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] AllMusic called the album "mildly interesting", lamenting that the hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was not included.

[3] All tracks are written by Ted Nugent, unless noted