Review Summary: Uncle Ted's finest hour
By 1977 Ted Nugent was finished with his band The Amboy Dukes and was already having success with his solo band. After releasing 1975's self titled debut and 1976's Free-For-All, Ted Nugent and his band went into the studio to record his band's next album. The next album, Cat Scratch Fever, would be a critical and commercial success. This album is a great start for anyone looking to get into Ted Nugent's music.
The album opens up with two classic Ted Nugent tracks, Cat Scratch Fever and Wang Dang Sweet Poontang. Cat Scratch Fever is a song that is frequently played on the radio, and is usually hailed as the greatest Ted Nugent song along with Stranglehold. It is about a man who cannot control himself nor the women he has sex with. It has an iconic guitar riff that will be remembered forever and is played with so much soul as Ted says. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang is about... well you can kinda guess what its about. It has a fast riff and fast vocals and a good solo. This is a live staple for Ted's band, but not on the radio that often because of its lyrical content as far as I know.
Death By Misadventure is about the death of former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones. This is an underrated song in Ted's catalogue, and again has another great guitar solo. Live It Up is another song that is played quite often live and is about living life to the fullest. Homebound is just a great instrumental with a catchy guitar melody. This song sounds patriotic, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was intended to knowing how patriotic and out spoken Ted is about the United States.
Workin' Hard, Playin' Hard kind of sounds like a continuation from Homebound with a similar guitar melody and is another underrated track. It is the longest song on the album and the only one that is over five minutes in length. Sweet Sally starts off with some fast guitar playing. One of Ted Nugent's influences was Chuck Berry, and you can really hear the influence in Sweet Sally and in Fist Fightin' Son of a Gun.
This is where the album starts to go down hill a little bit. A Thousand Knives has a catchy chorus. This is still a good track but not quite as good as the first half of the album. Fist Fightin' Son of a Gun sounds like a lame filler track, and Out of Control is a forgettable ending to the album.
All these songs have great guitar solos in them. Whether you love or hate Ted Nugent, you cannot deny that he is one hell of a guitarist. Now I know he has a massive ego and thinks he is the greatest of all time but I think he is better than people think. In my opinion he is criminally underrated and has a great catalogue of music. All his albums from the 70's are essential rock albums. If you are looking to get into his music I would recommend his self titled debut or this album.
Track by Track:
1. Cat Scratch Fever 5/5 *
2. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang 5/5 *
3. Death By Misadventure 4/5
4. Live It Up 4.5/5 *
5. Homebound 4.5/5 *
6. Workin' Hard, Playin' Hard 4.5/5 *
7. Sweet Sally 4/5
8. A Thousand Knives 3.5/5
9. Fist Fightin' Son of a Gun 3/5
10. Out of Control 3/5
* = Recommended tracks
Derek St. Holmes - rhythm guitar, lead vocals arrangements and backing vocals
Ted Nugent - lead and rhythm guitar, vocals, percussion
Rob Grange - bass guitar, vocals, arrangements
Cliff Davies - drums, backing vocals, arrangements producer
This is my first review, any feedback will be appreciated
