Uncle Ted is back with a new platter of high testosterone hard rock for Frontiers Records, titled Shutup&Jam!. That title is pretty indicative of just how much guitar power can be found throughout this album, easily one of his strongest releases in years. Much of his political & social rantings are kept to a minimum, leaving space for good old rock & roll songs that highlight Nugent's blistering guitar work. Back in the fold once again is vocalist/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, which is surely a step in the right direction, though he's here on this album in limited fashion, only singing lead vocals on the bluesy hard rock cut "Everything Matters". Hopefully we'll get to hear more from him on the next release, but concert goers will certainly be thrilled to see him on stage alongside the Nuge on the tour for this album. Rounding out the band here are bassist Greg Smith and drummer 'Wild' Mick Brown (Dokken). Plenty of sweaty hard rockers to be found throughout, including the raucous title track, "Fer Itself", "I Still Believe", the hilarious "I Love My BBQ", the crunchy, riff-o-rama driven "Throttledown", and the snarling "Semper Fi", each one jacked with enough mean, nasty Nugent riffing & soloing to fuel an airplane. The most satisfying song though is "She's Gone", a driving, bluesy hard rocker that featured guest vocals from Sammy Hagar dueling it out with Ted. It's catchy, it's heavy, and it's fun.
As with much of the Ted Nugent repertoire, most of the songs are pretty short and compact, lyrically pretty simple and silly, but in the end quite fun. It's the guitar playing that drives most to a Ted Nugent record, and he doesn't disappoint here one bit. Vocally, it's Nugent, so depending on your opinion of his singing style will ultimately decide how much mileage you will get out of this album. I'm sure most would have loved to hear more St. Holmes on this album, but Ted sounds decent on most of these songs, and in the end it's all about the guitar work, so this one's a winner in my view.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Shutup&Jam! 2:53
2. Fear Itself 4:40
3. Everything Matters 3:19
4. She's Gone 2:58
5. Never Stop Believing 6:10
6. I Still Believe 3:43 3
7. I Love My Bbq 2:51
8. Throttledown 2:52
9. Do-Rags and A .45 2:12
10. Screaming Eagles 2:52
11. Semper Fi 2:36
12. Trample the Weak Hurdle the Dead 3:27
13. Never Stop Believing (Blues) 6:14
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