CD Review: Nazareth 40th Anniversary Remasters (From The Bolton News)

CD Review: Nazareth 40th Anniversary Remasters

10:17pm Thursday 4th March 2010

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RELEASED as part of the remaster and reissue campaign to celebrate Nazareth’s 40th Anniversary, ‘Loud n Proud’, ‘Rampant’ and ‘Hair Of The Dog’ are arguably three of the four most important albums released by the Scottish rockers.

Just months after their breakthrough album ‘Razamanaz’ came ‘Loud n Proud’ (in actual fact their fourth album).

As well as proving that the previous album wasn’t a flash in the pan, this eight-song set contains two numbers that are still mainstays of the band’s live set today; ‘Turn On Your Receiver’ and ‘This Flight Tonight’, also the band’s third hit single.

The cover of Dylan’s ‘Ballad of Hollis Brown’ is one of the fan’s favourites, but it’s one the band finds it impossible to play live.

Six months later came ‘Rampant’, and Nazareth by this time were surely that.

Heavily influenced by Americana, which isn’t surprising since the band had been playing there quite a bit.

In fact, the first two tracks ‘Silver Dollar Forger’ and ‘Glad When You’re Gone’ are tributes to all things American.

The US loved the band’s riff-heavy songs and the whole album proved perfect for the American AM radio stations.

The band were in top form with this album (actually you could say that they were in top form – album wise – for most of the decade).

Dan McCafferty’s vocals were unmistakable – and still are – and the music of the other band members: Manny Charlton, Pete Agnew and Darrell Sweet, complemented his voice to perfection.

As with all Naz albums, there is at least one true band classic, and here it’s the legendary ‘Shanghai’d In Shanghai’.

There’s also a Yardbirds cover with ‘Shapes Of Things’.

We had to wait eleven months for the next album (in those days a long wait for Naz fans), but it was worth the wait as ‘Hair Of the Dog’ appeared in April 1975.

The album was originally going to be called ‘Son Of A Bitch’, but it would have been banned back then.

The title track and ‘Miss Misery’ also feature in the band’s live shows today – 35 years on.

A mix of the monster riffs and thoughtful ballads proved such a hit with the fans that it became their biggest selling album, and it rang the changes too as the previous two albums had been produced by Deep Purple’s Roger Glover. For this album, guitarist Manny Charlton took over production duties.

The bonus tracks on these CD’s feature the singles ‘Love Hurts’, ‘Holy Roller’ and ‘My White Bicycle’, plus a host of live recordings courtesy of the BBC.

There we have it, three of the best rock albums of the 70’s, and all by Nazareth.

Still loud, still proud…. And now remastered!

Salvo Records.

SALVOCD033 (Loud n Proud) SALCOCD034 (Rampant) SALVOCD035 (Hair Of The Dog)