''Gimme Back My Bullets'' is the fourth studio album by American

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

band

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, released on February 2, 1976. Produced by

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

, it reached number 20 on the U.S. albums chart and was certified gold on January 20, 1981, by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Critical reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said the title track had "a sinewy, guitar-heavy number sound the group is most comfortable with," and said that "the beat is reminiscent of

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

and rocks with a stormy aggression."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

, who gave the album a positive review, stated: "Ronnie Van Zant may intend those bullets for 'pencil pushers' (which means not only me but you, I'll bet) but that's no reason to shoot him down. In fact, it's just the opposite—his attraction has always been the way he gets his unreconstructed say. Unfortunately, the music could use some Yankee calculation—from Al Kooper of Forest Hills, who I figure was good for two hooks per album, and Ed King of New Jersey, the guitarist turned born-againer whose guitar fills carried a lot more zing than three doodooing Honnicutts."Robert Christgau: CG: Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Track listing

* Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on CD reissues. *Tracks 10 and 11 are previously unreleased *Tracks 10 and 14 originally released on the '' Lynyrd Skynyrd (Box Set)'' (1991) *Track 15 originally released on '' Skynyrd's Innyrds'' (1989) *Track 11 is previously unreleased *All tracks recorded live for ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

'' on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television on November 11, 1975.

Personnel

;Lynyrd Skynyrd *

Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the founding lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the cu ...

– lead vocals, lyrics *

Gary Rossington Gary Robert Rossington (December 4, 1951 – March 5, 2023) was an American musician best known as a founding guitarist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, with whom he performed until his death. Rossington was also a founding member of the ...

– guitars *

Allen Collins Larkin Allen Collins Jr. (July 19, 1952 – January 23, 1990) was an American guitarist, and one of the founding members of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with frontman and original lead singer Ronni ...

– guitars *

Leon Wilkeson Leon Russell Wilkeson (April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001) was an American musician. He was the bassist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001. Early life Born on April 2, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island, but rai ...

– bass, background vocals *

Artimus Pyle Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle (born July 15, 1948) is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

– drums, percussion *

Billy Powell William Norris Powell (June 3, 1952 – January 28, 2009) was an American musician and the keyboardist of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2009. Biography Early life Powell was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He gr ...

– keyboards ;Additional personnel *The Honeycuts – background vocals ("Double Trouble", "Cry for the Bad Man") *The Honkettes – background vocals (on bonus live tracks) *Lee Freeman – harp ("I Got the Same Old Blues") *Barry Lee Harwood – dobro, mandolin ("All I Can Do Is Write About It")

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums Albums produced by Tom Dowd Lynyrd Skynyrd albums MCA Records albums