Yup, he painted it, though I don’t know anything about Eerie to say which came first
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I went back to the beginning tonight
Nazareth (self-titled debut - 1971)
Way back when it seemed maybe a little too diverse, but in hindsight it was an appropriate introduction, it’s got the grinding rock, blues, country, a cover of a folk tune, a lush AOR ballad… it’s like they were setting the table for the career to come, “This is what you’re going to get from us over the decades”, next LP with be folky, following that, a rocker, etc etc.
Might not be one of their giants, but it’s a good LP
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I imagine what a lot of us are listening to right now is the steady hiss of the air conditioning…
Crow wants rid of them, Newt and Carrey.
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Continuing my trip down memory lane with Nazareth, how would these 70s rockers enter the 80s?
Nazareth, Malice in Wonderland (1980)
Malice is pure AOR, not since Exercises have they strayed this far from their grinding, crunchier sound.
I loved this album when it was released, I listened to it a lot, and the video for Holiday was a welcome mainstay on MTV - Of the music that defined 1980 for me, Nazareth was joined by Queen (The Game), Pat Benatar (Crime of Passion), Devo (Freedom of Choice) and bittersweetly, John Lennon’s LP return after a 5-year break (tragically marked by his murder 3 weeks later).
But how does it hold up? Pretty well, though admittedly after listening to Expect No Mercy and No Mean City it’s jarring to jump from those into this. It can sound overproduced, and plastic in spots (Talkin About Love), but it’s grand ear candy, with nice harmonies, and at least one classic power ballad (Hearts Grown Cold… though Fallen Angel is pretty darned good too). It might not be traditional Nazareth, but in terms of craft, of songwriting, arrangement and instrumentation it’s one of their finest.
It also boasts my favorite Nazareth cover - designed by Amy Nagasawa, the mannequins lend it a strange, otherworldly quality, and it captures a story we’re not privy too, where a blazing fire interrupts an outdoor party… the who, what, and whys swim in my head when I stare at that beaut?
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A nice seasonal tune
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The Fool Circle was the last Nazareth album I ever bought, and I don’t have any strong memories of it, other than that weird cover. Critic Dave Marsh hated it, and it doesn’t seem to rank high among fans. Revisiting it, there are some good tracks, I like the poppy “Little Part of You”, by Manny Charlton, and some of the reggae sounds thrown in there are cool (it was recorded in George Martin’s studio on the island of Montserrat and bassist Pete Agnew feels that setting might have contributed to that). It’s a political album, and a rather minor effort from the band… but not a train wreck. It wouldn’t make my top 10, then again, I don’t really have a top 10.
My Essentials
#1. Hair of the Dog
#2. Loud ‘N’ Proud
#3. Expect No Mercy
#4. Malice in Wonderland
#5. Razamanaz
#6. No Mean City
#7. Rampant
#8. Exercises
#9. Nazareth
The rest of my collection
#10. Play ‘n’ the Game (I like the first 5 songs, the final 4, not so much)
#11. The Fool Circle (like a few tracks here and there)
#12. Close Enough for Rock ‘n’ Roll (the first and third tracks are all I enjoyed from this one… but a lot of listeners rate this highly)
Here’s another man’s opinion
I love how it’s vinyl he’s displaying - not that I have anything against CDs, I have a lot of CDs, but with Nazareth I still only have my original records. I love the packaging of these things, the large size looks so nice what with the art, and with Naz vinyl just feels right, they should be on vinyl (though again, not a hater of other formats, in fact there’s probably some remasters that make them sound all the better).
And that’s the end of my journey (though I’ll be going back and listening to these again - in fact, I’m playing No Mean City as I type this)
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To say that Dave Marsh hated it creates the misperception that Dave Marsh ever once knew what he was talking about.
He didn’t hate things… he chose things that he thought would be good candidates for impressing himself with the cleverness of his put-downs.
But enough about your average Pitchfork critic.
I finally got around to this underrated Walter Hill cult classic on Netflix a year ago.
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I watched Anchorman the other day so Now I’ve been hyperfixated on Afternoon Delight cuz of this scene:
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I mean, it’s a way to go. Otherwise you’re just offering your stupid opinion, right? 
You know, those guys weren’t as peppy as they sounded.
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And I don’t drink. Talk about the irony.
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More enduring silliness.
Listening to the new Lizzo album, Special, on my record player.
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Ain’t that a fun album? Lizzo is such a bright spark!
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