State of Shock closed a decade in which Nugent took his hard-rocking wildman persona to the top of the charts.
Although the album reached the U.S. Top 20 and quickly went gold, it remains the first Nugent solo album not to attain platinum certification.
The best known track remains the album opener "Paralyzed", which was performed live on a 1980 episode of the TV show Fridays, and turned up again a year later on Great Gonzos!: The Best of Ted Nugent. Other highlights include "Saddle Sore" and "Alone," a rare "power ballad" for him, sung by Charlie Huhn.
Don't know if Tom Werman is considered a production genius, but this in-house hair architect helmed some of the sharpest recordings in the catalogs of Cheap Trick, Mötley Crüe, and the Producers.
He also varnished Ted Nugent's three-and-a-half stadium stompers per album and added enough subtle seasonings to the remaining roadkill to construct a consistent record while the MC Madman ran off to the stage or the woods.
In 1979, Nugent's face graced a pinball game, but behind the bells and lights, he still needed the studio support of Werman on State of Shock to make the predictable pieces fit.
The terrible one uses and abuses the same formula every outing, so nothing unexpected is expected. But drummer Cliff Davies takes over Werman's boards completely, and the crisp cutout sound starkly exposes recycled riffs and bloozy boredom.
The terrible one uses and abuses the same formula every outing, so nothing unexpected is expected. But drummer Cliff Davies takes over Werman's boards completely, and the crisp cutout sound starkly exposes recycled riffs and bloozy boredom.
Nuge's brush with the Beatles pops out, but hints of his '80s dearth creep among too many fair-to-middling grooves, some of which, in Nuge's tender terms, "Bite Down Hard." Course some erudite scholars justifiably claim State of Shock sizzles with the true Ted Nugent, no longer disinfected for the airwaves. Granted, "Paralyzed," "Snake Charmer," and "It Don't Matter" are electrifying, with razor-sharp guitar, but these afternoon buzzers would sound better at the next Nugent show, fired off with his other silver-tippers.
Most rock music of the late '70s attained a dreamy level of sophistication where the listeners put on gargantuan headphones just to be closer to the music, regardless of the lyrics, but no need for phones here. State of Shock is only half-cocked and ended Nugent's platinum period.
Next time out he produces himself, and then keyboards hunt down the Nuge.
Side one
1. Paralyzed - 4:09
2. Take It Or Leave It - 4:07
3. Alone - 5:20
4. It Don’t Matter - 3:08
5. State Of Shock - 3:22
Side two
1. I Want to Tell You - 4:52
2. Satisfied - 5:49
3. Bite Down Hard - 3:21
4. Snake Charmer - 3:19
5. Saddle Sore - 3:16
Next time out he produces himself, and then keyboards hunt down the Nuge.
Side one
1. Paralyzed - 4:09
2. Take It Or Leave It - 4:07
3. Alone - 5:20
4. It Don’t Matter - 3:08
5. State Of Shock - 3:22
Side two
1. I Want to Tell You - 4:52
2. Satisfied - 5:49
3. Bite Down Hard - 3:21
4. Snake Charmer - 3:19
5. Saddle Sore - 3:16
- Band members
- Ted Nugent – lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals, percussion
- Charlie Huhn – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
- Walt Monaghan – bass guitar
- Cliff Davies – drums, backing vocals, producer
- Additional musicians
- Leah Kilburn – backing vocals
- Production
- Lew Futterman – producer
- Tim Geelan – engineer
- David Gotlieb, Lou Schlossberg – assistant engineers
- David McCullough – mixing assistant
- Bob Heimall – art direction
- Gerard Huertia – lettering
- Ron Pownall – photography
- David Krebs, Steve Leber – directors
Notes
Release: 1979
Format: LP
Genre: Hardrock
Label: Epic Records
Catalog# EPC 83646
Vinyl: Users Tracks on tracks A2-A3 (still playable)
Cover: Good
Prijs: €5,00
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