Second Helping

Second Helping
Studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Released	April 15, 1974
Recorded	Record Plant Studios (Los Angeles, California, U.S.), January 1974 (except for track 1, Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, U.S., June 1973)
Genre	Southern rock, boogie rock, blues rock, country rock, hard rock
Length	37:15
Label	Sounds of the South, MCA
Producer	Al Kooper
Lynyrd Skynyrd chronology
(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) (1973) Second Helping (1974) Nuthin' Fancy (1975)
Singles from Second Helping
"Don't Ask Me No Questions" Released: April 1974 "Sweet Home Alabama" Released: June 24, 1974

Second Helping is a 1974 album by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was the band's second album, and featured its biggest hit single, "Sweet Home Alabama", an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man".^[1] The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1974. This was the first Lynyrd Skynyrd album to feature the band's trademark triple guitar attack and also the first album to feature Leon Wilkeson on bass and the last to feature Bob Burns on drums.

The album reached #12 on the Billboard album charts. It was certified Gold on 9/20/1974, Platinum and 2x Platinum on 7/21/1987 by the RIAA.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	A− link
Rolling Stone	(mixed) link

Track listing

Side one

1. "Sweet Home Alabama" (Ed King, Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant) – 4:43
2. "I Need You" (King, Rossington, Van Zant) – 6:55
3. "Don't Ask Me No Questions" (Rossington, Van Zant) – 3:26
4. "Workin' for MCA" (King, Van Zant) – 4:49

Side two

5. "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" (Allen Collins, Van Zant) – 4:51
6. "Swamp Music" (King, Van Zant) – 3:31
7. "The Needle and the Spoon" (Collins, Van Zant) – 3:53
8. "Call Me the Breeze" (J. J. Cale) – 5:09

1997 CD reissue bonus tracks

9. "Don't Ask Me No Questions" (Single Version) (Rossington, Van Zant) – 3:31
10. "Was I Right or Wrong" (Demo) (Rossington, Van Zant) – 5:33
11. "Take Your Time" (Demo) (King, Van Zant) – 7:29

• Tracks 9-11 are previously unreleased

Personnel

Lynyrd Skynyrd

• Ronnie Van Zant – lead vocals
• Gary Rossington – guitar
• Allen Collins – guitar
• Ed King – guitar, backing vocals, bass on "I Need You" and "Don't Ask Me No Questions"
• Billy Powell – keyboards
• Leon Wilkeson – bass, backing vocals
• Bob Burns – drums, except "I Need You"

Additional personnel

• Mike Porter – drums on "I Need You"
• Merry Clayton, Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews – background vocals on "Sweet Home Alabama"
• Bobby Keys, Trevor Lawrence and Steve Madaio – horns on "Don't Ask Me No Questions" and "Call Me the Breeze"
• Al Kooper – backing vocals, piano on "Don't Ask Me No Questions" and "The Ballad of Curtis Loew"

References

1. Back, Les (2000). "Voices of Hate, Sounds of Hybridity: Black Music and the Complexities of Racism". Black Music Research Journal. 20 (2): 142–143.