Selling more than 40 million albums, Ted Nugent is one of our best and brightest rock and roll characters. “Uncle Ted,” as he playfully calls himself, has been a member of the Amboy Dukes (“Journey to the Center of the Mind” was their big hit), a solo artist of such classics as “Stranglehold” and “Cat Scratch Fever,” and even a member of Damn Yankees who broke out MTV-style with the Top 10 hit “High Enough.” An outspoken political commentator, a hunter with a TV and radio show, a true persona on and off stage, Nugent is first and foremost a musician who has finally unleashed ShutUp&Jam!, his first new studio album in seven years. It is everything and more of what we have come to expect from the Nuge.
The no-nonsense title track, which opens the disc, features a telling-off lyric and lots of loud Ted Nugent guitar, while “Fear Itself” is a little more streamline, boasting a cool low bass line from Greg Smith and a sort of Cheap Trick feel to the bridge and chorus. “Everything Matters” sees Derek St. Holmes (he sang “Stranglehold) angling the verses with a solid blues groove and some very jazzy, clean guitar playing from Nugent behind. The guitarist had his buddy Sammy Hagar sing “She’s Gone,” a funky take of a famous Memphis blues progression called “Going Down” that everyone from Freddie King and the Jeff Beck Group to the Rolling Stones have covered. The next two are personal declarations from Nugent, knee-deep in patriotism and self-preservation. “Never Stop Believing” may be the most heartfelt song Nugent has ever recorded. Although he originally wanted St. Holmes to take the lead vocal, the guitarist was convinced he was the only who could do it justice with the proper feel and conviction. The slow blues version of the song that ends the CD reinforces the sentiment with a steadier, deeper vocal, accompanied by some of Nugent’s more elegant, studied guitar work. Meanwhile, the hard rocking “I Still Believe” is more autobiographical in nature, but unrestrained and raw in its execution.
“I Love My BBQ” has little to say beyond the guitarist’s love for killing and grilling, but you to have to this ZZ Top-sounding ditty. “Throttledown,” the album’s lone instrumental, truly lives up to its name as Nugent wails around a winding main riff with a halting, exploratory middle section reminiscent of the Amboy Dukes. You can’t go wrong with “Do-Rags And A .45,” classic Nugent with a good melody — almost like something plucked from the Dog Eat Dog sessions. “Screaming Eagles” takes a similar route, highlighted by Mick Brown’s precision drumming. Then there’s “Semper Fi,” in line with the Marine Corps motto and complete with a “hey now, hey now” backing vocal you can see an audience singing back during a show. It certainly is a lot more crowd-friendly than “Trample The Weak Hurdle The Dead.” At the end of the day, ShutUp&Jam! isn’t exactly breaking new ground, but it’s a rock-solid effort from a man we know so well that anything less abrasive and in-your-face simply wouldn’t fly.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
