Authorized Bootleg: Live at Winterland - San Francisco Mar. 07 1976

by Stephen Thomas ErlewinePart of Universal's Authorized Bootleg series, this album captures a gig Lynyrd Skynyrd gave at the Winterland in San Francisco on March 7, 1976. Skynyrd were in the midst of supporting their fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets, and compared to its companion in the Authorized Bootleg series, which captures a concert four months earlier in Cardiff, Wales, this is a greasier set, even if the group has added backing vocals and synthesizers to its lineup. Despite these auxiliary players, the focus is where it always has been with Skynyrd live: gritty, funky backbeats and intertwined guitars that sometimes achieve moments of grace -- on "Tuesday's Gone" and the opening half of "Free Bird" -- but usually just kick up dust. While this isn't necessarily Skynyrd at their on-stage peak -- and the sound is just a little bit muffled -- it is very, very good and worth the time of any serious fan in need of a fix of the band at its near prime.