Nazareth-2XS (1982)

In 1982, at the height of the AOR craze, the Scottish band Nazareth released their best work of the 1980s, an album that perfectly blended melodic rock with their signature hard rock sound. By this point, Nazareth had already experimented with this FM-oriented style with the brilliant albums "Close Enough For Rock 'n' Roll" (1976), "Expect No Mercy" (1977), and "Malice In Wonderland" (1980), records that were well-received by their fans and achieved significant success on the American and European charts. With “2XS,” the band’s thirteenth album, they returned to that formula, reflecting the charismatic rock that has always characterized them in tracks like “Take The Rap” and “Black To The Trenches,” alternating with more experimental and eclectic songs like “Mexico” and “Gatecrash,” while their more melodic side is present in the catchy “Love Leads To Madness,” “Games,” “Dream On,” and “Lonely In The Night”. Although it didn’t achieve the same commercial success as its predecessors, two of its singles, “Love Leads To Madness” and “Dream On”, climbed high on the Billboard charts in the UK and other countries around the world.

Nazareth-Rampant (1974)

The Scottish band Nazareth's continuous tours across the United States, promoting their early albums, clearly influenced the sound of their fifth album, "Rampant". In addition to various allusions to American life and culture, the album also reflected their musical roots. Recorded in Switzerland during the first months of 1974, this fifth release saw the band comprised of Dan McCafferty (vocals), Pete Agnew (bass, guitars, and vocals), Manny Charlton (guitar), and Darrell Sweet (drums) craft a work that, while showcasing their characteristic laid-back and versatile rock, leaned towards Southern rock sounds and the acoustic style typical of American rock. These American influences appear in the Southern rock track "Silver Dollar Forger", the atmospheric folk-rock song "Sunshine", and the infectious "Shanghai'd in Shanghai". On the other hand, their signature sound is present in the rock and roll anthem "Glad When You're Gone", the heavy "Loved and Lost", the intense "Light My Way" and the galloping "Jet Lag". As was customary on all their previous albums, this one also includes a cover of a song by a band other than themselves, this time the classic by The Yardbirds, "Shape of Things", reimagined here in a powerful hard rock style. With a gold record and excellent sales worldwide, this album confirmed Nazareth as one of the most popular and successful hard rock and classic rock bands of the 1970s.

Nazareth-Exercises (1972)

Nazareth's second album is a rare bird within their extensive discography, a record that departed from the interesting hard rock sound of their 1971 debut, "Nazareth". However, that first album suffered from a lack of stylistic cohesion, a fact that was understandable and normal for a new band. This second album, titled "Exercises", appeared in mid-1972, and on it, the band comprised of Dan McCafferty (vocals), Pete Agnew (bass), Manny Charlton (guitar), and Darrell Sweet (drums), changed direction, focusing on acoustic and orchestral sounds with dark and acerbic lyrics. Right from the start, the band displays this trend with the symphonic "I Will Not Be Led", featuring a clear and obsessive allusion to the manipulation of religious sects. Following a similar pattern are "Sad Song" and "1692 (Glen Coe Massacre)", which also showcase orchestral instrumentation, but the former in a more melancholic tone and the latter in a more dramatic one. On the other hand, the more subdued, acoustic sounds arrive with the folk tracks "Cat's Eye, Apple Pie", "In My Time", "Fool About You", and "Madelaine", while the bluesy "Woke Up This Morning" and the dynamic soft rock "Called Her Name" are the most energetic moments on the entire album. This radical musical shift led to bewilderment and rejection from a large portion of their fans, which is why, with subsequent releases, the band would significantly harden their style, moving towards classic hard rock.

Nazareth-Expect No Mercy (1977)

"Expect No Mercy" was Nazareth's ninth album released in 1977 and musically successor to "Hair of the Dog" two years earlier, and although after the latter, "Close Enough for Rock 'n' Roll" were released. and "Play 'n' The Game", the latter are considered from their most commercial stage with an AOR that moved away from their characteristic heavy hard rock sound.
So in this "Expect No Mercy" the band decided to return to its harder sound with a powerful album and recovering the influences of its beginnings.
And this is demonstrated by songs like the one that gives the album its title with that psychedelic funky touch, the catchy country "Gone Dead Train", the blues "Busted", the heavy blues rock "Kentucky Fried Blues" or the spectacular and hard "Revenge is Sweet", making "Expect No Mercy" another of the great classics of Nazareth.

Nazareth-´Snaz (1981)

“It’s Naz” is the title of Nazareth’s first live album, recorded during the tour following the release of “The Fool Circle” at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, in May 1981. It is considered one of the best live recordings of the 1980s and one of the top 100 live albums in the history of rock music. 

At that time, the band consisted of original members Dan McCafferty (vocals), Manny Charlton (guitar), Peter Agnew (bass), and Darrell Sweet (drums), along with supporting musicians John Locke (keyboards) and Billy Rankin (guitar). 

This superb double album is composed of an irresistible repertoire of their greatest classics such as the powerful and forceful “Telegram”, “Razamanaz”, “Dressed To Kill”, “Hair of the Dog” or “This Flight Tonight”, as well as covers such as the superb “Java Blues” or the electrifying versions of J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine”, ZZ Top’s “Tush”, or The Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things”.

Nazareth-Hair Of the Dog (1975)

In 1975, Nazareth released what would ultimately become their masterpiece and, at the same time, their most commercially successful album. As was typical for the Scottish band, this sixth release combines excellent original tracks with covers of other artists, but always bearing their unmistakable signature. 

Among the originals are the immortal "Hair of the Dog", a hard rock song featuring magical and powerful guitar riffs; the powerful heavy rock track "Miss Misery", the blues rock song "Changin' Times", the Southern blues-influenced "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman" ,and the lengthy and heavy "Please Don't Judas Me", undoubtedly the album's most memorable moment, a piece that moves between hard rock, progressive rock, and psychedelic sounds. Among the covers are the emotive “Love Hurts”, originally by the Everly Brothers, the bluesy “Guilty” by Randy Newman, and the visceral “Beggars’ Day” by Crazy Horse. 

In short, “Hair Of The Dog” is another superb album from the Scots, where they once again demonstrated their genius in composing a series of songs that brilliantly combine multiple influences, achieving a coherent and versatile style within the hard rock scene of the seventies.

Nazareth-Loud´N´Proud (1973)

In the 70s after many concerts where Nazareth participated (on many occasions as a supporter for bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy or Rush) the press praised them with "honor and greater glory for NAZARETH".
And it is that Nazareth are one of the most glorious and fundamental bands in the History of Rock.
His resume is overwhelming, his musical influence
(especially throughout the 70's) is unquestionable and
Does not admit any discussion.
In 1973 they published their fourth album "Loud and Proud" a hard rock exercise with progressive brushstrokes such as Bob Dylan's version 'The Ballad Of Hollis Brown', a song with an impressive beginning and the acoustic guitar that accompanied the original song is now replaced by a muddy electric bass with the distortion (Fuzz) butt, which threatens creeps full of fierce force and cryptic darkness, while dark and sharp guitar melodies sound in the distance plunging us into an enveloping and grotesque progressive passage of ten apocalyptic minutes.

Nazareth-The Newz (2008)

After more than forty years, in 2008 Nazareth released their twenty-first album, "The Newz", ten years after their last studio album, "Boogaloo" (1998), which was also the last to feature founding member Darrell Sweet, who passed away at the end of 1999. By the time of this new release, the band had added two new members: drummer Lee Agnew and guitarist Jimmy Murrison. Together with founding members Pete Agnew (bass) and Dan McCafferty (vocals), they created one of their most acclaimed and critically acclaimed albums, beloved by their countless fans. Here, they once again demonstrate their tremendous skill in blending different styles and influences with a masterful display, combining everything from hard rock and classic rock to melodic rock and country rock. A string of memorable songs make up an exquisite and highly enjoyable album such as "Keep On Travellin'", "Road Trip", "Goin' Loco", "Day At The Beach", "Liar", "Mean Streets", "Gloria" or "Warning", which would once again put them at the forefront of world rock.

Nazareth-The Fool Circle (1981)

Nazareth's twelfth studio album is one of their most abrasive yet eclectic works. On "The Fool Circle", the British band continues to blend their diverse influences with their signature hard rock sound. This time around, the group comprised of Dan McCafferty (vocals), Manny Charlton (guitars), Pete Agnew (bass), and Darrell Sweet (drums) along with guest appearances by Zal Cleminson (guitars), John Locke (keyboards), and Jeff Baxter (synthesizers and production), incorporates addictive 80s commercial sounds like reggae, which permeate several of the album's tracks. Songs like the lively rock "Dressed To Kill", the peculiar reggae "Let Me Be Your Leader", the pop rock "Little Part Of You", the catchy "Victoria", the refined ballad "Moonlight Eyes", the AOR "Another Year" or a reggae version of the classic song "Cocaine" by J.J. Cale performed live, make up one of their most harmonious albums, but at the same time it is unfairly one of the most underrated in their entire discography, despite achieving great acceptance in many European countries and in Canada.

Nazareth-Close Enough For Rock´n´Roll (1976)

With “Close Enough For Rock 'n' Roll”, the seventh album by the Scottish band Nazareth, they began to move away from their eclectic rock and roll and hard rock sound, venturing into the melodic rock that was so fashionable in the year of its release (1976). While their previous album, “Hair of the Dog”, overflowed with the energetic progressive heavy rock that would lead them to achieve a platinum and a gold record, this album lacked almost entirely that same punch and energy, with the exception of the vibrant “Telegram”, the boogie-rock track “Lift The Lid”, and the vigorous cover of Jeff Barry’s “You’re The Violin”. Harmonious and dynamic sounds took over with the silky “Homesick Again”, the rhythmic “Vancouver Shakedown”, the playful “Born Under The Wrong Sign”, and the melodic rock songs “Loretta” and “Carry Out Feelings”. Despite the risk involved in their radical change of style, the band managed to pull it off, producing an album that was well received by fans and decently maintaining their status among the top of the world's hard rock scene.

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.

Nazareth-Malice In Wonderland (1980)

In 1980, Nazareth were overwhelmingly immersed in the typical sounds of melodic rock, a fact confirmed by their eleventh album, "Malice in Wonderland". For this new record, the lineup remained unchanged since the previous album, "No Mean City", consisting of Dan McCafferty, Zal Cleminson, Darrell Sweet, Manny Charlton, and Pete Agnew. They had solidified their quintet configuration with the addition of guitarist Cleminson a year earlier. Despite being categorized as one of their AOR-focused works, "Malice in Wonderland" actually deviated significantly from the prevailing style of the time. They were characterized by an original sound with diverse musical nuances, which they fused with their distinctive hard rock, resulting in a highly appealing and high-quality sound. From the initial and tremendously commercial “Holiday”, through the powerful “Turning a New Leaf” or “Showdown At The Border”, the addictive “Talkin’ on One of The Boys” or “Fats Cars” and the melodic and attractive “Ship Of Dreams”, “Heart’s Grown Cold” or “Fallen Angel”, the Scots left an album with which they continued to remain at the top of hard rock and their status as a great band intact.