‘Ted Nugent’ the album contains some of Ted’s signature classics, years later, Ted agrees that this is one of his best albums, and captures him at a great stage of his career.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Ted Nugent
ALBUM: Ted Nugent
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: WPE33692
YEAR: 1975
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Ted Nugent – lead guitars, vocals * Derek St Holmes – vocals, rhythm guitars * Rob Grange – bass * Cliff Davies – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Stranglehold * 02 Stormtroopin’ * 03 Hey Baby * 04 Just What The Doctor Ordered * 05 Snakeskin Cowboys * 06 Motor City Madhouse * 07 Where Have You Been All My Life * 08 You Make Me Feel Right At Home * 09 Queen Of The Forest
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
One cannot look too far into the year 1975 without at least acknowledging the first Ted Nugent solo album. Ted who is very well known around these parts, had up until this time, spent time as part of the Amboy Dukes, who formed in 1967 and went through many shuffles up until 1974.
There was an in-between period between 1970 and 1973, so you could effectively call it Amboy Dukes version 1 and version 2. The basis of Nugent’s early solo career was forged through the 1973-1974 period, where his persona as the ‘Tarzan of Arena Rock’ preceded him.
Albums such as ‘Call Of The Wild’ and ‘Tooth Fang And Claw’ laid the foundation for what was to come. By 1975, Nugent had dropped the Amboy Dukes name altogether, used his own name, signed to Epic Records, and bought in Derek St. Holmes, former Amboys bassist Rob Grange and drummer Cliff Davies to round out what would become a hard rockin’ quartet for the next three years.
The Songs
‘Ted Nugent’ the album contains some of Ted’s signature classics. The eight minute opener ‘Stranglehold’ is one of these, and was a guaranteed winner everytime it was played live. Listening to a track like ‘Stormtroopin’ you can easily see where a band like The Rods initially borrowed their musical stylings from.
‘Hey Baby’ offers an early 70’s boogie/blues workout, but it’s back to the frontline of rock with ‘Just What The Doctor Ordered’, complete with relentless guitar, both in terms of solid riffing and a stinging solo. Led Zeppelin fans would get a kick out of this one for sure.
‘Snakeskin Cowboy’ grooves and moves in that retro sound so prevalent during this era, while Cliff Davies drives a mean backbeat on the footstomping pedal to the metal rock of ‘Motor City Madhouse’. The chorus sounds kinda banal, but hey.. it’s Ted and it’s 1975! What else do you expect?
It doesn’t stop there. ‘Where Have You Been All My Life’ continues the hard ride, but the next track ‘You Make Me Feel Right At Home’ is the change-up song on the album, a mish-mash of a song with a hint of 60’s pop combined with an early 70’s urban vibe. We are returned to normal reception with the searing hard rock of ‘Queen Of The Forest’, a hot fuse finale that cauterizes this album to a fun-filled 38 minutes.
In Summary
Years later, Ted agrees that this is one of his best albums, and captures him at a great stage of his career. Certainly with his backing band with him up until 1978, this is arguably his best period in regards to his solo career. Since then, his career has gone through interesting changes, including an AOR induced period during the mid 80’s plus of course his work with Damn Yankees.
Of note is Ted’s stance on personal activities in his life that surely must make for an interesting read. Whether it be his stance against drugs, alcohol, drunk driving, or his pro stance on gun ownership and hunting, someone ought to get out there and write a book on the man! I’ll volunteer!! In the meantime, wind the clock back to 1975 and check out this long lost classic.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
