Gimme Back My Bullets [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 3, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00000JNO2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,992 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	L. Lawhead "LSquared35" (SW Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, September 11, 2005

By	John Rodenhiser (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Excellent. This album was made after a bad period for Skynyrd when they were admittedly partying way too much most of the time. They knew it was time to get their act together and this was almost a comeback album from the wreckage of the past. Gimme back my bullets was a vailed reference to getting back on top in the music industry and a lot of effort went into this album. Great production value and sound quality, Skynyrd at thier best. This one is easily as good as Pronounced.