NAZARETH - HAIR OF THE DOG (1975) REVIEW

I can't say I've ever listened to a band who shout more than they sing for longer than ten seconds, so on a fateful Wednesday morning when I was met in the staff kitchen with a 'morning!' and a CD I thought this a perfect challenge:

    a] Review an album of a band i've never heard of and who, i was told,

    b] are more on the heavy rock side.

Deal. Needless to say i dove straight in with armbands and rubber ring, only to realise that this band founded in

1968 weren't going to pound my ears with chorus after chorus of mindless guitar scales. Nazareth actually went on to inspire bands such as the widely known and loved [not by me] Guns N' Roses [all too obvious in first track 'Beggar's Day/Rose in Heather' of which we will speak no more], and clearly influencing others such as BRMC.

This is BRMC and not the cast of Harry Potter on steroids

What first hit me about the album is that it makes excellent use of bass. In fact this band love bass so much they double up its lines with guitars. This creates, in effect, bass in stereo. Changin' Times is a prime example, giving the bass line centre stage, right up until 3:30 where the guitar starts to form a band of its own. 

More surprisingly title track 'Hair of the Dog' opens with a Rapture-esque standalone cowbell which remains for the entire four [plus] minutes. Whilst the album does have more stereotypically 70s songs such as 'Miss Misery' [not to be confused with the Elliot Smith masterpiece] boasting single, slow, repetitive guitar Vs drums moments with an overtone of screech, you'd be forgiven for forgetting what band you were listening to when you reach 'Please Don't Judas Me'; a delicate almost asian/deep south amalgamation of whispering electronic noises and hand drums. Whilst the entry of vocals is at first a shock, they make the contrast of strong with weak, harshness with elegance more definite. The fact this song boasts a self-indulgent 9:45 can almost be forgotten. 

The guy on the left looks like he's in KOL. The guy in the middle looks like he's
and extra on 'My Name is Earl'. Interesting.

By the time you've reached 'Guilty' you may be forgiven for thinking that Radiohead had slightly stolen, hip-ed up and de-Dolly Parton-ified its melodies for 'Creep', that is until the trademark lead vocal complete with extra screech comes in with confessions of alcohol and drug abuse. But top track has go to 'Whiskey Drinkin' Woman' which has the power to bring out the karaoke queen in pretty much anyone who's even muttered the word 'whiskey'. Think cowboy boots and slammers in a dark American bar lit with red candles. Right, that's me off to learn the words.

The artwork did put me off slightly. I just didn't get it.

You can listen to clips from 'Hair of the Dog' on Last.fm HERE