Additional information
Personnel: Ted Nugent (vocals, guitar, bass); Derek St. Holmes (vocals, guitar); Meat Loaf (vocals); Steve McRay (keyboards, background vocals); Rob Grange (bass); Cliff Davies (drums, percussion, background vocals); Tom Werman (percussion). Producers: Tom Werman, Cliff Davies, Lew Futterman. Reissue producer: Bruce Dickinson. Recorded at the Sound Pit, Atlanta, Georgia. Includes liner notes by Gary Graff. Digitally remastered by Vic Anesini (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). After the commercial success of TED NUGENT, the wildman guitarist decided to stick to his same brand of energized hard rock. Consistency paid of as FREE FOR ALL became his first platinum record. But all was not well in the Nugent camp. During the sessions, vocalist Derek St. Holmes left the band due to "creative differences." Although St. Holmes would rejoin the band after the album's release, future superstar Meat Loaf was brought in to sing. The lasciviously suggestive "Free for All" earned some decent FM airplay thanks to Tom Werman's slick production. Meat Loaf's theatrical vocals work well on "Writing on the Wall." St. Holmes does manage to sing on two songs: "Turn It Up," a great slab of Detroit heavy metal and on an alternate version of "Street Rats" (a bonus track included on this reissue). "Together" slows things down and features Steve McKray on keyboards and a soulful performance by Mr. Loaf. On the contrary, "Hammerdown" is probably the heaviest tune Meat has ever sung. FREE FOR ALL is a great rock & roll party record.
