Not a lotta rock n' rollers are proud NRA members, cross-bow hunters, high-profile carnivores, and big fans of George W. Bush. Ted Nugent is one, tho, and the famed "Motor City Madman" now lives in, ah, Crawford, Texas, as luck would have it. That doesn't mean he's down with W's immigration policy, however.

Young folks will have to forgive me here, but before he became a stadium-act hard rock guitar slinger, Ted Nugent (& the Amboy Dukes) purveyed some mighty fine 60s psychedelic rock.

Some day, if ya haven't yet, maybe you'll hear "Journey To The Center Of The Mind" ("Come along if you can.."...doot....doot-doot..doot-DOOOO) on some oldies station. But I betcha they'll never be playin' anything on commercial radio, or even alternative stations, from Ted's bizarre experimental album, "Marriage On The Rocks: Rock Bottom" (Polydor, 1969). Too bad, because there's some great, if often inchoate moments, for instance involving crazy jazz sax on "Inexhaustible Quest For The Cosmic Cabbage," faux Beach Boys shtick.....and a whole lot more, as you'll see in this detailed review. (If I was an idle Web slacker, I'd promise a podcast. Heh...some year, mebbe).

Anyway, Ted's been stickin' to more basic high-voltage rock n' roll for a few decades now. And he's done it well, by and large, even if admittedly I tuned him out after a great, 1979 concert at a racetrack in Rockford, Illinois marred only by his extremely coarse, woman-objectifying stage banter.

It's nice to know this red-meat Republican rocker is still live and kickin', and shootin' his rifle and cross-bow. For a big nutty yahoo, Ted's kinda nuanced. An alleged Vietnam draft dodger, he talks really tough on crime; hates PETA and hippies; yet raised $3 mill for PBS affiliates by sponsoring a special series of outdoors programs.

Nuge, what's past is past, and all in all, I'm glad - I think - that you're in my man W's corner.

But one suggestion, if I may: time for some shred-salsa fusion. Or some hard, border-rock, now that you're a Texan.

Shake it up again, hombre.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 22, 2005 11:34 PM

---

---