Sunday, June 29, 2008

Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, Michael Cartellone, and Uncle Ted






These 4 men make the group Damn Yankees, and Tommy and Jack have made two awesome cds together outside of the group. Ted Nugent is the motor city madman, Tommy is part of the writing and singing partnership of Styx. And Jack was with the 80's hair-metal / pop band Night Ranger. All of these men have had success in the past, and these cds would be no different.

Damn Yankees-Damn Yankees (A) Awesome debut from the group. Big surprise is the high harmonies that the group has. Ted and Tommy play great off of each other, and the band provides a strong back beat for them.
The title track has a fiery guitar lick, Coming of Age is a bouncy rocker, Bad Reputation has some great guitar work, High Enough is high harmony rocker that hits the stratosphere. And rest of the songs are great, from straight ahead rockers to a little pretend blues.

Damn Yankees-Don't Tread (B-) This cd should have been a lot more than what it was. Where You Going Now as good as the song is, is just a rip off of High Enough. But the song is still one of the bright spots on the cd. So is the rocker of a title track, and 15 minutes of fame. Uprising is one of Ted's best songs, and Tommy really shines on Someone To Believe and Silence Is Broken. Rest of the cd is dribble.

Damn Yankees- High Enough And Other Hits (A) Can't really argue with the choice of songs, other than the lame Mister Please. Better of the hit cds.

Damn Yankees-Live Uprising (B+) A great shot dvd with great sound. Renegade from Styx, Rock In America by Night Ranger, and Ted's Cat Scratch Fever makes an appearance. The mini interviews are fun and give some insight behind the band.

Shaw/Blades-Hallucination (A) So close to be a perfect cd. This is a rocking semi acoustic cd, with the lush harmonies that Jack and Ted are know for. Love to social comments are all on this cd. A great find.

Shaw/Blades-Influence (A-) Some great covers by Tommy and Jack, highlights are Yes's Your Move, Summer Breeze, Time Of The Season, Lucky Man, The Sound Of Silence, and California Dreaming

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