Gimme Back My Bullets
Other records from the late, great, and original Lynyrd Skynyrd were more barroom raw (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd), indelibly rocking (Second Helping), and radio-ready (Street Survivors), but none was as endearing and cohesive asGimme Back My Bullets). The 1975 LP, whose title referred not to ammunition, but to theBillboardterm "#1 with a bullet," found the normally three-fisted Florida guitar army one axe short. But it allowed Gary Rossington and Allen Collins to work more intuitively on the songwriting chores with vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, while providing room to groove in the process. The results, though underrated in the band's epic pre-crash catalog, sweep into rock ("Trust," Searching"), blues ("I Got the Same Old Blues"), folk ("Every Mother's Son"), and country ("All I Can Do Is Write About It"). This deluxe edition includes alternate takes and live cuts. It also includes a bonus DVD featuring seven songs from the band's November 1975 performance on the BBC'sOld Grey Whistle Test.The crystal-clear video shows Skynyrd in all their grandeur: raucous and polished, scorching and compassionate. And lights-out loud.--Scott Holter