Review Summary: Scottish Judas Priest
You probably all have heard of Nazareth before. Their well known cover of the ballad 'Love Hurts' by The Everly Brothers was a top hit all over the world, and it is still widely considered a legendary Rock anthem. Only a small precentage of you, though, were interested enough and deepend to hear any other songs by the band. I am a part of this small percentage.
Nazareth was formed in December '68 in Dunfermline, Scotland by the vocalist Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton, bassist Pete Agnew and the drummer Darrell Sweet (R.I.P). This stayed the band's line-up for the next 20 or so years, and that line-up was the one who also created Hair Of The Dog.
After performing in some local Scotish clubs, the band moved to London in '70, and released their self-titled debut in '71. After releasing their second album 'Exercises' in '72 the band had gained some little attention, but after touring with Deep Purple and releasing 'Razamanaz' in '73 the band have had their first mainsream peak. Nazareth continued with the same approach and their next two albums have reached about the same success as the former. It was in '75 when the band had reached their climax. Hair Of The Dog is Nazareth most-selling album, having sold two million copies worldwide.
The album starts off with the powerful 'Hair Of The Dog', which is also sometimes called Son Of A Bitch due to its catchy chorus. This is the second most successful single from the album, the first one being 'Love Hurts'. The whole song has a Judas Priest feeling to it, and it sets the percect mood for the album with its taking-no-*** attiude. The next track continues with the same style, and after it comes one of the great ballads in this record, Randy Newman's 'Guilty'. 'Changin' Times' comes right next, with its heavy pentatonic riff, and it actually shocked me the first time I heard it, because of its unbelievable similarity with Judas Priest's 'Victims Of Changes'.
The next track is quite interesting. It starts off with the bluesy Hard Rock 'Beggars Day', and after three minutes it beautifully turns into an acoustic instrumental - one of the great moments throughout the whole album.
'Whiskey Drinkin Woman' is another bluesy Hard Rock piece, and it is followed by the psychedelic ballad 'Please Dont Judas Me'. The latter seems like something Pink Floyd could have played, and it also greatly shows the uniqueness in McCafferty's voice.
The last track in here is 'Love Hurts'. It's Nazareth's most successful song and probably their best. The track stands out mostly because of the beautiful lyrics and the amazing vocal delivery, every second within this song is absolutely perfect. It is, without argument, one of the best ballads ever written.
Dan McCafferty is the talent behind Nazareth. His vocals can be roughly described as a Rob Halford with touches of Axl Rose and Brian Johnson. His voice is great, and his perormance is over the top especially on this record.
Charlton plays just like a 70's Heavy Metal guitarist should, and he does his job great; his fuzzy and crunchy guitarwork contributes a whole lot to the album. Pete Agnew and Darrel Sweet, may his memory be blessed, are good enough and they give the album just the very thing that makes it that great.
If I could give one advice to the members of Nazareth it was to pick better women. All of their lyrics seem to be about broken hearts and bitches who betrayed them. They are enjoyable nonetheless.
Hair Of The Dog is truly a 70's classic. It took a place in the First Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and despite the fact that it is very unkown and outside the mainstream, the rock band Guns 'N Roses have listed them as one of their major influences. Hair Of The Dog will allways be one of my favorite releases, and I hope at least one of you will take the time to listen to it.
Hair Of The Dog was released in April 15th, 1975. The record label is Mooncrest and it is 40:20 minutes long.
Personnel:
Dan McCafferty – lead vocals, talk box on "Hair of the Dog"
Manny Charlton – guitar, synthesizer
Pete Agnew – bass, backing vocals
Darrell Sweet – drums, backing vocals
Additional Musicians:
Max Middleton – piano on "Guilty"
Simon Phillips - tabla on "Please Don't Judas Me"
Vicki Brown, Liza Strike, Barry St. John – backing vocals on "Guilty"
Vicky Silva – backing vocals on "Please Don't Judas Me"
