Today we have Lynyrd Skynyrd's third studio album Nuthin' Fancy. Released in 1975, the album was the last from the band to be produced by Al Kooper, who discovered the band. They parted ways after Kooper was unhappy with the band's lack of preparation for the recording of the album, which only took 17 days.
It's apparent they weren't as successful at it this time around--Ronnie probably wouldn't have come off as snobbish on "I'm a Country Boy" if he did a few more takes--but it seems that a considerable amount of their success comes from the band's execution of the songs and their ability to make riffs hypnotic, build texture with tuneful solos, and squeeze everything out of the song they can. They do that here though the songwriting is also a step down and "On the Hunt" veers too closely to heavy metal. But this is not a disappointment: "Railroad Song" and "Saturday Night Special" are great rockers and "Am I Losin'" and "Made in the Shade" prove they're still both tasteful and substantive. B+ [Later: B]
