Bad English, Mr. Big, Alias, Badlands, and Damn Yankees… all part of a wave of supergroups to come flooding from the USA in 1989. Damn Yankees fused the infamous Ted Nugent with Night Ranger's Jack Blade's and Styx's Tommy Shaw along with newcomer Michael Cartellone and created a platinum act into the bargain…

But they weren't a hair metal band, were they? Shut up!

What's the story then? I'm sure I don't need to introduce you to Ted Nugent. Jack Blades was a former member of '80s insta-rock megastars Night Ranger, while Tommy Shaw came from Styx, the original pomp-rockers. Naturally they were viewed with some cynicism but the album came out much as you'd hope… Nuge's riotous, larger-than-life rock & roll combined with the songwriting skills and high-pitched harmonies of Styx and Night Ranger. A top 5 US single (and a power ballad, WHAT A SURPRISE), "High Enough" fuelled the album's success. The band, contrary to what may have first appeared, were absolutely not a record company creation, and they gained a reputation for excellent live performances amid a sea of commercial success and critical acclaim. Don't Tread in 1992 was less successful than its predecessor and also musically not quite a match for the debut. It would be their last album. However, when John Kalodner signed them to his Portrait label (see the Ratt and Whitesnake sections for more info on this) for a recent reunion. Unfortunately, the band, who had been pleased with the album's progress, were furious with the final mixes, refusing to release the album in its present state. Now, having been dropped from the all-but-defunct label and contractually bound from re-recording the songs, it seems the third Damn Yankees album will never see the light of day.

What was so good about them then? Well, Nugent is so fantastically controversial, with an enormous mouth which he simply refuses to shut. His staunchly conservative political views and vocal support for hunting add to the hilarity as he flies in the face of most of his fellow rockers. Possibly the funniest debate ever would be if you could put Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, not that I want to give THEM free advertising on my web site) and Nuge in a room and get them to discuss political issues. Ted's loud and outrageous antics are certainly amazingly rock & roll, but actually he isn't at all a bad guitarist. When you take his raucous rocking and meld it with the Blades/ Shaw songwriting partnership (they're a serious songwriting force, co-writing with major artists including Aerosmith), you're onto a winner.

Best album? I'll be honest and admit I haven't heard the second album (it's pretty scarce… I saw it recently in a second hand CD shop and I should have snapped it up even though it wasn't that cheap), but nor have I heard anyone claim it is better or even as good as the first one. Certainly Damn Yankees didn't have the longevity of their fellow supergroup Mr. Big. Still, this should not take away from the fact that Damn Yankees was, and is, a damn (pun intended) fine album. With such ditties as the title track and a chart busting power ballad to its name, the band are definitely deserving of a mention for this and if you see it around, give it a chance.

Oh come on, admit it, they were manufactured: Nope, not a bit of it. In fact, there isn't much to knock them for really; they were certainly highly consistent. They never really scaled the heights of greatness to produce anything exceptionally delightful, but they were a nice enough band with good songs.

Band rating: 76%

Back