Label: A&M Records (US), CD 3169
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Time: 40:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 238 Mb
Aye,
that's a five stars out of five all right. For some reason, nearly
every heavy metal band that ever pioneered the movement back on the
Sixties/Seventies border, used to have its first album as its finest
hour (stupid critics don't seem to realise that, of course, but hey,
it's their personal problem). Think Led Zep I (glorious!), Deep Purple
In Rock (not that band's first record, but the first serious Mark II
studio effort), Paranoid (well, it was Sabbath's second effort, but it
came out the same year as the first), and yes, Nazareth's self-titled
album.
You know my scepticism towards heavy metal as a genre, but
even I have to admit that this is one helluva record; easily the second
best "heavy" release of 1971, barely nudged out by Zoso and only because
that one had a mightier share of instant classics. On the other hand,
Nazareth is more consistent; you'll find nothing like the stupid
self-indulgence of 'Four Sticks' or the lame ear-shredding harmonies of
'Misty Mountain Hop' on here. So, assuming that very few souls in this
world still remember the Scottish lads' innocent debut, I might just as
well give you a short run-down.
Freshly descended from the snowy
mountains of Scotland, Nazareth seem to have absorbed the heavy sound
quite seriously; there's no reason to doubt their having worn out their
copies of Led Zep's, Black Sabbath's and even Uriah Heep's records from
the previous year. But Nazareth adds an important series of elements
that are enough to completely distinguish their effort from that of
their predecessors. First, there is a very strong folk influence
throughout; and unlike Led Zep, these guys actually understand what folk
is all about. Maybe Edinburgh was a good place to soak in these
influences; in any case, a song like 'I Had A Dream', even if it might
seem 'mushy' on first listen, is actually an excellent and moving
acoustic gem, graced by tasty harmonium and very Winwood-like vocals
from Mr McCafferty (in fact, you could easily mistake this song for a
Traffic number! A good Traffic number at that!) Likewise, 'Country Girl'
is adorable - it has nothing to do with Neil Young's song of the same
name, but it is somewhat similar to Neil's balladeering style, and dang
catchy and pleasant at that.
(full version: starlingdb.org/music/nazareth.htm)
01. Witchdoctor Woman (04:09)
02. Dear John (03:47)
03. Empty Arms, Empty Heart (03:14)
04. I Had A Dream (03:24)
05. Red Light Lady (06:02)
06. Fat Man (03:25)
07. Country Girl (04:06)
08. Morning Dew (07:09)
09. King Is Dead (04:45)
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