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Thread: Nazareth- Hair Of The Dog

  1. #1
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    Nazareth- Hair Of The Dog

    Nazareth are a band I sometimes find a tad 'meat and potatoes' for my taste but I kept this one, and playing it I remember why.

    There's a bit more attention to detail with the arrangements, culminating in the slow-burn, progressive-tinged blues epic 'Please Don't Judas Me'...their creative high-watermark as far as I'm concerned. The title track is also a pretty definitive summary of their more hell-for-leather tendencies and other songs have many interesting touches...witness the anthemic guitar-lead finish of 'Changin' Times'. The cover of 'Love Hurts' was the big hit...but it was never on the UK version of the album, and I don't think it fits.

    Wondering if there's any other fans of this album here.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Nazareth are a band I sometimes find a tad 'meat and potatoes' for my taste [...] 'Love Hurts' was the big hit...but it was never on the UK version of the album, and I don't think it fits.

    Wondering if there's any other fans of this album here.
    Not really, although I agree that this one (and their very odd second album, Exercises, where they make a serious attempt to experiment with orchestral strings and a more refined or even "emotional" approach to songwriting) stands a bit out. Back when I was an intense fan of 70s hard rock I thought quite highly of them, but even then I had to admit to Nazareth being one of the most overall uneven bands I knew of. Sometimes they would pull out some mighty stops of excellence, often in cover renditions of stuff like Dylan's "Hollis Brown" (transformed into a relentless, crawling fuzz-bass monster) or their laidback yet very poignant version of "Morning Dew".

    I absolutely hate "Love Hurts", much because it's still today such a nauseating presence with lowgrade badtaste 'public culture' here in Norway. Typically at that was the fact that their better version of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight" was never anywhere near that status.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    A meat and potatoes band for sure and yes, rather uneven. In a way, Hair of the Dog was an anomaly. The title track, "Miss Misery", Changing Times" were all quite heavier that their usual style. Nazareth cut a lot of hard rock but on HoTD they were heavy. There are still some sublime touches here. The instrumental "Rose in the Heather" that follows the blistering "Beggars Day" is quite effective. "Please Don't Judas Me" is a good slow burn though could have used a little editing. The less said about the over-played "Love Hurts" the better.

    And the followup album did indeed go in a totally different direction.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  4. #4
    Always a big fan of "Please Don't Judas Me." The album cover is pretty friggin' cool, too.
    "The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"

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    I have never been a huge Nazareth fan, but have always had a soft spot for this album. Back in my early 20’s side 1 of this album was a party staple among my friends and I. Side 2 is pretty good too.

  6. #6
    I used to have a tape I made from a radio show that had Beggars Day and Rose In The Heather on it. Believe it or not, I've never owned this album. The only Nazareth records I've ever owned are Close Enough For Rock N Roll (a totally awesome album), 2XS (a not bad early 80's album that suffers a bit from a misguided attempt to "soften" the band's sound), and that live album that came out just before 2XS, I forget what it's called now.

    BTW, you ever wonder where they got the name Hair Of The Dog from, or why that phrase doesn't actually appear in the song? Manny Charlton said on his website that the song was originally called, naturally enough, Son Of A Bitch. A&M balked at that idea, saying nobody would play a song called Son Of A Bitch on the radio (apparently, they were fine with the song itself, only the time they wanted changed). So someone came up with Hair Of The Dog, because a son of a bitch is literally a "heir of the dog".

  7. #7
    A great album. Love it. One of those splendid mid-70s hard rock albums -- like the debut Montrose, a couple Foghat albums, a few Rainbow albums, even Terrible Ted Nugent's debut, etc. -- that really brightened the palette of more commercial rock music during that era. Except of course "Love Hurts": a quintessential irritating song you purposely scratched on a vinyl record so it skipped to the next song.
    "And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision."

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    The live album was called 'SNAZ. Still holds up OK, especially on "This Flight Tonight" "Telegram" "Big Boy" "Holiday" "Beggars Day" "Expect No Mercy" and "Dressed to Kill"
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  9. #9
    Oh, and Love Hurts was a much better song when the Everly Brothers sang it.

  10. #10
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    I got rid of most of their albums I'd bought back then fairly quickly... There were two of them I kept for a little m-longer than the others, this one and Razamanaz, but eventually parted with them too.

    Never felt the need to own anything from them on CD
    Last edited by Trane; 07-10-2016 at 04:06 AM.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  11. #11
    After getting more seriously interested in progressive rock music, my flair for most 70s hard rock pretty much faded and I sold off at least 200 albums of that ilk - keeping only one title from each of the bigger artists. I think I must have had something like 30 Deep Purples (kept Fireball), a dozen Sabs and Heeps and all the Zeps, and I had about ten Nazareths. I first got into them when "Dream On" was a huge hit here in Scandinavia and my sister bought that 2XS album it was on. I remember being 10 or 11 and really digging the groove of that "Back to the Trenches" track, which was fairly little but a groove. But I believe the last album I kept was indeed Razamanaz, the one with "Broken Down Angel" in it. Then, on a cold and foggy night over beers I had my student roommate produce the record from the racks and play "I Sold My Soul" or wuzziztito, and we were both cringing with laughter at the whole thing. I remember being puzzled at how it could ever have been possible for me to enjoy it.

    Of course then we'd give Lick My Decals Off, Baby a lengthy spin and contemplate with mouldy grins.
    Last edited by Scrotum Scissor; 07-08-2016 at 05:16 AM.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    I never did hear their first two.
    Their debut (the white with the members in shaded fissure and the green band logo) isn't that bad an attempt at more refined hard rock, somewhere between Mayblitz and Warhorse or thereabout. Possibly worth a relisten, but only scarcely.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  13. #13
    Their tenuous link to prog (and this could be mentioned in the Trivia thread) was that Dave Stewart (Hatfield, National Health,etc) played organ on a track on their 1971 debut album.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Wondering if there's any other fans of this album here.
    Their best to my ears. Classic hard rock!

    Then Razzamanazz and Expect No Mercy.
    Macht das ohr auf!

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  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    Always a big fan of "Please Don't Judas Me."
    For me their best song by a long distance.
    Macht das ohr auf!

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  16. #16
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I had this album years ago. I remember liking a few tracks but I lost interest and got rid of it.

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    The first time I got interested in Nazareth was when I heard their take on Joni Mitchell's This Flight Tonight. I found it very intriguing and bought the album. I still love their version. Hair of the Dog was the only other album that I bought by them. I find it consistent but not brilliant. I still return to it now and again. I love the way side two opens.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post

    In even more tenuous 'prog' connections, they had a hit in the UK around this time with a non-album cover of Tomorrow's 'My White Bicycle'. I much prefer the original, though!
    If we count Spirit as "prog", then it should be noted their keyboardist John Locke played with Nazareth in the early 80's. They also had Zal Cleminson, from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, in the group briefly in the late 70's.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I used to have a tape I made from a radio show that had Beggars Day and Rose In The Heather on it. Believe it or not, I've never owned this album. The only Nazareth records I've ever owned are Close Enough For Rock N Roll (a totally awesome album), 2XS (a not bad early 80's album that suffers a bit from a misguided attempt to "soften" the band's sound), and that live album that came out just before 2XS, I forget what it's called now.

    BTW, you ever wonder where they got the name Hair Of The Dog from, or why that phrase doesn't actually appear in the song? Manny Charlton said on his website that the song was originally called, naturally enough, Son Of A Bitch. A&M balked at that idea, saying nobody would play a song called Son Of A Bitch on the radio (apparently, they were fine with the song itself, only the time they wanted changed). So someone came up with Hair Of The Dog, because a son of a bitch is literally a "heir of the dog".
    All these years a' livin', and I never fail to have my mind blown at least once a day.

  20. #20
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    This thread has prompted me to look up their 70's discog...
    These guys' Heroic Fantasy covers (Dog, Mercy and NMC) were kind of misleading on the musical contents, weren't they??

    I'd never even seen that Exercice album (from 72)

    These guys seemed yo enjoy making Pt1 & Pt2 songs (on their debut, then on Rampant, and twice on No Mean City)

    How is Ballad Of Hollis Brown (the 9-mins track from Loud"N Proud)?? any proggy tendencies?
    (I've got little recollection of Don't Judas me on their Dog album)
    How's the 4-parts Tegram with its 7-mins on Close Enough?
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  21. #21
    Now playing Somebody To Roll from "Play'n' the Game". God, they're mean and nasty when they're kicking butt this way. Dan McCafferty smokes!
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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Here's the full version of Telegram, clocks in at around 7:50 with all the parts. I would never call a track like this prog but it is progressive in spirit, trying to do something in a longer format with sections and an over-arching theme. I love the way they used piano to get that deep bass at the opening. This was considered a good speaker tester back in my college dorm days.

    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  23. #23
    The album Razamanaz has some good hard rock sequences.
    "And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision."

    Occasional musical musings on https://darkelffile.blogspot.com/

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    Member Big Ears's Avatar
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    I saw Nazareth around the time Zal Cleminson was with them, and they were the loudest band I have ever seen. I love everything by them from the seventies, but stopped listening around the time of Malice in Wonderland.
    Member since Wednesday 09.09.09

  25. #25
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    I saw them around 78 at the World Music Festival in Toronto, Ontario and in Ottawa, Ontario around 1976.

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