My review of this classic tape went live on the Ripple Effect today -

http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... -1975.html

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1975 was a weird year for rock. There were new releases from behemoths like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd but overall things were getting a little soft. People were mellowing out and wearing a lot of brown corduroy. But not Ted Nugent. In 1975 he decided to put The Amboy Dukes to rest, pull up a loincloth and unleashed his self titled debut album, which stands tall as his best studio album.

Side one begins with the guitargasmic classic “Stranglehold.” This song has the power to cause Elvis Costello fans to whimper in fear as soon as the needle hits the monster groove of the opening riff. “Stranglehold” is Black Sabbath heavy mixed with pure Detroit R&B and delivers the knock out punch that the MC5 were unable to fully unleash on society. An 8 minute orgy of glorious Gibson Byrdland guitar tone, Electro Harmonix bass balls, backwards cymbals and revenge lyrics, “Stranglehold” contains everything you need when you absolutely, positively need to destroy every little thing in your room. And if there’s anything left to break when it’s over, the next song “Stormtroopin’” will guarantee that you finish the job in style. Containing another killer riff (partially lifted from Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour” and later used by Judas Priest in “Hell Bent For Leather”), “Stormtroopin’” contains some of Ted’s best playing. The break in the middle when Ted blazes over Cliff Davies very in-the-pocket drumming is pure rock & roll guitar playing at its very best.

After the onslaught of those 2 songs, the pace relaxes a little bit with “Hey Baby,” a loose boogie with powerful vocals from Derek St.Holmes. I guess a song like this was necessary so the chicks wouldn’t get too scared when you blast it in the car on the way to a keg party in the woods. But then it’s followed up with the fiendishly intense “Just What The Doctor Ordered.” There’s not much to say about this one other than it KICKS ASS!! This has always been one of my favorite songs to play when I take command of the stereo at some lame party. The opening guitar licks are a call to arms that it’s time to start rocking hard and I’m going to play the stereo louder than hell and I don’t care who doesn’t like it. “I found a cure for my body and soul, I got me an overdose of ROCK N ROLL!” Hell yeah I do!!

Side two is also great, but no real match for the perfection of side one. “Snakeskin Cowboys,” “Where Have You Been All My Life” and “Queen of the Forest” all rock pretty hard and the ballad “You Make Me Feel Right At Home” is decent. But the jewel of the side is without a doubt “Motor City Madhouse.” Derek does most of the singing on this album, but Ted’s the only one who could deliver the lyrics on this one. Yet another classic riff and steamhammer groove reminiscent of the MC5’s almighty “Skunk,” this a brain damage inducing noggin rocker. Somehow it sounds incomplete without the sound of breaking glass and M-80’s but not everything in life can be perfect. The 1999 CD remaster contains BLISTERING live versions of "Stormtroopin,'" "Just What the Doctor Ordered" and "Motor City Madhouse" from a show in London and a really lame studio song called “Magic Party” that should have remained unreleased.

Ted’s big mouth is a turn off for a lot of people, but most die hard rockers agree that his 1970’s output contains some of the most high octane music you will ever hear on this planet. In the mid-90’s I had the great pleasure of being invited to a conference room at Atlantic Records where Ted was going to play some of his new songs for the staff. It was after hours and most people were unenthusiastic so a friend asked me to be there because he knew I would be thrilled to meet him. Ted did not disappoint. He came running into the conference room screaming, waving an acoustic guitar around and called the hip NYC staffers “a bunch of pastrami eating motherfuckers.” In rapid fire succession he claimed to have invented the middle finger and short skirts. I believe him. The proof is right here on this album. PLAY LOUD.

--Woody

That album rules.

The earliest Grunge bands who were doing it right we're channeling this one.

In honor of this mint review I'm going to crank this one before I see you guys on Saturday night, Woody.

Bring a long rope so you can swing through the crowd in your loincloth while we're playing.

Do you think Ted would be pissed if I used a rope made of hemp?

Only if you smoked it after.

Chip off the old 'Madman' block! - Brooklyn restaurateur finds out he's the son of Ted Nugent

A Brooklyn restaurateur, adopted as a baby, was shocked to learn his biological father is none other than "Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent.

Bay Ridge native Ted Mann, 42, got the news about "The Nuge" in an October phone call from a sister he never knew he had. She had reached out to the adoption agency that placed him.

"I'm like, 'What!?'" laughed Mann, whose newest eatery is Cubana Social in Williamsburg. "It took me a little while to kind of breathe normal again - and not just sit in my house staring at YouTube videos of him running around like a crazy person."

Nugent, the "Cat Scratch Fever" rocker known for his pro-gun stance and a VH1 reality show where he made people build outhouses and skin a wild boar, immediately welcomed Mann into the family.

"His first words to me were 'Hello, son,'" Mann said. "Within an hour of knowing him, he said, 'Let's go shoot some guns.'"

Nugent had always been open with his other seven children about the fact that he'd given two kids - Mann and the sister who contacted him - up for adoption decades ago. Nugent has since told Mann a little bit about his biological mom, but Mann has yet to get in touch with her.

He said his adoptive mom, Mary Mann, is "the most amazing person ever" and has been supportive through the whole crazy experience.

The two Teds first bonded over an elk dinner at Nugent's Texas ranch, and Nugent has come to Brooklyn for a visit, according to the blog Brooklyn Based.

They're now planning a hunting trip, even though Mann's idea of a good time is going out to eat on the lower East Side.

"I've had a smile on my face for the past half a year," Mann said. "It's just been cool. He's kind of pumped up too."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... z1GKTk8SIV

I recently heard that story, too. Can't believe the Nuge was in Brooklyn recently.

I'm all about the 70s stuff, especially this one. And of course the double live "Gonzo"! My dad played me "Journey To The Center Of The Mind" when I was in high school and said "you know this is Ted Nugent?". All I knew was Damn Yankees and "Cat Scratch Fever". There was much more to be had. Found all his shit real cheap on vinyl, even a couple Dukes albums. Been a staple of my record collection since day one of owning a turntable.

In the 70's the Nuge ruled!!!!

This is one of those "almost perfect" albums for me.

That's a great review there, Woodrow. For me, the first three Ted Nugent albums are where it's at but the first is by far the best. Around Weekend Warriors, things started getting a bit weak, imo. Nothing has been really good since then, though I like the Total Bluntal Nugity album a lot which is a live thing from like ten years ago or something.

I don't like the Nuge's politics much and am kind of embarrassed that he's now a Texan (hey Ted, what was wrong with Michigan?) but I'll fess up that I dig his music a lot.

Does anyone remember Intensities In Ten Cities? I remember liking it but haven't heard it in over 20 years. Weekend Warriors has a few good songs but it's all downhill after that.

I not only remember it, I own it. It's got a few pretty good things on it but, for the most part, it's fairly "meh".

Side 1 of Intensities is great, Side 2 doesn't hold up (mainly for the pointless cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances"). I think Nugent only made two very good/great studio-albums, the S/T and "Tooth Fang & Claw". Everything else is spotty. His biggest achievement is "Double Live Gonzo". That even makes me forget his stupid latter-day-rants.

One word: \m/

Okay, that's not a word.

As luck would have it, I stumbled across LP-tapes of Weekend Warriors and Intensities in Ten Cities for $2 each. Intensities is pretty decent and the cover of Weekend Warriors is awesome so I'm glad to own it even though it's not that hot. All I need is a copy of State Of Shock and I'll have the entire 70's Nuge catalog on vinyls.

All I know is Stranglehold is one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time.

I'd been missing State Of Shock, found it for two bucks the other day. Actually has some of his most restrained playing, especially "Satisfied". I know a lot of people stop after Cat Scratch Fever, but this one rates. Also, it came out 35 years ago this month.

Love this record. My brother had it on eight track in his car when I was growing up. You Make me Feel Right At Home cracked me up as a ten year old. Queen of the Forest is the one that's been getting me recently.