Garage Sale Vinyl, The $5 Edition: Nazareth
Hair of the Dog / A&M / April 1975
by Christopher Long
It’s a familiar cadence, one I’ve banged out numerous times throughout the (thus far) 95 installments of this series. But it’s a drumbeat that deserves at least one more encore: when record shopping, no matter where, no matter how dismal the prospects might seem, always seek out ALL the “bargain” bins, and always flip through every record.
While down in Florida recently, I visited one of my favorite Space Coast record joints, where I discovered the shop’s new “discount section.” Upon perusing the multiple bins and wading through a seemingly endless slew of “yawners,” I managed to pluck out a few celebrated slabs from the mid-‘70s. Although they were in less-than-mint condition, they were all solid titles. And I scored each one for just $5, including this well-lived copy of Hair of the Dog, the iconic masterwork from the Scottish rock brigade, Nazareth.
What truly set Nazareth apart from the rest of the pack was that they had great songs. The band’s sound was heavy. However, their songs were magical, melodic, and well-crafted. Manny Charlton was one of the true unsung guitar gods of the era, and the rock-ribbed rhythm section of bassist Pete Agnew and drummer Darrell Sweet rarely showed mercy. For his part, frontman Dan McCafferty owned a raspy yet smooth style that was as distinctive as any acknowledged powerhouse vocalist of the day.
After slogging through the trenches during the early ’70s, touring relentlessly worldwide, and delivering five studio sets, Nazareth’s (short-lived) Top 20 success finally came in 1975 when they released their only million-selling album, Hair of the Dog.
Nazareth boasted the blues zeal of Zeppelin, the heavy sinfulness of Sabbath, and the cock rock appeal of Purple. They just did it better than those contemporaries. Yeah, I said that. And I meant it. As an additional slice of personal philosophy, if the history of ’70s hard rock were an episode of The Flintstones, I’d also say that Hair of the Dog would be the “Grand Poobah.”
Driven by “more cowbell” and the infamous, fist-pumping “Now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch” chorus, the album’s title track remains a staple of classic rock radio to this day. Hair of the Dog also featured the band’s one and only (U.S.) Top 40 single, a remake of the 1960 Everly Brothers hit, “Love Hurts,” a brilliant piece of work that can arguably be credited with providing the blueprint for the power ballad phenomenon of the 1980s.
Other noteworthy standouts include the “Black Dog”-vibed “Changin’ Times,” the coliseum-caliber “Beggars Day,” and the soaring, record-closing, ten-minute opus, “Please Don’t Judas Me.” And Dave Roe’s cover artwork was equally iconic as the music. Fact check.
Simply put, Hair of the Dog was a son of a bitch of a record, indeed!
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hair of the Dog Track List
*All songs written by Nazareth except where noted.
SIDE ONE
01. Hair of the Dog – 4:10
02. Miss Misery – 4:41
03. Love Hurts (Boudleaux Bryant) – 3:52
04. Changin’ Times – 6:03
SIDE TWO
01. Beggars Day (N. Lofgren) – 3:45
02. Rose in the Heather – 2:45
03. Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman – 5:30
04. Please Don’t Judas Me – 9:50
