Nuthin' Fancy


Nuthin' Fancy is the third studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in March 1975. It was their first to reach the top 10, peaking at number 9 on the U.S. album chart. It was certified gold on June 27, 1975, and platinum on July 21, 1987, by the RIAA. This was the band's first record with new drummer Artimus Pyle. In late May 1975, guitarist Ed King left the band in the middle of their "Torture Tour." The album is best known for its only single, "Saturday Night Special," a song about the dangers of acting impulsively, that peaked at #27 on the U.S. Billboard chart.

Critical reception

gave the album a positive review, stating: "On the one hand, two or three cuts here sound like heavy-metal-under-funk--check out 'Saturday Night Special,' a real killer. But on the other, Ronnie Van Zant has never deployed his limited, husky baritone with such subtlety. Where Gregg Allman is always straight, shuttling his voice between languor and high emotion, Van Zant feints and dodges, sly one moment and sleepy the next, turning boastful or indignant or admonitory with the barest shifts in timbre. I mean, dumb he ain't."

Track listing

  • Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–8 on CD reissues.
  • Tracks 9 and 10 are previously unreleased

    Personnel

Personnel taken from Nuthin' Fancy liner notes.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Additional personnel
  • Al Kooper – Moog synthesizers on "Saturday Night Special", organ on "Cheatin' Woman" and "Railroad Song", backing vocals on "Railroad Song", "Am I Losin'" and "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller", percussion on "I'm a Country Boy", piano on "Made in the Shade"
  • Jimmy Hall – harmonica on "Railroad Song" and "Made in the Shade"
  • Bobbye Hall – percussion on "Railroad Song" and "On the Hunt"
  • Barry Harwood – mandolin and Dobro on "Made in the Shade"
  • David Foster – piano on "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller"
Production

Certifications