Regarding Ted Nugent's comments on 'The Osbournes'
An opinion by Richard Baines
Many months later, Ozzy fans are still raining hellfire upon Nugent for these comments. Many feel that Ted is jealous Ozzy's success with 'The Osbournes', since his own hunting program, 'Spirit Of The Wild' couldn't dream of attaining the same mass devotion. I myself had some choice words about Ted when his name was brought up on several newsgroups. And while I felt I hit the nail firmly on the head with my comments on Nugent, I must admit that I am humbled by the article below.
I received this extremely thorough and well written opinion piece from Richard Baines this evening. I felt that it was SO good, that I stopped reading my e-mail and got to work on proofreading it for publication! While a 'rant' about Ted Nugent might seem a little out of place on a Black Sabbath project site, I feel that it is the Ozzy connection here that makes it worthwhile to mention to my site readers. I respect Richard for giving Ted a fair shake in the beginning of his article before taking him apart piece by piece! Mr. Baines goes after Ted with the same sort of zeal that Nugent approaches his beloved hunting with. If you're gonna dish out, be prepared to take it!
And without further adieu, here is Richard's epic Nugent vs. Ozzy piece. Strap in kiddies, it's going to be a long, but interesting read!
-Rob Dwyer [12/11/2002]
In response to the “feedback” provided by Ted Nugent with regard to the Osbournes, I offer the following observations from the perspective of a forty three year old music fan who over the years, has attended multiple concerts and bought many albums by both Ted Nugent and Ozzy/ Black Sabbath.
From a career standpoint, Ozzy
and Black Sabbath are more influential, and hence more relevant than Ted Nugent
could ever hope to be. Nugent
peaked in the period between 1975 and 1978 when he was “in a band with” (I
hesitate to use the term “teamed with”) Derek St. Holmes, Rob Grange and
Cliff Davies. That lineup was the
pinnacle of his career musically, as well as from an album sales perspective.
When he crapped all over his band mates, they left him, and his albums
got worse and worse with each subsequent release.
Some may argue that Sabbath went downhill as well after a peak period.
Yes, but the difference is that you can still buy ALL the Sabbath and
Ozzy solo albums, most of which are still being carried on the racks in the
stores. Try finding Nugent’s
complete back catalog in the stores and you’ll mostly come up with the four
classic lineup releases, the greatest hits stuff, and the two-disk box set
maybe. The facts speak for
themselves: “Let the Music (sales) Do Tha’ Talkin…”
I have seen Ozzy three times as a solo artist, and once with Sabbath. I’ve seen Nugent at least five or six times, twice with the classic St. Holmes/Grange/Davies lineup. Nugent should have owned property in Nashville as many times as he played here years ago. I was at the 7/02/77 show at the Municipal Auditorium when three songs for the Double Live Gonzo album were recorded, (and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” was dedicated to “all that Nashville pussy.”) That particular concert was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Nugent and his gang played their asses off that night. It was a total band effort. Next year…different band lineup….the following year…different band lineup…etc...etc. If you need proof-positive, just compare Double Live Gonzo with the classic lineup to Live at the Hammersmith, which was recorded two years later in 1979. The band’s sound in 1979 isn’t even close to the previous lineup. Each year the albums got worse, the lyrics became stupider, the music weaker, and the concerts were more corny and contrived. The audience response basically reflected the mediocrity of the performances. Nugent’s music in it’s prime had, for lack of a better term, a gritty “lean n’ mean and no messing in between” sound to it (ex. the songs “Turn It Up” or “ Writing on the Wall” from the 1976 album “Free for All”). The lyrics were cooler and the vocals were better. The same can be said for Aerosmith when they recorded Toys in the Attic and Rocks during the same mid-seventies time period, as opposed to the “made for video” overproduced sound and songwriting formula they seem to follow now. In that era, the music was blues-based, and down and dirty on it’s own, and didn’t need any superfluous cussing or temper-tantrum lyrics to make it more crunchy sounding. In my opinion, the old stuff still holds up well today, although classic rock radio will never play anything beyond their standard three-hit per band formula, and that’s only when they can fit it into the “all-Boston, all day, everyday” predictable format that manifests itself whenever you let book-smart, music-stupid marketing geeks decide what the musical tastes of the “unenlightened” masses should be. What I wouldn’t give for a pirate radio station that had a free-form format like years ago….
Back to the subject, in 1980,
Nugent toured with Def Leppard and the Scorpions. From my point of view, the Scorpions blew Nugent’s silly
little loincloth act away and stole the show.
It got to the point that I would go to Nugent’s shows based on who was
opening for him. I saw Ozzy with
Sabbath in 1978 at the infamous “No show in Nashville” when the gig had to
be rescheduled due to Ozzy falling asleep in the wrong hotel room.
I forgave him after the show Black Sabbath played.
He didn’t return to Nashville as a solo artist until 1982, shortly
after Randy Rhoads was killed. Even
though the band was still in a state of shock and transition, the show was
outstanding as have been all the other Ozzy shows I’ve seen since.
Bottom line is this: Ozzy is not a musician in the classic sense, and has
never claimed to be. As a
performer, he is more dynamic and has sustained a long-term popularity and
marketability over the entire course of his career in a way that Nugent could
only hope for, which is what really pisses Nugent off when you get down to it.
No, wait change that…what REALLY pisses Nugent off is that the same president that he supported and voted for acknowledged Ozzy in front of a national audience, therefore legitimizing his very existence in the eyes of the general population (not to mention Ozzy performing at the Queen’s Jubilee). In other words, Teddy Boy is jealous “‘cause Ozzy’s a bad boy and everyone still loves him more than me”..(sniff..sniff)… Tickets for Ozzy’s shows generally go pretty quick in the Nashville area, and the shows are always good. If Ozzy isn’t touring with his Sabbath band mates, then the sight and sound of Zakk Wylde playing on the solo tours doesn’t hurt my feelings one bit. Nugent is a damn good guitar player. Trouble is, he can’t grasp the idea of being a team player. He doesn’t listen to other people’s ideas in an objective way, and he’s one of those types of people who talks ten minutes for every thirty seconds he listens. Nobody in their right mind is going to put up with that b…s… forever.
He makes a typical bonehead comment in the liner notes of his Out of Control box set that having a guitar battle with Frank Marino in the 70’s was “like arm-wrestling with a quad…” Hey, I’ve seen Marino a few times, and I’ve bought many of his albums, including his latest, Eye of the Storm which was released in 2000. In a nutshell, Marino is a humble and gracious man who treats his fans, and people in general with the same courtesy and respect that he wishes to receive himself. Whether his style of music is your flavor or not, he can also play a guitar like there was no tomorrow. He definitely visits on a regular basis the “dusty areas” of a guitar neck. Nugent in comparison sounds like he’s playing with two lobster claws for hands these days. He needs to shut his big mouth, get in a cabin up in the north woods, and practice until he pukes. Marino’s latest album gets back to his 70’s era psychedelic/ jazzy style, and basically smokes ANYTHING Nugent has done in the last 25 years. To be totally fair, the styles of Nugent and Marino are different, so it can get down to a matter of listener preference. One of the best things Nugent has ever recorded is the long–forgotten instrumental, “Hibernation,” from the 1974 Amboy Dukes album Tooth, Fang, and Claw. The song is very similar to some of the classic Allman Brothers instrumentals such as “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Jessica.” The live version is alright, but a lot of the ambiance and intimacy is lost from the studio version. That’s my “give the devil his due” objective analysis of Ted as a guitar player. He’s damn good, especially when he just shuts up and plays, which isn’t often enough.
As far as Ozzy vs. Ted from a live standpoint these days, just listen to the Black Sabbath Reunion album, then listen to Full Bluntal Nugenty. Nugent sounds like some “pay attention to me” stunt out of a “Jackass” show….one of those things that make you go “Hmmmmm”….like maybe he could have been the inspiration for the show? As for Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill together are a team that cannot be duplicated. As a collective unit, they possess that rare artistic quality that can only be described as “it,” and in my opinion age hasn’t rendered them obsolete. Maybe Ozzy can’t hit the high notes he used to but he can still sing his ass off, and Iommi’s guitar has only gotten more sinister-sounding especially with the newer technology that is available. I can only hope that a new Sabbath studio album will be released some day, because I think they still have “it” in them for at least one more good one.
Nugent had that same classic band formula in the seventies, but he’s too much of an insecure control-freak asshole to allow himself to be an equal part of a team process. Derek St. Holmes said the same thing in an interview a while back. If Nugent could just shut up, be one of the gang and play his guitar, he possibly could have his old classic era band mates back. That much was said by St. Holmes himself. From a fan’s perspective, I’d be interested to hear what could come out of such a reunion, but knowing Ted’s alpha male “my way or the highway” attitude, it probably is just wishful thinking on the part of someone who has bought albums and concert tickets back in the day when the quality of the music seemed to matter more than who stood in the limelight the most, or got all the songwriting credits on the album. I was a die-hard Nugent fan in the seventies, but being disappointed time and again after spending hard-earned money on crappy albums and silly “scream-a-thon” shows has left me a bit jaded, but in the perfect position to criticize from a consumer’s perspective.
Nugent has had to resort to being a paid performer on the talk-radio and political circus sideshow circuit just to stay in the public eye. He should be called “Toad(ie)” Nugent for all of his predictable high-decibel yapping and pontification on anything right wing. He needs attention, and special-interest groups need a perpetual mouthpiece who is the equivalent of a barking dog, who barks all day long just for the sake of barking and attention. I don’t disagree with Nugent on everything, but when he starts in on people like the Osbournes with regard to “family values” and quality entertainment I gotta draw the line. Ted needs to leave that area alone, because I’ve been to many of his shows, and you have to wonder if the dirty little mouth he uses on stage is the same one he uses to kiss his family, and to eat with. I don’t have a problem with the cussing. Like watching “The Osbournes” show, you know what you are getting into when you go to see Ted. It’s a choice plain and simple: don’t watch what you don’t like. I’m no saint myself. I just can’t stand hypocrisy, and on the issue of cussing Ted doesn’t have a leg to stand on. He’s also on record as having a not-so-favorable attitude on organized religion. That in itself is not a reason to condemn the man for his opinion, but the disrespectful way in which he conveys his opinion leads one to believe that he has very little regard for others who choose to express themselves differently than his narrow little definition of cultural behavior, and what constitutes strength of character.
On Ted’s comments regarding “The Osbournes” show, I offer this: Basically, Ted Nugent is one of those kind people who is always going to be “right” in their own mind even when they are being selfish and stupid to the point that it is hurting other people as well as themselves. They don’t listen to suggestions and can’t take criticism, and when the s..t hits the fan, they blame everyone but themselves. Then they get on the ultra-conservative bandwagon with the talk radio, bumper-stickers-for-Jesus, family values dog and pony show, and start pointing fingers at everyone else like they’ve got it all figured out and everyone just needs to fall in line and follow their lead. At no point in time, either when they are screwing up way-back-when, or in the present when they are Blap-Blapping about all things different from them are they ever listening objectively to the thoughts and opinions of others, some of which could have kept them out of trouble to begin with.
Ted Nugent talking about
the Osbournes is a classic case of the “pot calling the kettle black.”
His comments regarding Ozzy’s condition are borderline cruel, and if someone
were to make a similar statement with regard to a member of his family, he’d go
ballistic. As I’ve said, I’m a
fan of some of his music many years ago, but with regard to his people skills,
his head is stuck so far up his ass that if he were to ever be arrested,
they’d have to perform a colonoscopy on him just to get a mug shot of his
face!
I laugh WITH the Osbournes, not
AT them. Whether you are a
celebrity or not, it takes a bit of courage (not to mention money) to bare
yourself to the world as they have on the show.
The Osbournes deal with real-life issues that many people face, and
manage to make it entertaining in the process.
If you pay attention and read between the lines, and don’t just
simplistically take everything at face value, there are some very redeeming
qualities about the show. The one
thing about them is that they stick together as a family (i.e. a “team”), no
matter what the situation is.
I have watched Ozzy struggle with things, and I don’t always laugh. I myself have been treated for a mild case of ADD, and I can tell you that it wasn’t fun at times before they knew how to treat it. In Ozzy’s case, ADD is coupled with dyslexia, which is a nightmare in and of itself. I can relate to some of his experiences from childhood and into adulthood, although I’ve not taken it to the extremes he has. I never took drugs or smoked dope, and I earned a college degree after fifteen and a half years of going to night school after work. However, I empathize with those who can acknowledge their weaknesses, and struggle to coexist with them each day. Most people in America, including me, root for the underdog who has succeeded in life despite some bumps in the road along the way.
Nugent can’t fathom the idea of not being in total control of anything and everything around him. That’s what intimidates him about a show like “The Osbournes.” If the cameras were turned on in the Nugent house, you would very likely see a less pretty, and less entertaining scenario. I’m not saying he doesn’t love his family as much as Ozzy does, but it wouldn’t be funny to watch because the man doesn’t have the ability to laugh at himself on a day-to-day basis, which is a character flaw that Ozzy DOESN’T have, and is one of the reasons that he is beloved by so many people all over the world.
Ted Nugent is a wannabe
badass who, if he were ever in a real combat situation, would be an easy target
to hit. When the real shooting
started in his direction, all you’d have to do is look for a quickly spreading
puddle of piss on the ground and simply aim a grenade launcher upstream.
He’s not big enough or tough enough to whip his way out of a wet paper
sack, so he erects a facade in the public eye by being a loudmouth for “tough
guy” causes and writing tough-guy songs like “Kiss My Ass.”
He’s always talking, but very seldom does he have anything worthwhile
to say, especially musically.
To paraphrase a comment he makes
in the Out of Control liner notes, you are wasting your time getting mad
at him, because he doesn’t give a rat’s ass what you think anyway.
What he does give a rat’s ass about whether he wants to admit it or not
is that not enough people are paying attention to him, and his music doesn’t
sell like it used to, and the hunting thing doesn’t have the mass appeal
necessary to feed his massive “look-at-me” ego.
The new musical “offering” by Ted is called Craveman.
Based on years of past experience, the album name alone is enough to tell
me that it’s a “more-of-the same” continuation of the style over substance
audio abuse we endured over twenty years ago (ref. “My Love is like a Tire
Iron” from 1981’s Intensities in Ten Cities…).
I’ve listened to enough of the new one to know that my suspicions have
been confirmed. Without the old
band, and in particular, Derek St. Holmes on lead vocals, Nugent is just another
budget bin-grade artist with enough pull in the industry to get a record deal
every few years, and release an album which ends up sharing space in the $3.99
bins with the likes of stale rap acts, one-hit pop wonders, and last year’s
WWF Wrestling novelty cd.
Let’s see where Craveman goes in terms of worldwide sales compared to Ozzy’s Down to Earth, or the Black Sabbath releases Past Lives or Symptom of the Universe. From a consumer standpoint, I can’t wait for the complete Sabbath catalog to be remastered and reissued, so I can repurchase all the albums. That means I am willing to pay money for eight albums that I have purchased in 8-track, vinyl, and CD form already. The way to piss people like Nugent off is to ignore them, with your eyes, your ears, and especially your wallet. Like a lot of older fans who used to support Ted Nugent by buying records and concert tickets, I quit Ted when he quit his fans by being so self-absorbed and self righteous that he couldn’t (and obviously still can’t) confront his own inner demons and humble himself to the point that he could completely take responsibility for destroying a great band years ago and try to work on a professional level with the band mates he had on the three classic studio albums from the mid-seventies. Ozzy, to his credit seems to take responsibility for his behavior from what I see and read in the media. Ted, on the other hand, would rather run through a pack of hungry wolves wearing a pork chop necklace than admit he was totally and completely wrong about something. Ahhh…adolescence is eternal, ain’t that right Ted? I act like a child, therefore I remain forever young.
The more I think about it, maybe Ted is reality show material. If you wanted to combine real cutting edge entertainment with a heavy metal backdrop, why not outfit an abandoned missile silo in the Dakotas with studio gear and video cameras, then take Ted Nugent and Axl Rose and lock them away in it. Tell them they can come out only when they have a new album’s worth of material recorded and ready for release to the public. They must decide among themselves who will get credit for the songwriting, who will sing what songs, etc, etc. It’ll be like stuffing two cats in a pillowcase. There may be some screaming and crying, and clawing and bloodshed, but it would definitely keep you entertained. If it progresses with the timeliness of the forever “forthcoming” Guns ‘n’ Roses album, then we will have simultaneously rid ourselves of two whining has-been pain-in-the-butts while creating a long-term entertainment solution for those of us who need a laugh now and then.
In the meantime, we’ve got the Osbournes. God bless them. I hope that they continue to succeed in the entertainment business, but more importantly I hope they continue to find happiness and success as a family. I wish Sharon a speedy and complete recovery. She is the glue that holds it all together, and we as fans should be grateful to her for the role she has played in getting long-lost Black Sabbath recordings like Past Lives out to the masses. Thank you “Mum” for a job well done! For all the joy, entertainment, and friendship that Ozzy and his band mates have provided to me and millions around the world through music I am grateful, and I hope they continue to record and perform for many years to come. Peace!