Ted Nugent: Ted Nugent 1975 + Double Live Gonzo! 1978

 

Theodore Anthony Nugent (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional vocalist of The Amboy

Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock.
The first lineup of the Amboy Dukes played at The Cellar, a teen dance club outside of Chicago in Arlington Heights, Illinois, starting in late 1965, while Nugent was a student at St. Viator High School. The Cellar's "house band" at the time had been the Shadows of Knight, although the Amboy Dukes eventually became a staple until the club's closing.
                          

After dissolving the band, he embarked on a successful solo career. His first three solo albums, Ted Nugent (1975), Free-for-All (1976) and Cat Scratch Fever (1977), were certified multi-platinum in the

United States. His latest album, Detroit Muscle, was released in 2022. Throughout his lengthy career, the Motor City Madman has reveled in the controversy and criticism that always seem to follow in his path -- his pro-right-wing beliefs and pro-gun advocacy have caused condemnation from his detractors -- but his wildman persona and knack for penning arena rock anthems made him one of the biggest rock stars of the late '70s and early '80s.
                      

Emerging in the 1960s with the psych-rock combo the Amboy Dukes, who scored big in 1968 with the single "Journey to the Center of the Mind," Nugent eventually went solo, issuing multi-platinum

albums like Cat Scratch Fever and Double Live Gonzo! Nugent is known for his use of the Gibson Byrdland, his bluesy and frenzied guitar playing, and his energetic live shows. Despite possessing a distinctive, wide-ranging singing voice, Nugent recorded and toured with other lead singers during much of his early solo career, including Derek St. Holmes, Charlie Huhn, Brian Howe and Meat Loaf, only taking on full lead vocal duties later on.
                

His biggest hit was 1977's "Cat Scratch Fever", on which he sang the lead vocals. In the late 1980s and

early 1990s, he was part of the supergroup Damn Yankees. In 2023, he embarked a farewell tour known as the "Adios Mofo Tour". Nugent suffers from hearing loss.[78] He said in a 2007 interview: "The ear's not too good, especially with background noise, but that's a small price to pay. Believe me the journey was worth it."
                

On April 19, 2021, Nugent announced on Facebook that he had tested positive for COVID-19, which he

referred to as the "Chinese shit". He said, "I thought I was dying ... I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days."
                  

TED NUGENT - TED NUGENT 1975

                 

After disintegrating the Amboy Dukes in the early '70s, Ted Nugent finally decided to strike out on his own as a solo star. Even without a recording contract, Nugent toured constantly, built up a fervent

following, and created a smoking hard rock quartet with the help of singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, bassist Rob Grange, and drummer Cliff Davies. The band's first release, 1975's Ted Nugent, is a prime slice of testosterone-heavy, raging, unapologetic rock & roll, and along with the band's 1977 release Cat Scratch Fever, it is Nugent's best solo studio album.
                       

While the grinding opening track, "Stranglehold," stretches beyond eight minutes and contains several

extended, fiery-hot guitar leads, it does not come off as your typical '70s overindulgent fare -- every single note counts, as Nugent wails away as if his life depended on it. Other Nuge classics include "Motor City Madhouse," plus the St. Holmes-sung "Hey Baby" and "Just What the Doctor Ordered," all eventually becoming arena staples and making the band one of the late-'70s top concert draws.
                

Additional highlights are the unexpected breezy jazz ballad "You Make Me Feel Right at Home," plus

the untamed rockers "Stormtroopin'" and "Queen of the Forest." Nugent himself hails Ted Nugent as his best work, and with good reason. It's an essential hard rock classic.
                      

Ted Nugent – Ted Nugent
Label: Epic – EK 65914, Legacy – EK 65914
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Bonus Tracks 1999
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock

TRACKS

              

01. Stranglehold    8:24
02. Stormtroopin'    3:10
03. Hey Baby  Written-By – Derek St. Holmes   4:02
04. Just What The Doctor Ordered    3:46
05. Snakeskin Cowboys    4:34
06. Motor City Madhouse    4:33
07. Where Have You Been All My Life    4:04
08. You Make Me Feel Right At Home    2:56
09. Queen Of The Forest    3:45

BONUS TRACKS RECORDED LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH ODEON, LONDON , 1977    

10. Stormtroopin'    6:36
11. Just What The Doctor Ordered    4:52
12. Motor City Madhouse    8:38

PREVIOUSLY ONLY AVAILABLE ON "OUT OF CONTROL"      

13. Magic Party (Outtake)    2:56

LINE - UP

Bass – Rob Grange
Drums, Vibraphone [Vibes], Vocals – Cliff Davies
Guitar, Vocals, Percussion – Ted Nugent
Keyboards – Steve McRay
Percussion – Brian Staffeld, Tom Werman
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Derek St. Holmes

Flac Size: 414 MB

DOUBLE LIVE GONZO! 1978

                    

As exciting as they were, Ted Nugent's first three albums lacked the sonic punch in the gut of his

outrageous live performances, something readily proved by 1978's classic Double Live Gonzo! Both Nugent and his band are in top form, yielding a fierce performance of their numerous mid-'70s classics. Mega-hit "Cat Scratch Fever" makes an obligatory appearance, but it's the songs from Nugent's self-titled debut which truly stand out.
             

"Just What the Doctor Ordered" is damn near perfect, and the band really clicks on extended jams

through "Motor City Madhouse" and the fantastic "Stranglehold." A consummate showman, Nugent also unleashes a number of hilarious, motormouth stage raps on "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" before offering the definitive version of his early classic "Great White Buffalo." In the year of the live album (1978), this one's about as good as they come.
             

Ted Nugent – Double Live Gonzo!
Label: Rock Candy – CANDY014
Series: Collector's Edition Remastered & Reloaded
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2006
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Hard Rock, Classic Rock

DISC 1.

              

01. Just What The Doctor Ordered    5:26
02. Yank Me, Crank Me    4:29
03. Gonzo    4:00
04. Baby, Please Don't Go    5:55
05. Great White Buffalo    6:21
06. Hibernation    16:55

Flac Size: 257 MB

DISC 2

              

01. Stormtroopin'    8:43
02. Stranglehold    11:11
03. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang    6:19
04. Cat Scratch Fever    4:50
05. Motor City Madhouse    10:35

Flac Size: 242 MB

LINE - UP

Cliff Davies
Derek St. Holmes
Rob Grange
Ted Nugent

NOTES

Tracks 1-1, 2-3, 2-4 recorded at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville July 1977.
Track 2-1 recorded at Seattle Center Coliseum August 1977.
Track 1-6 recorded at San Antonio Convention Center July 1976.
Tracks 1-5, 2-5 recorded in Dallas July 1976.
Track 2-2 recorded at Civic Center-Springfield, Mass. June 1976.
Track 1-3 recorded at Joe Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio November 1977.
Tracks 1-2, 1-4 recorded at Taylor County Coliseum, Abilene, Texas November 1977.

The Amboy Dukes on Urban Aspirines HERE