Whether you agree with everything he says, you've got to love a guy as unapologetically politically incorrect as Ted Nugent. Nugent may be one of the most outrageously outspoken anti-liberal, pro-gun, pro-hunting nuts you have ever known, but the man can make a Gibson Byrdland scream like no other. Heaven help you if he deems you anti-gun or unpatriotic, for you will be branded a bleeding-heart liberal by such aptly named gems as "Kiss My Ass" - but I ask you to turn the other cheek so that you may be able to appreciate all of the righteous cock-rock anthems such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Wang, Dang, Sweet Poontang" that were given to us by this man they call the Motor City Madman.
Ted Nugent was an integral part of my teenage Kiss, Aerosmith, and Ozzy worshipping phase. He had a magnificent run of albums in the mid-70's beginning with his debut solo album Ted Nugent in 1975, and culminating three albums later with the ferocious Double Live Gonzo in 1978. Things started to go downhill from there though, as his bandmates began deserting him one by one, and the album sales started to dry up. After a fairly successful two-album stint in the supergroup Damn Yankees with Styx' Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger's Jack Blades in the early-90's, Nugent returned to his roots in 1995 with the excellent Spirit Of The Wild, thanks to some help from his old 1970's singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes. He has been touring relentlessly with renewed passion ever since.
Full Bluntal Nugity Live features an August 21, 2001 concert performance in Nugent's home town of Detroit, Michigan. Nugent is backed by and impressive rhythm section of Marco Mendoza on bass, and young drum wizard, and fellow Detroit native, Tommy Clufetos behind the skins. The show begins in typically outrageous Ted Nugent fashion, with him taking the stage straddling a massive buffalo. That's right, riding a giant, drooling BUFFALO, as the crowd nearly looses its minds. He then straps on his equally giant signature Gibson Byrdland guitar and proceeds to tear into the State Of Shock classic "Paralyzed". Hold on.
The main feature is not a continuous concert but a mixture of live performances and a variety of behind the scenes stuff, including backstage and rehearsal footage, hunting expeditions, and target practice with the band, as they showcase terrible Ted's impressive arsenal of weapons. The highlight of these clips is from Nugent's manager's wedding in 2002, where he fulfilled a promise to play a "nugified" blues set. Nugent is dressed conservatively with his hair pulled back in a pony-tail, armed with a Gibson Les Paul, and he proceeds to tear the house down. Nugent should definitely take a stab at a blues-rock album, a la Gary Moore, as this short performance was phenomenal.
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