Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping (1974)

Lynyrd Skynyrd released their second studio album, "Second Helping," on April 15, 1974. The album was recorded at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, while "Sweet Home Alabama" was recorded at Studio One in Georgia. Al Kooper is the producer.

By Martin Johannessen

Al Kooper was a big name in the music industry both as an artist and a producer. He had worked with artists like Bob Dylan and The Who, and released his own works. Al Kooper produced the first three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums before Tom Dowd took over.

Al Kooper really appreciated the band: "They're the real thing. The Rolling Stones can carry on and dance around and have Southern accents, but these are the real thing. These boys have a shack in the middle of the Florida swamps and in their spare time they chase alligators and go fishing for catfish."

Al Kooper also arranged for Lynyrd Skynyrd to tour with The Who. So when they went into the studio to record their second album, they had become quite big. And they were to become even bigger.

"We just went out with guns ablaze. We wanted to blow the doors off. In some places, Skynyrd went down better than the Who," said keyboardist Billy Powell: "We were just a band that played clubs, teen dens, and pubs. Then, all of a sudden, we were playing in stadiums for 30,000 people. ... We’d have shots of whiskey every night ’cause we were so scared."

The Hits

With the mega-hit "Sweet Home Alabama," the band became a big name in the USA. The song reached the 8th place on the charts, and the album reached the 12th place. "Free Bird" from their debut album was also a huge success, but it wasn't released as a single until November 1974.

However, it was "Don't Ask Me No Questions" that was the first single released this time, one of the absolute coolest songs on an album full of cool songs. In hindsight, perhaps "Sweet Home Alabama" is the least exciting song?

Watch "Don't Ask Me No Questions" from Winterland in San Francisco 1975 below.

Triple Guitar Attack
The band had a tragically short career, and their lifestyle was tough, perhaps too tough: "I know I won't be doing this forever. I can't keep on screaming like this much longer," said Ronnie Van Zant.

In the 1970s in the USA, there was a lot of glam and glitter. But Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't need that to break through the glitz and stage smoke. Their music spoke its own loud language.

"In those days it was the Alice Coopers and KISSes and all the makeup. That’s who was making it. We were kinda real. We wore blue jeans and T-shirts. Our music was our gimmick," says Gary Rossington.

This is where the band's "triple guitar attack" came into its own. They received criticism for not being as sophisticated and professional as the Allman Brothers Band. But I bet those who got to experience their marathon concerts didn't care much about that.

And the Critics said...

The band received mixed reviews. Creem Magazine wrote: "Still a substantial, tasteful band, but I have a hunch they blew their best stuff on the first platter."

In Rolling Stone, Gordon Fletcher wrote that Lynyrd Skynyrd performs a consistent style of Southern music-influenced blues rock similar to the Allman Brothers Band, but lacks their "sophistication and professionalism. If a song doesn't feel right to the Brothers, they work on it until it does; if it isn't right to Lynyrd Skynyrd, they are more likely to crank up their amps and blast their way through the bottleneck."

In my ears "Second Helping" is a very solid album that has aged very well. "Workin' for MCA" is a solid classic! Give it a spin today!