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Hair of the Dog

 
Album Review: Hair of the Dog

  • Artist: Nazareth
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1975
  • Total Time: 40:36
  • Genre: Rock

Review

After slowly but surely building a fanbase around the world with albums like Razamanaz and Loud 'N' Proud, Nazareth finally hit the big time in 1975 with Hair of the Dog. The title track sets the mood for this stark album of hard rock with its combination of relentless guitar riffs, a throbbing, cowbell-driven beat, and an angry vocal from Dan McCafferty that denounces a "heart-breaker, soul-shaker." The end result is a memorably ferocious rocker that has become a staple of hard rock radio stations. The remainder of the album divides its time between similarly pulverizing hard rock fare and some intriguing experiments with the group's sound. In the rocker category, notable tracks include "Miss Misery," a bad romance lament driven by a doomy riff worthy of Black Sabbath, and "Changin' Times," a throbbing hard rock tune driven by a hypnotic, circular-sounding guitar riff. In the experimental category, the big highlight is "Please Don't Judas Me," an epic tune about paranoia that trades heavy metal riffs for a spooky, synthesizer-dominated atmosphere that is further enhanced by some light, Pink Floyd-styled slide guitar work. The American edition of this album also included a surprise hit for the group with their power ballad reinterpretation of the Everly Brothers classic "Love Hurts." However, the album's surprise highlight is a song that bridges the gap between the straight hard rock and experimental songs, "Beggars Day/Rose in Heather"; it starts out as a stomping rocker but smoothly transforms itself midway through into a gentle and spacey instrumental where soaring synthesizer lines support some moody guitar work. All in all, Hair of the Dog is the finest album in the Nazareth catalog. It is a necessity for both the group's fans and anyone who loves 1970s hard rock. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Hair of the Dog Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (4:09)
Miss Misery Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (4:40)
Love Hurts (Lyrics) Boudleaux Bryant Nazareth (3:53)
Changin' Times Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (6:03)
Beggars Day (Lyrics) Nils Lofgren Nazareth (3:45)
Rose in the Heather Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (2:44)
Whiskey Drinkin' Woman Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (5:29)
Please Don't Judas Me Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet Nazareth (9:47)

Credits

Nazareth (Main Performer), Dan McCafferty (Vocals), Simon Phillips (Percussion), Simon Phillips (Tabla), Pete Agnew (Bass), Pete Agnew (Guitar), Pete Agnew (Guitar (Bass)), Pete Agnew (Vocals), Pete Agnew (Vocals (Background)), Vicki Brown (Vocals), Manny Charlton (Synthesizer), Manny Charlton (Guitar), Manny Charlton (Producer), Max Middleton (Keyboards), David Roe (Sleeve Illustration), Vicky Silva (Vocals), Vicky Silva (Vocals (Background)), Barry St. John (Vocals), Liza Strike (Vocals), Darrell Sweet (Percussion), Darrell Sweet (Drums), Darrell Sweet (Vocals (Background)), Tony Taverner (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: Hair of the Dog
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Hair of the Dog
Studio album by Nazareth
Released April 1975
Recorded 1974-1975
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 40:20
Label A&M Records (USA)
Vertigo Records (Europe)
Producer Manny Charlton
Professional reviews
Nazareth chronology
Rampant
(1974)
Hair of the Dog
(1975)
Greatest Hits
(1975)

Hair of the Dog was the sixth studio album by the Scottish rock band Nazareth, released in 1975. It was released on A&M Records. The album was recorded at Escape Studios, in Kent, United Kingdom and is the band's biggest selling album to date, having sold two million copies worldwide.

After three albums with Deep Purple's Roger Glover producing, Manny Charlton stepped into that position, one he filled for several subsequent albums.

It was Nazareth's first big hit album (aside from the minor success of Razamanaz), including classics such as "Love Hurts" (on the US version, but not the Canadian/European, it replaced the original "Guilty"), "Hair of the Dog", "Beggar's Day" and "Please Don't Judas Me".

The album title is often considered to be from a shortened form of the phrase describing a folk hangover cure, (The Hair of the dog that bit you). However, according to Dan McCafferty, the title is a play on "heir of the dog", ie. a "son of a bitch". This was the title the band had intended for the album, but the label didn't approve. The title track is sometimes mistakenly called "Son of a Bitch" because of its chorus ("now you're messin' with a son of a bitch").

The remastered compact disc, first released in the mid-1990s, features bonus tracks.

Contents

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Hair of the Dog" – 4:09
  2. "Miss Misery" – 4:40
  3. Either of the following:
    • "Love Hurts" – 3:53 (USA edition)
    • "Guilty" - 3:35 (Canadian and European edition)
  4. "Changin' Times" – 6:03

Side two

  1. "Beggars Day / Rose in the Heather" – 6:31
  2. "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman" – 5:29
  3. "Please Don't Judas Me" – 9:48

Remastered edition

The remastered edition includes both "Guilty" (track 3) and "Love Hurts" (track 9) plus the following bonus tracks:

  • "Down" - 3:55
  • "Railroad Boy" - 4:07
  • "Hair of the Dog" (single edit) - 3:21

Credits

Band members

Additional musicians


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hair of the Dog" Read more