Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent

THE REVIEW

In 1948, in Detroit, one of the perhaps less frequently mentioned guitarists by today's metal and rock fans was born, yet undoubtedly one of the greatest and most consistent across the panorama: Ted Nugent. A wild and very "western" boy if there ever was one, Ted started playing guitar at the age of eight. He would continue, indeed... His discography boasts 29 (29!!) recorded albums (not all under the Ted Nugent group; the first ones were with the Amboy Dukes) between 1967 and 1997, leading him to over 30 million copies sold and the title of the world's number one Guitar Showman.

But let's return to the album. Ted Nugent, after the disbandment of the Dukes, released his first solo album in 1975, marking the true start of an incredible career. A spectacular product in its contents, Ted Nugent is a hard rock album with rather unique characteristics, in which various subcurrents of Rock and more blend excellently. Dirty yet adrenaline-filled guitar riffs merge with pure Sabbath school riffs (with a difference in the musical scales used) and also very melodic and extremely clean parts blended with pure Rock 'n' Roll, Hard, blues snippets, jazz, and much more. This is possible not only due to the quartet's undeniable technical preparation (composed of Cliff Davies on drums, Rob Grange on bass, Derek St. Holmes on guitar and vocals, perhaps a bit questionable, and Ted himself on the other guitar, certainly not questionable), but also thanks to an uncommon passion and compositional vein that the combo surely did not lack. But enough talk, let's let the nine songs flow through the nearly 40 minutes of the album.

This spectacular debut opens with the mighty " Stranglehold", a powerful mid-tempo over 8 minutes long, among the rawest and most genuine one might have. The opening riff is spectacular, very Sabbath-like though higher in tone (as is the song itself), yet the rest doesn't hold back. We have a true showcase of class and a great display of technical skill, from solos (particularly long ones), to scales, and everything else, a truly impeccable guitar hero's feat, all while maintaining that "dirty" side that's always welcome. The quality continues on the same tracks, but with much more liveliness and effervescence, in the following "Stormtroopin'". Here, too, the leading riff is masterful, less metallic than the preceding one but significantly quicker and perhaps even more enveloping. The voice is almost Ozzy-like in timbre, but less paranoid (if I may use the term), and overall, the instruments are quite subjugated by the main guitar (except for an excellent drum), which erupts in one of the best solos of the platter. Perhaps a little more variety within the piece wouldn't have hurt, but there's little to complain about. Completely different from the previous tracks is the third "Hey Baby". Here, we don't have much Hard Rock, but rather mid-tempo Rock 'n' Roll, with plenty of bluesy strokes and Midwest music. The result is truly dynamic and full of emotions, despite the apparent slowness. The instruments are very well balanced here and all clearly audible, which isn’t the case in "Stormtroopin'". In short, a very original way to break away from the path the album was taking, which it returns to with the masterful instrumental "Just What the Doctor Ordered". Both the initial riff and the six-string improvisations are amazing here, forming another blend of Hard & Rock 'n' Roll, with a riff that highlights a taken rhythm section, with the drums going wild. The song is also enhanced by a series of tempo changes that literally break the atmosphere from moment to moment.

The album returns to its Hard vein with the big riff of "Snakeskin Cowboys", perhaps my favorite song. As mentioned before, it starts with a very hard and scratchy attack but quickly becomes explosive, a real ear cleansing. Noteworthy are a special solo, the bass, which plays a crucial role in supporting the guitars, and the piano, which in the background brightens refrains that perhaps should have been stronger. But it's not over yet. No sooner do the notes of Snakeskin Cowboys leave our heads than we are hit by the charge of another hit, "Motor City Madhouse", presumably a tribute to the motor city, the home city of the platter’s leading guitarist. Just like Detroit, this Motor City Madhouse is frenetic, pyrotechnic, and "crazy," but nonetheless captivating. What we need to recover from such frenzy is a more peaceful song, and here we are, satisfied. Well... not quite, since the life of "Where Have You Been all My Life" isn't exactly roses and flowers in terms of tranquility. This high-quality mid-tempo alternates between truly mouth-watering riffs and more melodic segments, yet... despite its energy, this track has the power to relax, which doesn’t seem possible when you first listen to it. We’re on increasingly slower musical times, and this trend continues with the slow, semi-jazz, and particular "You Make me Feel right at home". Opened by a good drum, it continues on quite relaxing tracks, with tranquil and extremely melodic music (the Midwest and southern scents expand incredibly here) overlaid by a flood of words with the virtue of being perfectly comprehensible despite the speed at which they’re pronounced. Surely an interesting mix, just as interesting and excellent is the closer of an album that remains splendid and tension-free from start to finish. The closer is named "Queen of the Forest" and, passing the acid test, is a decided summary of Ted Nugent's (both album and author) best traits: liveliness, incredible technique, feeling, unpredictability, all encapsulated in three and a half minutes.

Truly speechless, actually, one phrase remains: don't miss out on this guitarist, much less on this album of his, it’s pure history.