Hair of the Dog

by

Nazareth

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If there were a museum that showcased the most essential albums in hard rock, Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" would surely be behind a glass display case. It streamlined all of the important aspects that characterized the genre; gritty, riff-driven rock and a great level of accessibility. The album is full of talking-guitar techniques, powerhouse structures, and most importantly, a flexibility that is rarely found in most heavy metal albums: ballads that meant something and rockers that meant even more. Nazareth was one of the few bands that could pull off an equal balance of driving rock and power ballads that didn't sound overdone and empty. For instance, it's hard to find a band that could execute the anthemic title track, then craft a ballad such as the rendition of 'Love Hurts.' (It's a shame however that the power-ballad category would be turned into nothing more than a musical joke in the next decade, due to acts like Poison, Whitesnake, or Warrant.) Some more interesting moments are found in 'Rose in the Heather,' the doom of 'Miss Misery,' and the paranoid closer 'Please Don't Judas Me,' one of the songs that shows that not all songs associated with the word 'experiment' are wastes of time. All told, "Hair of the Dog" is an essential piece of rock music, the blueprint for many acts to follow.

Nazareth has at least 15 albums, and at least 100 great songs - but "Hair of the Dog" just has too many harsh tracks with non-melodic choruses. If you get the import version that has the bonus tracks "Railroad Boy", "Guilty", and "Down" - this is a pretty good album, similar to "Expect No Mercy". However the standard release without "Love Hurts" IS the title track Hair of the Dog - and a bunch of heavy but plodding, and at times abrasive songs. You might as well hit the off switch after "Hair of the Dog" ends, and "Miss Misery" begins, and it gets even worse at the end of the album with "Please Don't Judas Me'. They both sound like something Nazareth dug out of Ronnie James Dio's trash can. The middle of the album is a bit better, the 1st half of "Changin Times" is similar to the sort of vocals and rhythms you'd expect from Led Zeppelin (NOT what you'd expect from Nazareth), but the vocals on this and some of the other songs need to be remastered, they sound weak and tinny, similar to tracks on AC/DC's "Blow Up Your Video" album. I repeat, "Please Don't Judas Me" - is nothing special, it has slow and plodding song with a simple march style rhythm, and repeats the hookless chorus again and again. If you consider the songs "Monsters of Rock" or "Heavy Duty" to be the highlights of Judas Priest's career - you'll love Miss Misery/Please Don't Judas Me, as they are boring enought to put a zombie to sleep. "Whiskey Drinking Woman" is sort of a slow boogie that gives a nod to the blues and southern rock - and is the sort of catchy and rhythmic song you'd expect from Nazareth. "Beggar's Day" has it's moments, but the vocals are a bit too harsh even by Dan's standards on that one.

I guess it's just a matter of taste, it isn't a BAD album, the only TERRIBLE album Nazareth made was "Snakes and Ladders". This album is probably better than The Fool Circle, Playing The Game, Close Enough For Rock and Roll, and Exercises - but not many others. I don't think it's fair to compare it with most of their earlier albums, as they are so different musically. I would recommend buying 2X's, Malice In Wonderland, No Mean City, Expect No Mercy, Cinema, Sound Elixir - even Move Me or The Catch well before this clunker. Better yet, buy their latest album "Boogaloo" if you want a good album from top to bottom. Don't think you're going to get a solid top-to-bottom hard rock album like AC/DC's Back In Black or Powerage with Hair - only the title track "Hair of the Dog" resembles that type of hard rock. If you like metal groups like Sabbath or Zeppelin - this album probably will please you. I'd like to hear from more about why they rate this album as Nazareth's best - the title track is awesome, but I just don't get it after that - but everyone seems to love "Miss Misery" and "Please Don't Judas Me", so you might too. 2 stars because it has one of their best songs ever, but you'd be better off with a greatest hits album if you are looking to own one Nazareth Album. If you have to try it, get the import version with "Love Hurts" and the bonus tracks.