Ted Nugent-Love Grenade

Eagle
2007

Originally I was going to do Deep Purple's House of the blue light today, but time constraints made me have to do a switch. So that will be next week and Ted's new one will be today while it is fresh in my mind. The Nuge's real prime was from about 1975-1980 excluding a large chunk of the inconsistant "Freeforall" album in 1976. Since then he has largely been hit and miss with the misses coming from trying too hard for commercial success. Even the hit albums have been different from that early sound I enjoyed so much. He has remained a decent draw due to his big mouth and reputation of being a great live performer. Now it appears that for the first time since 1980's "Scream Dream" that the Nuge actually has a really solid guitar rock album to support on his tour. I think that Ted doesn't always get the respect he deserves as a guitarist. Although perhaps not the greatest technical player, he certainly has his own distinct style and many guitarists do not. Ted has a very flowing style when he hits and he really hits it in fine fashion on his new album. The lyrics are the same old cheese about women, guns and the Nuge's political views as they are. However the music hasn't been nearly this alive in far too many years. There are moments where the songs fall into being typical, but largely there's plenty slabs of great big riffs and the Nuge's consistantly amuzing vocals. I remember back in the early 1990's listening to a bunch of Ted Nugent's early albums on my turntable and wishing he woudl return to that style. Well, it's been far too long and it may only be a partial return, but Love Grenade is an enjoyable album.

The Nuge's site is here.
http://www.tednugent.com/