September 1975 - Ted Nugent and Ted Nugent

Another new artist joins my library in Septmber of 1975 as Ted Nugent released his debut solo album "Ted Nugent", the only album I have by him. But who is Ted Nugent? Well nowadays he's a huge asshole and idiot (probably always was) but he was also a pretty good guitarist from Redford, Michigan who became famous with The Amboy Dukes. Ted quit the band to go solo and brought with him bassist Rob Grange. Joining his new band would also be drummer Cliff Davies and lead singer/rhythm guitarist Derek St. Holmes. I really don't like Ted Nugent as a person, or musician for that matter, but this album is worth a listen, so let's give it one!

The album begins with "Stranglehold" and Ted starts it off with a rolling guitar riff that sounds pretty good and Grange's bass sounds cool as well. We hear St. Holmes vocals for the first time and he has a high voice that seems to fit this rock and roll style well. Nugent plays some nice licks between verses and delivers a pretty good solo after the second verse. Everyone else gets quiet as Grange's bass line continues, setting the stage for an extended solo by Ted. He plays slow, he plays fast, he plays a lot of great stuff in this solo and it all flows together really nicely. It briefly turns into a marching beat in a new cool part and Nugent plays a nasty sounding slide on guitar. St. Holmes "come on" lyrics bring it back to the main riff after a pretty sweet solo as they play one final verse. It's not over yet though as Ted has a bit more showing off to do in a solid rock and roll flourish ending. A fantastic way to kick off the album, well done! Up next is "Stormtroopin'" and Nugent plays a catchy guitar riff that carries this short song as St. Holmes singing in the verse sounds alright. The chorus is pretty boring though as it just repeats itself with no emotion at all. After a second verse and chorus we hear a pretty decent guitar solo by Ted that certainly spices things up. This song is nothing to brag about, but again the guitar is good enough to keep you interested. Track 3 is called "Hey Baby" and is carried by a groovy bass line as well as some cool guest keyboards and this song sounds almost like a Lynyrd Skynyrd song with it's hoppin' southern beat. St. Holmes style fits this kind of rock song really well and Nugent plays some cool guitar overtop. We hear another guitar solo that sounds pretty great as the man can reel off some sweet stuff. They jam out to the main riff one last time in this pretty cool song. The side ends with "Just What The Doctor Ordered" which is carried by a decent, but not amazing guitar riff and some cool drumming by Davies. St. Holmes singing is not that great in this one as he gets "an overdose of rock and roll". Not from this song he didn't! Ted goes off for his customary solo but I think it's easily his worst one so far. This song isn't bad, it's just really average. The main riff becomes pretty stale but Nugent does go off for some cool stuff at the end. Aside from this song, I thought this first side was pretty good.

Side two begins with "Snakeskin Cowboys" which opens with a slow, epic guitar riff by Nugent. St. Holmes singing is pretty average again and nothing is really jumping out in the first couple minutes. Ted's guitar solo is alright but nothing special as that sums up this whole song pretty well. The next song is "Motor City Madhouse" and Ted starts it off with a quick, cool guitar riff. Nugent sings lead vocals on this song and his voice isn't that great, he should probably stick to guitar. The lyrics are about Detroit which wasn't far from where Nugent grew up. His guitar playing is way better than his singing as he does offer up some good licks in this one. The guitar solo in this one is pretty good and he plays a short true solo towards the end that is sweet before a rock and roll flourish ending. I think St. Holmes would have sung it better but the guitar was much better on this one. Track 7 is "Where Have You Been All My Life" and Ted opens it with some cool licks as St. Holmes is back on lead vocals. He sings this rock love song fairly well as Ted keeps things interesting with lots of cool little bits. This song has a nice beat to it and while the singing gets a little old, the guitar is cool the whole way through. Up next is "You Make Me Feel Right At Home" as Davies opens this one with a short drum solo and he also sings lead vocals on this song! His voice is alright, but again I think St. Holmes probably would have done a better job. Nugent and Grange play some decent guitar and bass but it's the guest keyboards that are the highlight of this rock love song that's much softer than the last one. Another decent, but not really good song. The final track is "Queen Of The Forest" as St. Holmes returns on lead vocals and even though his high voice isn't my favourite, he's the best singer in this band. Ted carries the song with another catchy guitar riff and we hear another pretty bland chorus. Nugent follows that with a cool guitar solo and this song has a pretty rockin' beat to it. After another verse and chorus they finish the song and album off with one final flourish ending.

That is the end of "Ted Nugent" and overall I think it was an OK album but nothing to really rave about. "Stranglehold" is the best song by far, and there's lots of cool guitar throughout but none of the other songs are spectacular. I like this album enough to keep it in the library, but it remains my only music by Ted Nugent. This month has lots more in store, it won't be long until the next album. See you then!