For those unaware, Nazareth formed in 1968. The group was instrumental in shaping hard rock and laid the foundation for years to come emerging heavy metal style.

Nazareth celebrated its greatest successes in the 1970s and 1980s. With almost 60 million sold albums worldwide, they are the internationally best known Scottish music group alongside Simple Minds.

The album Nazareth now contains recordings from the 90’s including many live hits on two discs.

UK’s Nazareth was one of many 70’s legacy rock acts that scored some hits in the past century but aren’t remembered for delivering memorable albums or anthems. Theoretically, the band still exists, but all its original members except bassist Pete Agnew have since died, some more were changed over time, and the band now exists merely as a touring machine approaching its inevitable end, sadly.

Back at the time of their 1971 self-titled debut, they were - intentionally or not - merging into being a clone of Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and The Rolling Stones, divided among proto-metal, Funk (Witchdoctor Woman), boogie-woogie piano swing (Dear John) and with vocals that could give Robert Plant a run for his money, all wrapped within a blues-rock-metal ambiance.

The overall sound is softer than the hard rock the group is best known for, but that doesn’t mean the album is lacking in good old-fashioned rock and roll. The aforementioned Witchdoctor Woman is a moody rocker built on a slow, spooky fuzz guitar riff, and the group’s sinister cover of Morning Dew transforms this folk classic into a hard rock epic that provides a powerful showcase for Manny Charlton’s powerful but imaginative guitar work.

A lot of time is also devoted to country-styled ballads like I Had a Dream and Country Girl, which set dreamy melodies against a gentle backdrop of keyboards and steel guitar. All in all, perhaps Nazareth tries out too many different styles to ever cohere, but it does effectively show off the chops and songwriting skills of this oft-underrated band.

And now out via MVD Music as a two CD set, including a slew of brilliant live hits, this is still very much a necessary listen for the group’s fans and may even win over ’70s rock fans who wouldn’t normally go for the Nazareth sound on this reissue.

1: Hire and Fire
2: Razamanaz
3: I Want to Do Everything for You
4: Gone Dead Train
5: Dream On
6: Whisky Drinkin’ Woman
7: My White Bicycle
8: Every Time It Rains
9: Bad Bad Boy
10: Vigilante Man
11: Right Between the Eyes
12: Hair of the Dog
13: This Flight Tonight
14: Love Hurts
15: Tush

Official Purchase Link

Official Nazareth Website