Greatest Hits Vol.1 - Nazareth > Reviews > Naff teeth frizzball hair

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Dan the man, This Flight Tonight
Disadvantages:	Manny's tache

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I remember the first time I clapped eyes on Dan McCafferty and Nazareth as if it were yesterday, but actually it was almost thirty years ago. It was on Top of the Pops and the Nazz were performing their debut single (it was, wasn't it?) Bad Bad Boy. It was all vivid close ups of Dan with his frizzy hair with the centre parting and the grimacing teeth and screaming ...

I remember how very impressed I was even then.

I liked their first few singles and then I got totally hooked by their awesome cover version of Joni Mitchell's This Flight Tonight, absolute bloody magic...

I was a committed fan from that day on (well, I loved their singles and bought most of them anyway). Thus, the Greatest Hits album is pretty damn indispensable as far as I'm concerned with both Bad Bad Boy and This Flight Tonight, plus a host of others including Broken Down Angel and a bluesed out version of the classic Love Hurts, all screaming fits and gritted phrasing; "LUV ISS LIIIIKE A STOOOOOVE .... BURNZ YOO WHEN IT'S HOT!"

Yeah, the Nazz were well good and the Purple bassist Roger Glover produced their sound so wonderfully well.

Now, if they'd ever managed to get a guitarist who was a tad more fashionable and a tad less hairy than that old down in the mouth bloodhound Manny Charlton they would have been contenders for BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD. As it is, they were just an awesome little rock band with some amazing songs, but it's This Flight Tonight that's still the one that grabs: "Blackness, blackness, pulling me down, gonna get out on THIS FLIGHT TONIGHT!"

Sub Golden Earring they may have been (do you remember Radar Love?), but they had more hits in the locker and were Scottish (as if that mattered a fig.)

Glad old Dan got his hair permed ... must be the only man in the world who actually looked good in a perm ... well, you wouldn't have told him even if he didn't would you?

The Greatest Hits album came out in 1975 and captured the distinctive hard rock/pop sound of Dan and the band to perfection –

Full track listing
1. Love Hurts
2. I Don't Want To Go On Without You
3. Holiday
4. Broken Down Angel
5. Bad Bad Boy
6. Shanghai'd In Shanghai
7. Gone Dead Train
8. Star
9. Place In Your Heart
10. This Flight Tonight
11. My White Bicycle
12. Holy Roller
13. May The Sunshine
14. Dream On
15. Turn On Your Receiver
16. Morning Dew

I’ve talked about the standout tracks already and you should note that the best tracks are a fair bit better than the poorer tracks and clearly Nazz saved their best stuff for the 45 medium – the albums were much more orthodox heavy metal/hard rock, but it was in the rock pop field that these guys were almost peerless for a time in the mid 70’s.

Listen and enjoy.