Review Summary: A less aggressive, but more playful Nazareth having a bit of fun.
PLAY ‘N’ THE GAME is an enjoyable and varied collection of songs that are more upbeat and playful than their two prior releases. While there is a bit less of the plodding hard rock riffing these Scots are known for, the songs they’ve chosen here make for nice Album Rock fare. It’s a nice change after the moodier CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, which was released earlier in 1976.
The record opens with the catchy and incessant riffing of “Somebody To Roll”, which is easily a highlight. This is followed with an amusing rendition of the Butler/Leiber song “Down Home Girl”, which The Rolling Stones covered back in 1965. The lyrics here hardly seem that they would be a flattering come on for any Southern girl. (“Lord I swear, the perfume you wear is made out of turnip greens” / “And every time that I kiss you girl it tastes like pork and beans”.) “Flying” is a fairly standard Nazareth ballad and probably one of the less memorable moments. The original first side of the record ends with the thumping bass groove of “Waiting For The Man”, which is a rare, but interesting funk experiment. Maybe John Deacon was listening to this bass line when he came up with "Another One Bites The Dust" a few years later? They are melodically different, but both have a similar groove.
“Born To Lose” is an up-tempo hard rocker that finds the band returning to their trademark sound, if just briefly. The Joe Tex cover “I Want To (Do Everything For You)” is a slow, pulsing R&B shuffle that works surprising well for them and play live for many years. “I Don’t Want To Go On Without You” finds the band playing much in the same vein as “Love Hurts” and possibly trying to recapture that magic again. It’s a nice track, but not quite on the same level. The Beach Boys cover “Wild Honey” is a catchy pop/rock tune that works alright, but not something I’m likely to cue up on its own. Ending the album is the Nazareth penned “L. A. Girls” that is another less memorable song that tries to be catch and is punctuated with hand claps.
Nearly half of this record is cover songs, which leads me to wonder whether the band lacked their own material or just wanted to have fun with this album. I will admit that it’s that element of playfulness that I enjoy about this record, even if doesn’t rock quite as hard as RAZAMANAZ or HAIR OF THE DOG. Overall, it’s an enjoyable collection of songs, if not always a consistent one.
