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** Ted Nugent’s “Live at Hammersmith ‘79,” Epic/Legacy.

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Here’s a live album by another artist who ended up a rock ‘n’ roll caricature, but, thankfully, not a casualty. In his early days with the Amboy Dukes band and then on his own, the singer-guitarist helped define a style of rock that was raw and manic--a link between the hard-rock and heavy-metal genres.

This album was recorded at the end of an 85-day tour of Europe during which the Motor City Madman had a lot to prove. For one thing, he was being called a rock ‘n’ roll dinosaur by the punk contingent that had sprung up around the Sex Pistols.

Ultimately, the punks were right. Nugent--with his Neanderthal style--was a dinosaur in a changing rock scene. But he played with a passion that captures nicely the heart of his own rock ‘n’ roll spirit.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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