Survival of the Fittest Live
| Survival of the Fittest Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | April 1971 | |||
| Recorded | July 31–August 1, 1970 | |||
| Venue | Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Blues rock[1] | |||
| Length | 47:35 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes | |||
| Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes chronology | ||||
| ||||
Survival of the Fittest Live is a live album by the Amboy Dukes. Released in 1971, it was the band's second album on Polydor Records, and the first where the band was credited as "Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes".
Composition
The initial plan for the Survival of the Fittest album was to record one side of the album live and the other side in the studio, but this plan was later scrapped and the band instead recorded an entire live album.[2] The album consists of five new songs written by Ted Nugent, and an extended live performance of "Prodigal Man", which previously appeared on the band's Migration album.[2] In a review of the band's previous album, Marriage on the Rocks/Rock Bottom, AllMusic said that Survival of the Fittest sees the band embracing blues rock, which had only partially been explored on Marriage on the Rocks/Rock Bottom.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[4] |
AllMusic called the album "mildly interesting", lamenting that the hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was not included.[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ted Nugent, unless noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Survival of the Fittest" |
| 6:17 |
| 2. | "Rattle My Snake" | 3:00 | |
| 3. | "Mr. Jones' Hanging Party" | 4:55 | |
| 4. | "Papa's Will" | 9:00 | |
| Total length: | 23:08 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Slidin' On" | 3:03 |
| 6. | "Prodigal Man" | 21:20 |
| Total length: | 24:24 | |
Personnel
- Ted Nugent – Guitar, vocals (lead on track 4)
- Andy Solomon – Keyboards, saxophone, vocals (lead on tracks 2, 5 and 6)
- Rob Ruzga – Bass
- K. J. Knight – Drums, vocals (lead on track 3)
- Production
- Bryan Dombrowski – engineer, remixing at Electric Lady Studios, New York
- Joe Ford – assistant engineer
- Dave Palmer – remixing
Charts
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top LPs[5] | 129 |
References
- ^ a b Viglione, Joe. "Marriage on the Rocks/Rock Bottom Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
the Pat Travers blues-rock which the follow-up, Survival of the Fittest embraced
- ^ a b Knight, K.J. (March 10, 2020). "Survival of the Fittest". Knight Moves: The K J Knight Story. Trafford. p. 98. ISBN 1698700105.
- ^ a b Viglione, Joe. "Survival of the Fittest: Live Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1894959025.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top LPs, 1955–1996. Record Research. p. 10. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
External links
- Eastown Theater at Cinema Treasures