchange him), just check out the clear bassline on cheatin woman, a really soulful song, with a nice drum ending as well. the great songs just abound. "Saturday Night Special" and "On The Hunt" are two really good riff-rockers, along with "Country Boy," which also has a strong pro-rural statement and Collins solo. "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller", one of their concert classics, shines too. And "made in the shade" shows the band try their hand at country style playing, with a good effect. All Skynyrd albums considered equal, which they pretty much are, Nuthin Fancy makes a good first Skynyrd album, right up there with Second Helping.

Nuthin' Fancy is the most underrated album Lynyrd Skynyrd ever made. I love every single song. They basically brought back the energy that was lacking from Second Helping and made sure to keep the songwriting abilities firmly intact as well. When you combine energy with good songwriting, and hardly any radio exposure (except for one song) you're left with a very underrated album.

"Saturday Night Special" is interesting to me because it shows the band bringing back the energy and excitement from something on the debut such as "Gimme Three Steps" and also featuring a rather odd, but very memorable, chorus.

Now, here's where it gets interesting- some people think that's the only song on the album worth listening to, but guess what? The next four songs are even BETTER than the opening song. The guitar playing on "Cheatin' Woman" rules, and the vocals are very good as well. "Railroad Song" should have been a hit, "I'm a Country Boy" almost reminds me of a southern rock version of Dire Straits, and "On the Hunt" is just a typical Lynyrd Skynyrd song, but I say that as a GOOD thing.

This is probably the best album Lynyrd Skynyrd ever made. Better than the debut, and much better than Second Helping. No filler in sight in my opinion. I wish more bands were this consistently enjoyable. A MUST own, even for people who might not dig southern rock a whole lot. It's truly an underrated album.

This is probably my personal favorite of all the Skynyrd studio albums. They just sound good. The combination of guitars, vocals, piano, the rock solid rhythm section, and the occasional Al Kooper backin vocal and keyboard work is simply amazing. Everything comes together for a bluesy southern flavored album. It's got a similar feeling and atmosphere to the Rolling Stones Exile On Mainstreet. The only problem with Nuthin Fancy is that there isn't enough of it. The album contains only 8 songs because Skynyrd was on the road constantly and had very little time to work on new material. Regardless, Nuthin Fancy is a great album. I recommend it to any fan of blues-rock music.

Even if you're a casual Skynny Fan and you've happened to overlook this album you are extremely lucky because you're in for a treat. It's like the blockbuster movie you never bothered to watch, then finally viewed it many years later and went, "WOW." I find myself listening to each track over and over till every note/lyric is etched in my soul. Like Ronnie once said, "There're things goin' on you don't know..." NUTHIN' FANCY'S one of them.

I've been a diehard Skynyrd fan since this album was originally released and it remains my favorite of their entire body of work. This version sounds great and the bonus tracks are a super addition. On top of everything, the price can't be beat!

The original Skynyrd line-up only recorded five studio albums and one live, so it's no surprise that each one of them has someone calling it Lynyrd Skynyrd's best album. Including this one.

"Nuthin' Fancy" isn't, though. It's good, but it's not great, at least not compared to, say, "Pronounced 'l'h-'nérd 'skin-'nérd". There are a couple of generic run-of-the-mill songs here, and too few of the really classy ones, but "Nuthin' Fancy" doesn't suck. The original Skynyrd line-up never made a bad album, and this one has a lot going for it.
It's somewhat more low-key than its two predecessors, but there is some rockin' and rollin' as well. The gritty "Saturday Night Special" is here, as is the stop-and-go riff-rocker "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller" and the mellow country-rock of "Am I Losin'", and the folkish acoustic "Made In The Shade" is certainly enjoyable as well. The slow, bluesy "Cheatin' Woman" sounds more like morose early "Free" than Skynyrd. It's not bad, nor is it terrific.

Songs like "Saturday Night Special" and "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller" admittedly sound better and more powerful on the live "One More From The Road", but the 1999 addition of two bonus tracks earns "Nuthin' Special" another half star...these live recodings of the otherwise relatively unremarkable "Railroad Song" and the riff-driven "On The Hunt" in particular are much grittier and more enjoyable than the studio versions.

All in all, "Nuthin' Fancy" isn't the way to start your Skynyrd collection, but it's one you'll want to pick up once you are hooked for sure. It's not fantastic, but it's enjoyable, and certainly good enough for some 3 1/2 stars.