Reviewed:
- Ted Nugent (1975)
- Cat Scratch Fever (1977)
- Love Grenade (2007)
TED NUGENT 1975 (Epic)
- Standouts: Everything.
Ted Nugent aka Uncle Ted, aka the Motor City Madman is one controversial dude. Not necessarily for his music as such (except maybe 'Jailbait'...), mainly because of his outspoken political views. Unlike a lot of musicians, he's very much a big-time conservative, absolutely loves guns, bows and hunting, and is a huge supporter of the US military and it's veterans. Just to clarify, I'm a Brit, I don't live in the US (although I have visited many parts of the States over the years and mostly I love the country), so I don't really support or condone his views. I've seen interviews with him on YouTube and I think he makes valid points and seems like he knows his shit, but at the same time, I wouldn't say I was either for or against him because I don't live in the US. I don't know if I'd be liberal or conservative unless I actually lived there.
What I can support and enjoy however, is his music! I've always loved Ted's guitar playing ever since I first heard 'Cat Scratch Fever' in my early teens. It was one of those songs that helped cement my interest in rock music. I never really bothered to actually buy any of his records until much later though. A few months ago (February 2020, just before all the crazy Coronavirus crisis happened) I finally said "fuck it", splashed out on a new record player and decided to start really collecting vinyl. I always loved the songs 'Stranglehold' and 'Stormtroopin'', both of which are found on this album, Ted's debut, so obviously I checked out eBay and found a Japanese pressing of the record from the 70's, in very good condition. Gotta have that. Always loved the album cover too, so this is currently one of the centrepieces of my small, but growing vinyl collection.
Whatever you think of him, this is a great, hard-rockin' slab of guitar-driven ROCK that only an American band in the 1970's could come out with. Don't get me wrong, there are countless amazing rock albums to have been released my side of the pond in the 70's, but the US rock scene in the 70's had their own unique sound; I can tell instantly that this is an American band performing, if you get what I mean. 'Stranglehold' is simply an outstanding and lengthy jam that is just too cool for school (sorry for that lame saying, but it is). This is the kind of song that boxers or MMA fighters should walk out too. Ted's soloing goes on and on during the mid-section, but in the best way possible. It almost sounds like you're listening to a live album. 'Stormtroopin'', continues the ass-kickin', but is more up-tempo. And catchy! Songs like 'Motor City Madhouse', 'Queen of the Forest', 'Just What the Doctor Ordered' and 'Where Have You Been All My Life' are just feel-good hard rockers with more excellent guitar mastery from the Nuge. Derek St. Holmes was a perfect vocalist for the music too. 'Hey Baby' has a blues rock kind of style. 'You Make Me Feel Right At Home' is the only track that really takes a break from the hard rock, early heavy metal style however. This song is a little more subdued but still fits in very well among the rest of the tracklisting.
For some reason, I used to rate albums in a less-precise way before I wrote this review. My scoring system used to go up by 0.5 - no in between - so I originally almost gave this album a 9.5/10. Every time I listen to this thing I just can't find much to complain about. The production is raw, but only in the sense that it sounds live at times - and on an album that's as pure and rocks like this, that's never a bad thing. There isn't a huge amount of variety in the songwriting save for the clearly different styles of 'Hey Baby' and 'You Make Me Feel Right At Home', but every song still comes off as memorable. For these reasons, I think Ted's debut is one of the better straight-up hard rock/metal albums to come out of America in the 70's. But a 9.5/10 just seems too generous to me (while a 9/10 seems too low), and that's why I changed my rating system to what it is now.
Whether or not you agree with him politically, any self-proclaimed rocker owes it to themselves to give this a listen at least once. Hell, just buy it!
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
CAT SCRATCH FEVER 1977 (Epic)
- Standouts: 'Cat Scratch Fever', 'Wang Dang Sweet Poontang', 'Death by Misadventure', 'Live It Up', 'Home Bound', 'Workin' Hard, Playin' Hard', 'Out of Control'
'Cat Scratch Fever' is one of those tunes that's engrained in my head because back when I first started getting into the world of rock n' roll, it was featured on one of those generic rock compilations. You know the sort - the one's that contain all the usual stuff like Meat Loaf's 'Bat Out of Hell', Steppenwolf's 'Born to Be Wild', Sabbath's 'Paranoid', Boston's 'More Than a Feeling' etc.. 'Cat Scratch Fever' was a standout for me, yet I didn't actually own any Ted Nugent albums until way after I left school. Guess I just never got 'round to actively seeking any of his stuff out back then.
Anyhow, the title track is an absolute classic heavy rocker whether you like it or not, as is 'Wang Dang Sweet Poontang'. The lyrics are so fucking stupid on this one, they'd make even Spinal Tap blush (well, vocalist Derek St. Holmes' name inspired Michael McKean to name his character David St. Hubbins, so Ted Nugent clearly played some role in the inspiration of Spinal Tap...). The upbeat music on the other hand, is stupidly fun. You can't exactly go into a Ted Nugent record without expecting at least a handful of un-PC numbers. 'Death by Misadventure' is great too - it has a very southern rock feel, and Ted plays some crazy picking speeds in his solo (for the time at least). I really dig 'Live It Up' too; it has a very infectious, foot-tappin' rhythm throughout. I suppose you could call this tune a little poppier than the previous rockers, but it's definitely a standout for me. 'Home Bound' has nice melodic guitar leads written all over it; in fact, it's an instrumental showcasing Ted's awesome playing. I think because a lot of people disagree with his outspoken political views these days, they tend to overlook his music. Shame, because ol' Nuge was one of the best American guitar players during the 70's, in my opinion of course.
'Workin' Hard, Playin' Hard' is a blazing fast rocker - again, the guitar playing is wicked. 'Sweet Sally' is another up-tempo number that's short and sweet, while 'A Thousand Knives' has more of a radio-friendly rock sound, and more melody. The last two tracks, 'Fist Fightin' Son of a Gun' and 'Out of Control' keep the fun going. And that's what this album is - fun, heavy, good-time heavy rock. It's not particularly smart (...'Wang Dang Sweet Poontang'...), but it doesn't need to be. Cat Scratch Fever is a very strong hard rock album from the 70's. The second half is a tad weaker than the first, but you've gotta admit that the album never loses steam, even if there's a couple of songs here and there that aren't perfect. I don't like it as much as I do the debut, but it's certainly not far off.
Adam's rating: 8.8/10
LOVE GRENADE 2007 (Eagle)
- Standouts: 'Still Raising Hell', 'Spirit of the Buffalo'
Love him or hate him, Ted is still a focused man who believes in what he's doing. This is the only album I've heard from the Nuge to have come out in the last 20 years, and it's obvious he isn't writing music to the same quality as he was in the 70's. But that's not to say his music is still 'bad'. He's an old man now, so it's understandable - and given his age, he's still rocking hard and still has way more energy than average pensioner that's for sure. Love Grenade is a dumb record lyrically - almost on the verge of self-parody that borders on Spinal Tap levels of stupidity. The title says it all. When you open the jewel case you can see the original, uncensored cover depicting a tied-up woman on a platter with a grenade in her mouth - doesn't that remind you of This Is Spinal Tap and Smell the Glove?! And of course, the album is full of dumb innuendos... I'm not quite sure what was going through the Nuge's head at this point. It's like he just took all the lyrical themes of his old material and cranked it up 100%. So yeah, this is a really fucking stupid album in terms of the majority of it's lyrics and the album art.
Thankfully, the actual music on this disc is good overall. Ted's guitar playing is always enjoyable, especially on songs like 'Still Raising Hell', 'Geronimo and Me' and the title song. I like the speed metal of 'Funk U' (another seriously stupid song title). 'Spirit of the Buffalo' is a solid ballad. I quite like the bluesy sleaziness of 'Lay With Me' too. However, I can't say that the album comes anywhere near the greatness of his early records, even musically speaking. I've gotta give him credit for the energy he plays his songs, and of course, his guitar playing is still kick-ass for the most part, but there's just something about those 70's works with Derek St. Holmes on vocals that made those albums so special. Maybe they were just great products of their time? The production is quite slick on Love Grenade too, and it doesn't really fit the whole Nugent agenda. Love Grenade is listenable, but doesn't hold a candle to his past self.
Adam's rating: 5.7/10, maybe 6/10 on a good day.
Thankfully, the actual music on this disc is good overall. Ted's guitar playing is always enjoyable, especially on songs like 'Still Raising Hell', 'Geronimo and Me' and the title song. I like the speed metal of 'Funk U' (another seriously stupid song title). 'Spirit of the Buffalo' is a solid ballad. I quite like the bluesy sleaziness of 'Lay With Me' too. However, I can't say that the album comes anywhere near the greatness of his early records, even musically speaking. I've gotta give him credit for the energy he plays his songs, and of course, his guitar playing is still kick-ass for the most part, but there's just something about those 70's works with Derek St. Holmes on vocals that made those albums so special. Maybe they were just great products of their time? The production is quite slick on Love Grenade too, and it doesn't really fit the whole Nugent agenda. Love Grenade is listenable, but doesn't hold a candle to his past self.
Adam's rating: 5.7/10, maybe 6/10 on a good day.
