Formed 50 years ago in 1968 by the legendary line-up of Dan McCafferty, Manny Charlton, Pete Agnew and Darrell Sweet, a line-up that endured till 1990 (occasionally adding a second guitarist or keys) Nazareth were and probably always be in my opinion Scotland’s finest ever Rock band.
These days bassist Pete Agnew is the only original member with Sweet sadly passing in 1999, Charlton’s departure in 1991 and McCafferty’s retirement due to ill health in 2013, giving his blessing to his replacement Linton Osborne,who in 2015 was subsequently replaced by Carl Sentance (Persian Risk, Geezer Butler Band).
I remember back in 2011 reviewing their 22nd album ‘Big Dogz’ which was released by Edel, and being pleasantly surprised in how good it was,but their 2014 release ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ on Union Square Records never crossed our desks,which was a shame as McCafferty left the band shorty after recording it. This therefore is not only Nazareth’s 24th album but also the very FIRST without McCafferty behind the mic.
The good news is that whilst there is probably no voice as distinct as that of the wonderfully whiskey-soaked McCafferty, new singer Carl Sentance does do a great job and for those who thought that ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ might be a swansong it appears that conversely ‘Tattooed on my Brain’ might just be a fresh lease of life.
Sonically the album starts off with a solid but diverse bunch of songs, all held together by some wonderful guitar. First up there’s the Hard Rocking riffs and groove of opener ‘Never Dance With The Devil’ ; then the almost Punk-driven ‘Tattooed on My Brain’; and finally in that opening foray the cranked up and amped up hyper Blues of ‘State Of Emergency’ that sets a blistering pace driven by an AC/DC lie pattern and bouncing beat.
There’s even more diversity in the Southern-tinged, mid-tempo, barroom Rock of ‘Rubik’s Romance’ and then it’s foot to the floor for the swaggering soulful hard rock of ‘Pole To Pole’ and the dirty steel-stringed Cowboy grind of ‘Push’ (one of my favourites here).
On one level of course there’s nothing new here, ‘Tattooed…’ is a hard rock record much in the vein of the bands latter-day output, but on another level you could see it as a revitalization and a push back to those who thought it might be 50 and out. Songs like the dirty hard rock and roll of ‘The Secret Is Out’ and the incredibly catchy ‘Don’t Throw Your Love Away’ don;t sound like they come from a band that’s either winding down or running out of things to say.
It’s back to the satisfying ‘meat and potatoes’ hard rock for the wonderful ‘Crazy Molly’ and in ‘Silent Symphony’ you’ll find is a real hidden gem right up there with the best here. Deeper still ‘What Goes Around’ adds a wonderful edge before yet another heavy-hitter ‘Change’ makes you realise what a fine addition to the Nazareth catalogue this has been.
The final track ‘You Call Me’ adds a little something different, a slow, brooding, simmering number, stripped back and atmospheric, it kind of stands alone but leaves you drifting and wondering.
Still rocking after all these years,an we’re still hoping for many more to come.
