By Kloghole
If you cannot immediately recall the resonant cowbell that introduces “Hair of the Dog,” I do not know what to say. Then, the vocals kick in. What a voice. McCafferty’s vocals are iconic.
My earliest recollection of Nazareth is the lyrics, “Now, you’re messin’ with a son-of-a-bitch” blasting out of a boombox in the back of bus returning from a triumphant JV football game. I was not one of the “in” kids, but joined the team for exercise and to let out a little aggression. When I was a senior during one scrimmage with the JV team, I was playing defensive line (at 127 lbs). The guard kept cutting out my knees on running plays, so I decided to go lower. I dropped my helmet to undercut him, but it must have been a passing play. He went down, and I, unimpeded, chased the quarterback until he dumped off the pass. When I went back to the huddle, everyone was asking who hit the guard in the nuts, as he was still writhing around on the ground. I played dumb, but grinned ear to ear under my helmet. They tell us to wear a cup for a reason was my thought.
It was at some point during my graduate work at Oregon that I started collecting dirt cheap LPs. They were a way to try out unfamiliar music without any real investment. For two bucks, I could grab a pre-skull-fracture Hank Williams Jr. without worrying that I blew $8-16 on something rather unexciting. Sifting through the albums in a music store is always overwhelming. I have to find ways to narrow my search, especially if I am pressed for time. One tactic is to stick to the new arrivals. They have a nice randomness in the selection, but perhaps have gems that others have yet to mine. Another tactic is to have an artist that I always wanted to get into their catalog, even though the musician is known to be pretty inconsistent, have limited CD releases, or I have yet to commit to. You head straight to those LP bins and look for specific artists. For some reason, I began digging around for old Nazareth albums.
My first selections may have been a few with the more ominous looking covers like No Mean City and Expect No Mercy. While distinctly different in its tone, the one that sticks out for me, however, is Exercises. I began reading the lyrics for “I Will Not Be Led” and found some surprising complexity and social commentary:
Why want me to believe the word's you read
But I don't believe in what your good book says,
I just believe that when I'm dead, I'm dead.
You say I must repent,
Bow down and show respect,
I am a man and I will not be led.
Another song resonated with my “only luck I have is bad luck” life story, “Woke Up This Morning.” The lyrics are an intentionally tongue-in-cheek hard luck story, but they hit very close to home. There are times in my life where the lyrics are not far off.
This year is one of those years. It is the 10th year since my brother’s house burned down, killing his cat. In the past couple months, I lost both my dogs within a couple weeks of each other. Where I work is in full meltdown, and I have no real idea where I will end up on campus. Students are flocking to me because the other faculty are bigots, assholes, and self-centered fucks. My dean asked me who the students were complaining about. In exasperation, I said, “just about everybody” ... pausing to reflect on what I just said, then repeating ... “yeah, pretty much everybody.” In my program, there are only two people I have not heard complaints about. I am one of those, but I am sure students wouldn’t complain to me about me, but the other one is also, like me, attacked by the bullies in the department.
Listening to Nazareth to reflect on my love for their music, it is one of those bands that helps you get through those tough times. There are songs that resonate with your moods, either to work you up like “Hair of the Dog” or to sympathize with your plight like “Woke Up This Morning.” Other songs like “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman” remind me of the years that I tried to kill myself either intentionally or unintentionally with alcohol. I look back now with fondness and nostalgia at the time I woke up choking on my own vomit. Ah, those were the days.
One significant aspect that draws me to Nazareth is McCafferty’s voice. Like many bands, the uniqueness of the singer’s voice becomes the trademark of the band. What I find so intoxicating about McCafferty’s voice is that it has a quality to it that is very similar to tone achieved by adding a distortion pedal to guitar. His voice is like the tension and energy created with the heavy metal guitar sound. It both blends with the crunch of the distorted guitars, but stands above them adding additional punch to each song.
We lost an iconic and unforgettable voice when we lost Dan McCafferty. Nazareth is worth digging back into their lesser known albums, if you have the desire. They have a long, varied, and enjoyable catalog. In addition to Exercises, which is a departure from what folks might expect, you can find a “concept” album in Close Enough to Rock N Roll. While “Hair of the Dog”may eclipse most folk’s relationship with Nazareth, there are still some songs that latch onto my brain like “Expect No Mercy.” The chorus just hangs in there, but the song has more of a rolling 1970s vibe. It is one of those songs that McCafferty’s voice lifts into a hooky ear worm. For those of you who are classic country fans, look for Harlan Howard’s “Busted” on the Expect No Mercy album.
I wish I could get myself to sit down with my music like I did when I was drinking a bottle of whiskey a couple days a week and who knows how much cheap beer the rest of the week. Nazareth, like Saxon and others, deserve a bit closer listening. If the mood strikes you, grab a couple of used LPs in the bargain bin. What’s two dollars here or there?
Sweet Dreams Motherfuckers
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