Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to show signs of wear on their fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets.
The band had switched producers, hiring Tom Dowd, the producer who served Atlantic's roster so well during the label's heyday.
Unfortunately, he wasn't perfectly suited for Skynyrd, at least at this point in their history.
The group had toured regularly since the release of their debut and it showed, not just in their performance, but in the songwriting of Ronnie Van Zant, who had been so consistent through their first three albums.
Not to say that he was spent -- the title track was as defiant as "All I Can Do Is Write About It" was affecting, while "Searching" was a good ballad and "Double Trouble" was a good rocker.
These songs, however, were surrounded by songs that leaned to the dull side of generic (unlike those on Nuthin' Fancy) and Dowd's production didn't inject energy into the group's performances.
This doesn't mean Gimme Back My Bullets is a bad record, since the group was still in fairly good shape and they had some fine songs, but coming after three dynamite albums, it was undoubtedly a disappointment -- so much so that it still sounds like a disappointment years later, even though it's one of only a handful of records by the original band.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gimme Back My BulletsAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | TrustAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | I Got the Same Old BluesJ.J. Cale | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Double TroubleAllen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | Roll Gypsy RollAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | SearchingAllen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Cry for the Bad ManAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | All I Can Do Is Write About ItAllen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Gimme Back My BulletsAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 10 | Cry for the Bad ManAllen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 11 | Every Mother' Son | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:58 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 12 | Gimme Back My Bullets (Live) | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 13 MB |
| 13 | Cry for the Bad Man (Live) | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 18 MB |
| 53 mins | 122 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 316 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moshe Brakha | Photography |
| 2 | J.J. Cale | Composer |
| 3 | Allen Collins | Composer, Guitar |
| 4 | Tom Dowd | Producer |
| 5 | Lee Freeman | Harp |
| 6 | Barry Harwood | Dobro, Mandolin |
| 7 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Andy McKaie | Reissue Coordination |
| 9 | Ron O'Brien | Liner Notes, Photo Research, Reissue Producer |
| 10 | George Osaki | Art Direction |
| 11 | Junie Osaki | Reissue Design |
| 12 | Billy Powell | Clavinet, Keyboards, Organ, Piano |
| 13 | Artimus Pyle | Drums, Percussion, Tambourine |
| 14 | Gary Rossington | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Slide Guitar |
| 15 | Doug Schwartz | Assembly, Audio Restoration, Remastering, Remixing |
| 16 | Beth Stempel | Reissue Coordination |
| 17 | Ronnie Van Zant | Composer, Vocals |
| 18 | Leon Wilkeson | Bass, Fender Rhodes, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |