Ted Nugent - Six Reissues, No Bonuses

Eagle Rock Entertainment has remastered some of Ted Nugent’s master tapes but without any bonus material added. The only thing new is sleeve notes from Billboard’s Gary Graff and some comments from Ted. The six reissues are Nugent (1982), Penetrator (1984), Little Miss Dangerous (1986), If You Can’t Lick ‘Em ... Lick ‘Em (1988), Spirit Of The Wild (1995) and Full Bluntal Nugity, recorded live on New Year’s Eve in 2000.

Ted finds himself with a mixed sound that’s, for the most part, true to his previous records -- hints of AC/DC and elements not far from the Doobie Brothers. This album featured the lead vocals of Derek St. Holmes alongside Ted’s lead vocals. Holmes' vocals were perhaps a little more radio friendly. The album could’ve used a little more bottom end when it was remastsred, as the sound is not really as deep or rich as it could’ve been. Don’t get me wrong, the songs still stand up pretty well after 20+ years.

“No, No, No” is strong rocking stuff and “Bound and Gagged” has you wondering if Ted is shouting in defiance of the government, or of all the terrorist activities that he’s constantly shouting about not taking, and hitting back hard. Good old Ted “G.I. Joe” Nugent here! “Habitual Offender” -- well, we know Ted is anti-drugs so I’m sure you know he’s talking about something else here!

“Fightin’ Words” is true Ted style, likewise “Good and Ready,” which is almost the little brother to “Cat Scratch Fever” in its sound and structure. “Ebony” seems like a nod towards Thin Lizzy’s twin harmony guitar solo sound in parts, but is generally a laid back pop song, certainly by Ted’s standards anyway.

The rock ’n’ roll groove of “Don’t Push Me” is a fun run, perhaps paying tribute to Ted’s ‘50s rock heroes. “Can’t Stop Me Now” takes a southern rock turn that’s very enjoyable. “We’re Gonna Rock Tonight” is a strong blues rock jam. Album closer “Tailgunner” pretty much revisits where Ted went with “Stranglehold” and is, no doubt, close to the hearts of many of his fans.

This is one Ted may rather put behind him, due to its huge commerciality and heavy use of keyboards that was so typical of ‘80s rock. This album also features Brian Howe on lead vocals. After this release Howe replaced Paul Rodgers in Bad Company for four albums before going solo.

“Tied Up In Love” starts with a killer wailing guitar from Ted, and Howe makes his mark with a great lead vocal on a hook-driven song with a very catchy chorus. “(Where Do You) Draw The Line” is just as catchy, and introduces the prominent keyboards.

“Knockin’ At Your Door” has Ted riffing away and Howe delivering a great vocal, interspersed with synthesizer stabs. “Don’t You Want My Love” continues the contagious hook-lined partnership. “Go Down Fighting” has the sound that Howe brought to Bad Company -- typical ‘80s melodic hard rock with very catchy lyrics.

“Thunder Thighs” starts with a very funky bass line then launches into an all out assault. “No Man’s Land” is an average track. While you’ll never forget the title of the song (because it’s repeated so many times) it really doesn’t grab you. Howe steps back into the vocal limelight for “Blame It On The Night,” whose synth stabs really make album sound dated

Ted takes over again, singing about being a “lean mean, rock and roll machine, motor city rocker” with that little cheesiness that he loves to throw in from time to time. (You always entertain Mr. Nugent, no question about it!)

“Take Me Home” really does nothing for me. It’s a kind of laid back wannabe Lynyrd Skynyrd mellow groove, but it’s just not there.

Brian Howe had moved on, so Ted had formed a new partnership with Dave Amato playing guitar and sharing lead vocal duties. Dave had worked with Black Oak Arkansas, Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes and Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) among others before later joining REO Speedwagon.

The album starts great with the infectious “High Heels in Motion,” a killer track that show that Amato is another excellent lead vocalist! “Strangers” is SO ‘80s with its synthesized sound it could have you thinking it’s Loverboy, Billy Squier, Bon Jovi or an edgier Toto. Not very Nugent-like at all, very pop/rock-like.

The title track has Ted singing with a different style, more akin to, say, Simple Minds than a normal Nugent sound. But you’d never hear a guitar riff from Simple Minds laid down like this one! “Savage Dancer” is also very pop/rock-like, but then with killer riffing throughout which makes you think Ted agreed with the direction, so long as he could wail away! “Crazy Ladies” is pretty intense compared to anything else here.

“When Your Body Talks” is so much like Loverboy it’s freaky, especially since this is a Ted Nugent album …I think! Ted’s interpretation of “My Little Red Book” is punchy and, frankly, a little strange.

“Take Me Away” has Amato back on lead vocals, and it makes me wonder if Kevin Cronin in REO was to step aside sometime to let Dave sing lead, they might grab a little more success again. It’s Ted again with “Angry Young Man” -- a good rockin’ track, but with that inescapable ‘80s sound. “Painkiller” is an upbeat, hard rocking, over the top ZZ Top type track.

“Can’t Live With ‘Em" is kind of a run of the mill rock song and not a classic opener. “She Drives Me Crazy” has some excellent lead guitar playing, but again sounds pretty average overall. The title track almost sounds like “Stranglehold” revisited and, to be honest, gets old after a while. Sadly, the prominent thing here is the electronic drum sound.

With “Skintight” things again get a little repetitive, and this may be why this was Amato’s last album with Nugent. It’s a hard rocking number, but really goes nowhere. It seems clear that Ted wanted to take the vocal helm on this album, but with Derek St. Holmes, Brian Howe and Dave Amato taking lead on previous releases, there was an added element that I believe helped those albums hit a wider crowd.

“Funlover” shows Ted showing off some Steve Vai or Eddie VanHalen type licks, but otherwise it’s a nothing special track. The highlight for me is the short harmony guitar solo. “Spread Your Wings” is kind of nice (if you can say that about a Nugent track!) It slows things down and has a thoughtful lyric. In “The Harder They Come (The Harder I Get)” -- gee, I wonder what he means? -- is a hard rocking blues rock track.

“Separate The Men From The Boys, Please” really makes me wonder how much input Amato had in this release compared with the last one. It’s straight Ted. Nothing much new here, but it still jams! Then back to old Ted style in “Bite The Hand.”

It seems the tail end of the album picks things up a little with "The Story of Love." The chorus is Bon Jovi-like for hook line, but without the massive choruses.