After the enforced retirement of mighty Dan McCafferty a few years ago many had written off Nazareth as a going concern – even more so after the arguably rushed appointment of Linton Osborne which didn’t last long.
Now, after the addition of Carl Sentence to vocal duties, Nazareth come back hard and fresh with new studio album Tattooed on my Brain.
For me it’s right up there with anything they’ve ever done. Heavy, brooding, up tempo, varied.
Long-serving guitarist Jimmy Murrison is all over it with crunching riffs a-plenty. Sentence has a powerful presence with plenty of range and power.
The opener – Never Dance With the Devil – has a monster, monster riff. A short track to get the early shots in and how well it works. A marvellous hard rocker.
Title track is next. A jaunty fast paced song which has an impossibly and instantly catchy melody with Sentence going in to almost rapping territory. Crazy stuff.
State of Emergency chugs along apace too managing to rick hard and have a hook at the same time. Next up is Rubik’s Romance which leans towards a southern rock style to demonstrate the versatility of offer here.
Pole to Pole gets is straight back in to the heavy stuff. Check out the video:
We’re only about half way through the album with Pole to Pole – and what’s left to come is just as good as what’s gone before.
Meaty, full bodied rock songs. Unmistakeably Nazareth – but Nazareth with renewed vigour and sense of purpose. Take Crazy Molly for example – a dirty sounding bit of sleaze.
In a bit of a twist, sole remaining founder-member Pete Agnew gets to take the lead vocal on the closing track – You Call Me. A brooding slow-burner ballad style number.
Nazareth could have sat back after Dan’s retirement and done nothing – after fifty or so years in the business who could have blamed them after losing such a unique vocal. Instead they have ploughed on, bagged a fine new man at the mic in Sentence and come up with a remarkably excellent album to blast the doubters.
Yes, there will be plenty out the being dismissive saying “it’s not Nazareth with Dan”. To those people I say listen without prejudice and judge it on the music. Times change, things move on. Be thankful we still have bands like Nazareth who know how to deliver and have the ambition to do so after so many years.
Tattooed on my Brain is Naz at their best. Make no mistake.
>> NAZARETH TATTOOED ON MY BRAIN ON AMAZON HERE <<
After the recent new one from Uriah Heep quickly followed by this from Nazareth it’s proof that the old ‘uns still do it best…..!
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