Tonight's Slab...NUGE!

Tonight I listened to one of the many records I pulled out of the dollar bin nearly 2 months ago. The main reason I purchased it was for the awesome album cover art. I also had just seen the "Behind the Music" special on the artist a week prior, and growing up in the far outer-rung of the Detroit Metro Area he is man known to all. The man we're talking about is Ted Nugent. The album? "Weekend Warriors."

Dude, his guitar is a gun! It's like he combined his two favorite things.

The active rock station I listened to during my formative years as a music fan, 101 WRIF out of Detroit, revered this man like he was a god. I heard many a dj refer to Ted by one of his many nicknames..."The Nuge," "Uncle Ted," "Uncle Tedley," "Motor City Madman," etc. His annual "Whiplash bash" concert was a big event, and every Friday at 5PM on the WRIF legendary dj Arthur P. would yell "IT'S THE WEEKEND!" and play the title track of the "Weekend Warriors" album. It was a track that personified the "working hard, playing hard" ethos of the blue-collar worker in the Detroit area. Hmm. I just remembered that the Nuge had a track on his "Cat Scratch Fever" album called "Workin' Hard, Playing Hard." Obviously this guy knows his stuff.

Anywho, I was only familiar with the title track of this album, and looked forward to discovering more of his catalog. This was Ted's first solo record without Derek St. Holmes on vocals, but Charles Huhn fills in and does a capable job. The lead off track, "Need You Bad," came thundering out of my speakers with a propulsive beat, sweet vocals, and blistering Nuge-style guitar. It just goes to show, some artists just aren't accurately represented by your average "best of" or "greatest hits" compilations. The deep cuts can be where the real gems are. His politics be damned, I really enjoy him as a musician, and think he is an amazing guitar player with a distinctive sound.