Anthology of the Wild Man from Detroit
J. E FELL | Carterville, Illinois United States | 06/24/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a 2 cd set of Ted Nugent's work. It is primarily from 1975-1980. It contains a few tracks from his work with the Amboy Dukes. It also includes some unissued live and studio tracks and alternate takes. Ted is the master of high energy in your face guitar bombast. This set includes all the major hits including his two early hits "Baby Please Don't Go", and "Journey To The Center Of Your Mind" with the Amboy Dukes. If you enjoy this period buy youself a copy of "Loaded For Bear" the new anthology of his work with the Amboy Dukes. I was disappointed that the instrumental "Hibernation" was not included from this time period. His best solo work commenced with his self-titled debut album. The band at this point also included Derek St. Holmes on vocals and second guitar. St. Holmes vocals provide a good contrast with Nugent's more gruff style. His band was weakened considerably after Nugent fired St. Holmes in the mid seventies. Great songs from this period which appear are "Stranglehold", "Stormtroopin", "Just What The Doctor Ordered", "Motor City Madhouse", "Free-For-All", and "Cat Scratch Fever". His second solo album features a young Meatloaf on some of the vocals. This compilation contains 5 cuts from his best known album "Cat Scratch Fever". Two cuts from his excellent "Double Live Gonzo" are included as well as two unissued live cuts from this era. I wish more live tracks were included because his live album translates his energy to vinyl better than his studio efforts. I was disappointed that only two tracks from the "State Of Shock" album were included. In my opinion this is his best solo album he made after firing St. Holmes. Tracks such as "Take It Or Leave It", "It Don't Matter", and "Bite Down Hard" have memorable hooks but were left off the compilation. "A couple other tracks I wish were included are "Gonzo", "Death By Misadventure", "Smokescreen", and "Hard As Nails". His biggest hit from this late seventies period "Wango Tango" is included. This is the most comprehensive Ted Nugent compilation available, and the unissued tracks make it a necessity for fans of this period. I also recommend the "Live At Hammersmith '79" disc. It is another high energy concert document which contains live versions of some songs that do not appear on this compilation or his "Double Live Gonzo" album."
Beautiful Collection for any Rock Fan
Mike | "The Rough Suburbs of" Minneapolis, Minnesota | 06/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the best box sets that I've ever heard. The Nuge puts together some new tracks, the best of his old tracks, and a few live ones. The only bad thing about this CD would have to be the sound quality because it's very quiet. If you're a Nugent fan, you require this cd. If you're not, I would buy it anyway because it has a variety of sounds and subjects. You can listen to these songs pretty much anywhere. Ted tears through each song with his Gibson Byrdland guitar with so much passion and energy. Through his guitar-strewn mayhem lies some of the most incredible and entertaining songs ever. It's great to have. Now that I have heard it, I feel musically deprived without it."
Awesome collection from uncle Ted, the motor city madman
Wiseguy 945 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 11/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ted nugent was a wild man, outspoken and full of opinions, but also an inspited guitar/song writer now for 4 decades of rock transendign generations. This is a collection of his best solo stuff, studio and live, and is a must have for ted fans. If you're looking for the Damn Yankees though, not gonna find it here. All you'll find is the classic kick bottom rock that made Ted, not the bad hair rock stuff he flaunted with (although Ted kicked its behind as well). Thank you Ted for not surcombing to those demons, and this set is his offering to the rock gods, and something we get to enjoy."