Nazareth-No Mean City (1979)

In the mid-seventies, Nazareth's sound shifted towards a more melodic direction, which diminished their credibility within the hard rock community and among their own fans. Therefore, with "Expect No Mercy" (1977), they returned to a harder sound with an album packed with powerful hard rock tracks. A year later, they repeated the formula with "No Mean City", the band's tenth album. By then, the Scottish band had expanded with the addition of guitarist Zal Cleminson, formerly of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, adding greater depth to Nazareth's unmistakable style. Replete with memorable moments like the irresistible hard rock track “Simple Solution”, which structurally recalls “Free Wheeler” from the legendary “Loud ’n’ Proud” of years past, while the energetic “Just To Get Into It” and the dark and heavy “Claim To Fame” once again leave that lingering taste of the band's powerful and forceful hard rock. Meanwhile, the rhythmic “No Mean City (Parts 1 & 2)” brings us back to Nazareth at their most dynamic. On the opposite end of the spectrum are “May The Sunshine” and “Star”, tracks with folk influences that alternate acoustic sounds with catchy choruses. Despite the positive reception from their fans, the band would choose with the following album "Malice In Wonderland" to return to playing with AOR sounds, combining the sound of melodic rock with powerful hard rock tracks, which meant acceptance or resignation (depending on how you look at it), from some sectors of their large legion of followers.