Customer Reviews

Damn Yankees

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What do 3 very talented musicians do once their careers start saggin'?, get together and form a supergroup. That's what the Damn Yankees are. Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, and Ted Nugent as himself alongside unknown drummer Micheal Cartelone, bash out rockers and ballads far beyond the reaches of the galaxy. This band is the start of something beautiful for all 3 superstars, none of them act like the lead dog(which is really surprising for Ted Nugent), they all get their fair share of the spotlight, and Tommy and Jack have become a hitmakin' machine. While Tommy and Jack handle many of the vocals, Ted takes care of 99% of the lead guitar parts. All the songs are incredible, High Enough, title track, Come Again, and Ted's Piledriver are all excellent. Actually, the entire album is excellent and if you love this, be sure to get the next one, Don't Tread, and the Shaw/Blades Hallucination CD(a Damn Yankees CD without Ted, ehich is also excellent). Yank me!

I don't usually use superlatives like I did in the title above, especially considering how such superlatives are overused in these reviews. That being said, this to me is the epitome of an INCREDIBLE melodic hard rock album. The main reason the album sold a couple million is because of the ballad "High Enough", which for sure is a great song. But how about the anthem "Come Again"??? To this day this is one of the best songs I have ever heard. It starts slow, builds to an amazing cresendo, then slows back down at the very end. Never mind the lyrics--which I have had posted on my wall for a good 10 years. Tommy Shaw is at his best on this one. "Coming of Age" and "Bad Reputation" start off the album with two great rockers; Shaw and Blades truly show their chemistry here. "Damn Yankees" and "Rock City" flat out rock--I wish rock radio had picked up on these (not that any of these songs are heard anywhere anymore, which is truly a shame). And for sure, Ted's only "lead vocal" song "Piledriver" is a Nugent classic--rocking hard and offsetting nicely songs like "High Enough". This CD has such a wide variety of great melodic rock music. Warning: NOT for Nirvana fans would would rather dwell on their "hero's" demise! Not for REM fans who actually think Michael Stipe can sing compared to Jack and Tommy. (There's no accounting for taste, I guess.) This is for rock fans who listen to music for ENJOYMENT (what a concept!). Particularly for most Night Ranger and Tommy Shaw fans and some Styx and Ted Nugent fans. A MUST OWN for fans of melodic hard rock.

Damn Yankees comrised of Ted Nugent, Styx's Tommy Shaw, Night Ranger's Jack Blades, and drummer Michael Cartellone. Their music blended elements of each member's respected sound, These guys had terrific harmonies.

"Coming of age" starts the album, it had a good video on MTV bck in the day. "Runaway" kicks off with a pleasant Nugent riff followed by Michael Cartellone's underrated drumming. It's a great uptempo tune with a rocking chorus.

"High enough is the big hit you've probably heard once or twice, it's infused with a nice violin arrangement. The title track "Damn Yankees" is excellent. It's the name of the band, song and album, reminiscent of "Bad Company", another all time great band name in song title tune.

The ballad "Come again" contains a nice acoustic portion from Ted Nugent. Given his electric skills, he's gone unnoticed in that field. "Mystified" rocks hard with a country twist.

"Rock city" is obviously an ode to Ted's hailing ground. "Tell me how you want it" includes a driving rhythm section and a great chorus. I think the song is from Michael Cartellone's perspective, as he was the only one guys not rich yet at the time.

Closing the album is "Piledriver", which features a heavy, rollicking mainframe and some clever commentary from Mr. Nugent himself.

Although they have put out a greatest hits compilation, I'd recommend the individual albums (There were only 2 of 'em). As many of the lesser known songs are worth a listen. These guys were a supergroup, here's hoping they reunite and step to world as a weapon sometime soon.

If a CD has at least three good songs its worth buying and this CD has eight. If you like Ted Nuggent and the rock from the 80's and early 90's you'll like this CD. If you like good music that is well crafted you'll like this CD. If you like rock bands that can sing you need to get this CD.

Who are the guys, Damn Yankees? The album cover well describes who they are.

On the far left obscurely stands Michael Cartellone, the drum guy unknown to us, showing that he is just new to the glorious corporate rock world. Next to Michael is Tommy Shaw standing straight representing Styx's glorious days. The guy roaring with his fists thrust out to the sky is Ted Nugent, living up to his rockin' beast reputation. On the far right staring at Ted is Jack Blades the leader of the pack who also led Night Ranger one of the greatest 80s rock bands.

The album is as superb as the lineup. It features pop rock tunes such as Coming Of Age, Runnaway, Tell Me How You Want It and High Enough excellent ballad and their biggest hit so far. Come Again is my #1 pick of the album mixing ballad and dramatism as in some of Styx and Survivor tracks. And great rockers with excellent mixture of wildness as shown in Bad Reputation, Damn Yankees and Rock City and rhythm and blues flavored Mystified. And destructive nice power rocker, Piledriver is the fitting track to end the album called Damn Yankees.

It will really make you feel how good to be the Yankees. Enjoy out loud!

Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, and Ted Nugent join up here to form the supergroup Damn Yankees. And it is awesome. The raw talent talent showcased here is also a stickler too. Their other pursuits such as Shaw's Styx, Blades' Night Ranger, and Nugent's solo. These guys proved that the arena rock style will never die as long as we don't let it.

Damn Yankees is the supergroup amalgamation of talented musicians from several high-flying groups of the `80s that find that in this case, the final product is better than it should have been. This self-titled debut from Ted Nugent, Tommy Shaw (guitarist and one of the front men from Styx), Jack Blades (bassist and one of the front men from Night Ranger) and drummer Michael Cartellone, a talented session guy who has toured with Frampton, John Fogerty, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Adrian Belew, Accept and most recently Lynyrd Skynyrd, has everything their previous bands could offer and then more. There was definitely a chemistry here that comes through in the recording.

This album has the melodic high-tempo rock characteristic of Night Ranger, blended with the frenetic guitar that only Uncle Ted can contribute, polished with the tasty vocals of Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades, and produced by Ted Templeman (Van Halen). The result is a gem that should satisfy any rock fan. The vocal duo of Blades/Shaw is stronger than anything Night Ranger did, and the writing seems custom made for the harmonies the two were tossing back and forth. Sprinkled into the mix is some classic Nugent in "Piledriver". Surprisingly, this album produced the first top-10 hit Nugent ever had as the power ballad "High Enough" swept the airwaves as the first single. "High Enough" and "Come Again" also saw moderate AOR success, while the rolicking "Rock City" howls the benefits of touring with a big-league rock band through the USA ("Lord have mercy I ain't never seen, nobody goin' down like this beauty queen").

While the second Damn Yankees album has its high points, this is definitely the better of the two.

70s hard rock guitarist Ted Nugent added Styx guitarist-singer-songwriter Tommy Shaw, Night Ranger bassist-singer-songwriter Jack Blades, and then-up-and-coming drummer Michael Cartellone to form the hard rock supergroup Damn Yankees, named for the fact that every member hailed from a different state in the United States. The music itself takes Night Ranger's and Nugent's hard rock, the Southern influences of the Allman Brothers Band, the Outlaws, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the straight-ahead Detroit blues-rock of Grand Funk, and a bit of the progressive pop-rock of Styx, and blends them into a unique sound that holds up much better than the music played by a band such as Ratt, Poison, or Motley Crue. Truth be told, there isn't a bad song on this album or the follow-up, DON'T TREAD. The fact that Nugent, Blades, and Shaw supported the right of police to use deadly force to rescue two girls kidnapped in California in 2002 makes both CDs essential purchases for both your ears AND your conscience.

Roll the windows down, and crank it up! This album rocks! These guys have excellent chemistry together, and the result is 45+ minutes of rock excellence. Ted Nugent and Tommy Shaw rip it up on guitar, with Jack Blades (from Night Ranger) on bass, and Michael Cartellone playing excellent drum tracks. I can listen to all 10 songs and never skip a track. Contains the huge hit ballad 'High Enough' and a super-charged hit 'Coming Of Age'. Ted Nugent rips it up on 'Piledriver'. 'Bad Reputation', 'Runaway', 'Come Again' and the title track 'Damn Yankees' are more upbeat fun. This album is a continuation of great 80's style rock, packed with awesome guitar riffs, blistering guitar solos, soaring vocals, great drum beats and cool bass lines that will keep you listening over and over again. If you wanna hear great rock music, this one is for you. ROCK ON!

In 1955, a wonderful musical called "Damn Yankees" played Broadway and ran for several hundred performances and featured such hits as "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo" and "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets." What??? You say you're not interested in no #%@$#%#^ musical, you just want to ROCK AND ROLL??? Well, chill out, sport!! Luckily, Damn Yankees is also the name of the debut album of one fantastic HARD ROCK band, featuring guitarist Tommy Shaw (of Styx), bassist Jack Blades (of NightRanger), and guitarist Ted Nugent (of, among other things, the Amboy Dukes; remember "Journey to the Center of the Mind"?) In fact, the only reason I mention the musical of the same name is that you are bound to find it when you are trying to Google (do a name seach using the Google engine) Damn Yankees, and I don't want you to get confused. But, enough of that!!! If HARD ROCK, HARD ROCK, and more HARD ROCK (plus the occasional power ballad) is what you crave, then Damn Yankees is for you. Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades do most of the vocalizing, and "Coming of Age," "Bad Reputation," and the title track will leave you mystefied, stupefied, and wanting more! The late, great rock journalist Lester Bangs (see him portrayed in the movie Almost Famous) coined the term Heavy Metal; surely, this is the type of music he had in mind. Ted Nugent's guitar playing, quite simply, defines heavy metal and the Motor City Madman is at his finest on "Piledriver," a ninety-miles-a-minute anthem dedicated to, well, an ENCOUNTER, shall we say? This little ditty comes complete with snippets of pre-song rehearsal, mid-song commentary ("If you want to stay alive, you've got to pile drive!!!"), and a few bars of Howlin Wolf's (and Jeff Beck's) classic "I Ain't Superstitious" at the finish. Ted and drummer Michael Cartellone work it for all it's worth! Poetry, sheer poetry!!! The other highpoint is, of course, "High Enough," the requisite Power Ballad, complete with string backup, Jack and Tommy handling the multipart harmonies with ease. Bliss, sheer bliss!!! Now, seriously, guys, what about a reunion tour and a third album just to prove you've all still got (as Exxon and Muddy Waters once put it) tigers in your tanks?? Until then, get Damn Yankees today, and you will have the house rocking so hard that even Lola will want to get up out of her walker and dance!!!