''Free-for-All'' is the second studio album by American rock musician

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

. It was released in September 1976 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, and was his first album to go platinum.

Background

As the recording of ''Free-for-All'' commenced, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes left the band, citing growing personal and creative conflicts with Nugent. Two solid years of living together on the road had taken its toll on the relationship. Additionally, St. Holmes was unhappy with

Tom Werman Tom Werman (born 1945) is an American record producer responsible for many hard rock and heavy metal albums. Early life and education Werman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Newton. He earned a bachelor's degree and an MBA from ...

's production, saying that the producer was watering down the band's sound. A full year before ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the debut studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from the musical ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' Peter Pan'' which Steinman wrote for a worksho ...

'' brought him international success, vocalist

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

was brought in by producer Werman to sing on the album. Meat Loaf was paid the sum of $1,000 for his contributions to the album, which included crafting his vocal arrangements and two days of recording sessions. He says that after he agreed to do the album he was sent a lyric sheet containing just the words with no arrangements. Having no idea what the songs were going to sound like, he then created the vocal arrangements for the songs during the two days of recording. St. Holmes also sang lead vocal on several of the album's songs, including the single "Dog Eat Dog". He officially returned to the group after ''Free-for-All''s release, and performed on the subsequent tour. Band management asked him to return at the request of

Track listing

All songs written by Ted Nugent, except where noted; all songs arranged by Nugent,

Rob Grange Rob Grange (born 1950) is an American bassist, best known for his work with psychedelic rock band The Amboy Dukes (band), The Amboy Dukes and with Ted Nugent, as well as his unique phase bass lines in the song "Stranglehold (Ted Nugent song), St ...

, Derek St. Holmes and Cliff Davies.

Personnel

Band members *

– lead and rhythm guitar, lead vocals (tracks 1 and 10), percussion, bass guitar (track 2) *

– lead vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9) *

– bass guitar, bass phase effects * Cliff Davies – drums, percussion, backing vocals (track 2), producer Additional musicians * Derek St. Holmes – lead vocals (tracks 2, 4, 7, 11 and 12), rhythm guitar (tracks 2, 10 & 11) * Steve McRay – keyboards, backing vocals *

– percussion, producer Production *

Lew Futterman Lewis Futterman is an American record producer and manager, who was most active in the 1960s to the early 1980s. Commencing as of 1977, he has increasingly been involved in real estate development, primarily in New York City. History Following g ...

– producer * Anthony Reale – engineer * Josh Futterman – engineer's assistant * Tim Geelan – mixing engineer * Paula Scher – album design * Jim Houghton – photography * Bruce Dickinson – 1999 reissue producer * Vic Anesini – remastering * Stephan Moore – 1999 reissue project director * Howard Fritzson – 1999 reissue art director *

Gary Graff Gary Graff (born 1960) is an American music journalist and author. Biography Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper ''The Taylor Allderdice Foreword''. He recei ...

– 1999 reissue liner notes

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums Ted Nugent albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Tom Werman