Ted Nugent - Shutup&Jam!

Ted Nugent

Shutup&Jam!

by Marcus Kemp at 25 July 2014, 4:34 PM

If you know your Classic Rock then you will certainly know who TED NUGENT is as ever since the late 50’s, he has been out there on the road performing music but it wasn’t until the mid-70’s that he embarked on a solo career. Now, after a 7 year gap since his last release “Love Grenade”, he is back with a brand new album entitled “Shutup&Jam!” which was released on Frontiers Records. For me, that is a great choice to make as Frontiers Records are one of the best labels in Rock music and they have helped to release some amazing material by musical greats such as JEFF SCOTT SOTO, W.E.T., HARDLINE, ECLIPSE and WORK OF ART  to name a few.

It’s also refreshing for me to get something different to review as lately I’ve been reviewing a lot of mediocre stuff in genres that do not really appeal to me so it’s refreshing to get some Classic Rock to review. So, is this an album that was worth a 7 year wait or should TED NUGENT have quit after his last album? That’s what I am to find out in this review.

Originally from Redford, Michigan, The Nuge has been rocking strong and has performed with a few bands including THE AMBOY DUKES, DAMN YANKEES and DAMNOCRACY and in 1975, he released his first debut self-titled solo album and since then, he has walked down the path of a solo artist. Over that time, he has released a number of albums and has recorded a lot of well-known songs in his career including “Cat Scratch Fever” which admittedly is the only TED NUGENT song I know.

One thing I will say about TED NUGENT is that he may be in his mid-60’s but he does still know how to rock but then there are a lot of Classic Rock bands like AC/DC and AEROSMITH who are in the same age group as TED NUGENT and are still rocking strong today in this day and age. The Nuge takes over lead vocal duties for most of the songs on this CD but hands over the mic to his rhythm guitarist DEREK ST.HOLMES for the song “Everything Matters” and brings in a special guest in the form of SAMMY HAGAR of MONTROSE, CHICKENFOOT and VAN HALEN fame to sing on the track “She’s Gone”.

One thing that most Classic Rock bands know how to do these days is show that you are never too old to rock and that is the case here with The Nuge as there is plenty of energy to be had here while keeping the trademark Classic Rock sound allowing the listener to hear every note in the music enabling them to enjoy it in the process. Judging by the lyrics in some of the songs, you get the impression that TED NUGENT loves being an American especially in the songs “I Still Believe” and “I Love My BBQ” which is not a bad thing of course as if you are proud of your nationality then by all means sing about it.

From the opening title track “Shutup&Jam!” to the closing track which is a blues-y version of “Never Stop Believing” to the shredding instrumental “Throttledown”, TED NUGENT still knows how to rock even at his old age and here he proves that you are never too old to rock and have some fun.