CD Odyssey Disc 1327: Soundtrack

The weekend is here, and Christmas is just around the corner! Let’s celebrate with a music review, shall we?

Disc 1327 is… The Heavy Metal Soundtrack

Artist: Various artists

Year of Release: 1981

What’s up with the Cover? That, my friends, is a Tarakian. No, not the giant lizard with wings, the woman. What is a Tarakian you ask? Basically, she’s part of an ancient race of warrior women who guard the universe from evil green balls of hate. Kind of a cross between Wonder Woman and Red Sonja.

How I Came to Know It: The movie “Heavy Metal” came out in 1981. It was rated R and I was only 10 or 11. More importantly back then the theatres actually enforced R ratings and you needed an adult with you to get in.

Fortunately, my brother was 18 and therefore passed for an adult. In a classic awesome big brother moment he got me in, and I watched my first R rated movie in the theatre. It was awesome.

My brother also owned the soundtrack to the movie, which I remember was a double album that folded out majestically and where the Tarakian was many times the size of the puny cover photo you see above. A Tarakian that size leaves an impression on a young boy, I can tell you.

Knowing the album as a kid, I still managed to resist it for many years as an adult. Then I finally broke down about two years ago and bought a used copy on the cheap.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 34 soundtracks, which I admit is a lot, but who doesn’t like a soundtrack? It’s a “best of” record thematically constructed around a movie plot. I expect the percentage of soundtracks in my collection is far lower than the average.

Anyway, I’ve got 34 of them and “Heavy Metal” is not one of the better ones. I’ll rank it…24^th. I’d give you an updated list, but I’ve still got one more to review.

Ratings: 2 stars

Warm and fuzzy childhood memories aside let’s get real; “Heavy Metal” is an average record at best. It is a mix of songs I already owned but am always glad to hear again, songs I simply had to have, and songs that range from boring to atrocious. It is a grab bag of cheap jewelry at a vintage fair, worth buying for the one or two pieces you really want, and as for the rest – that’s what the ‘skip’ function is for.

On the CD Odyssey there is no skip function – a full listen, monkey! With this in mind I have divided the album into the three categories alluded to above. Note that I will not be commenting on all songs, so consider the partial lists below a sort of musical synecdoche.

Category 1: Good Songs I Already Had

Blue Oyster Cult’s “Veteran of the Psychic Wars”: One of my favourite songs growing up as a kid, and a favourite still. VotPW is off the classic 1981 album “Fire Of Unknown Origin” (reviewed back at Disc 751). Of course, it is the WRONG song to anthologize from an album that had a song titled “Heavy Metal: Black and Silver” and another – “Vengeance (The Pact)” – which literally tells the story of the Tarakian in the film (which admittedly would have made it only suitable for the end credits, but still). “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” is co-written by fantasy author Michael Moorcock and is about an entirely different fictional character, Elric of Melnibone. But whatever, it is a killer song.

Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules”: Off of the album of the same name (reviewed back at Disc 157), this song is a killer metal track from the underrated second Sabbath record with Ronnie James Dio on lead vocals.

Honourable mention: Journey’s “Open Arms” (original album reviewed at Disc 212). The circumstances of this song’s appearance in the film is one of the reasons it was rated R. I think it was a sex scene between a cabbie and a damsel in distress, but I can’t be sure because Youtube wants me to log in to confirm my age to check, and I won’t do it. I feel like my brother already vouched for me back in 1981.

Category 2: Songs I Had to Have

Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal”: Balls-out rock and roll, without necessitating a full album full of music by Sammy Hagar. Hagar has drenched this song in a laundry list of whatever he thought was cool back in 1981. The list includes “head bangers in leather”, “sparks fly in the middle of the night”, and “tight pants and lipstick”. It sounds ridiculous but take my word for it; it all comes together. Don Felder also has a song on the album called “Heavy Metal” which is pretty cool, but there is nothing that competes with the phallic fury of the Hagar offering.

Riggs’ “Radar Rider”: A killer track with a surging energy built for driving a car fast down a lonely highway. Or in the case of the film, for an astronaut to drive his 1960 corvette convertible in space. The song would be brilliant all on its own, but I won’t lie – the intergalactic corvette helped.

Grand Funk Railroad’s “Queen Bee”: The song is a classic early eighties anthem, full of majesty and vaguely creepy attempts at romance (“I’m gonna steal you from your hive/steal you away from every man alive…”. The song has a slow building bombast that seems so natural you forgive it all its excess. The film version has neither bees nor (thankfully) abductions but it does feature a naked Tarakian going for a swim that was no doubt a second reason I needed adult accompaniment to see the movie.

Honourable mention to Devo’s brilliant cover of Lee Dorsey’s “Working in a Coal Mine”. Like their cover of the Stones’ “Satisfaction” Devo takes a great song and makes it better.

Category 3 Dear God, No…:

Donald Fagan’s “True Companion”: Here Fagan is without his erstwhile companion Walter Becker (they were on a break) but just like a united Steely Dan, this song gargles balls, combining the worst that prog noodling and Holiday Inn jazz lounges has to offer. Dicken’s Fagin merely corrupts the morals of young children; Steely Dan’s Fagan makes them listen to his music. I remain scarred.

Riggs’ “Heartbeat”: That’s right, dear reader, not all Riggs’ offerings on the “Heavy Metal” soundtrack are revelations in driving ecstasy. This one is all plodding guitars and over-production with no substance. It feels like a Soulless Record Exec’s attempt to manufacture “the sounds the kids are really into these days.” Not even a joy-riding spaceman could have saved this one.

For good and for ill, this album represents the most bombastic ridiculousness that hard rock had to offer in 1981. I always put Heavy Metal on thinking it will be better than I remember it, but it never is. However, it is still fun enough in places to earn a place on the hallowed shelves of my collection.

Best tracks: Heavy Metal – Sammy Hagar, Devo – Working in a Coal Mine, Blue Oyster Cult – Veteran of the Psychic Wars, Don Felder – Heavy Metal (Takin’ A Ride), Riggs – Radar Rider, Grand Funk Railroad – Queen Bee, Black Sabbath – the Mob Rules

CD Odyssey Disc 1235: Nazareth

I had a very busy week at work and was feeling pretty worn down by the end of each day. Fortunately, from Wednesday on I had this next record keeping me company on my commute, serving as the musical equivalent of comfort food.

Disc 1235 is… Loud ‘N’ Proud

Artist: Nazareth

Year of Release: 1973

What’s up with the Cover? One of rock and roll’s iconic album covers. Usually I follow that old superstition about peacock feathers in the house being bad luck, but for a record this good, I make an exception.

How I Came To Know It: This is the third record I ever bought. I was six or seven years old at the time and my entire music collection consisted of KISS’ “Destroyer” and Nazareth’s 1975 Greatest Hits album. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, but I knew I liked two of the songs on “Loud ‘N’ Proud” because they were on the Greatest Hits record I already had, and the album cover was awesome.

I also distinctly remember wanting both this record and “Razamanaz” and only having enough money for one of them. The peacock in me won out – it wouldn’t be the last time.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Nazareth albums and this is the best of them. Perfection!

Ratings:  5 stars

Nazareth released two classic albums in 1973, this one and “Razamanaz.” Whereas “Razamanaz” is a masterful walk along the line between blues and hard rock, “Loud ‘N’ Proud” is exactly that – 100% balls to the wall pure rock and roll with no apologies. From the opening high hat of “Go Down Fighting” to the last doom-laden reverberation of “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” this album is a visceral blast of rock music with hints of punk and metal before either thing ever existed.

Nazareth as a band are strong throughout the lineup. Singer Dan McCafferty bringing a classic seventies rock vocal performance to every song. His voice is high and powerful with a controlled snarl. When he growls “starbright, starbright – you’ve got the lovin’ that I like” on “This Flight Tonight” his phrasing draws you inexorably into the groove Nazareth has infused into Joni Mitchell’s song, making it their own. He also makes you feel the hurt of separation and regretted decisions in every syllable.

McCafferty’s magnetism is borne out of a complete lack of artifice. On “Not Faking It” he sings:

“Tricky dicky was a fast talker

But his promises were always a lie

Nostradamus was a doomwatcher

Predicted when we're gonna die

Cleopatra was a love giver

Jesse James was a born killer

Me, I'm just a rock 'n' roll singer.”

This may read like a bit of a ramble on the sterile page but infused with McCafferty’s performance it sounds exactly like what it is: the truth.

However, it isn’t just about McCafferty. Lead guitarist Manny Charlton also provides some of his best performances on “Loud ‘N’ Proud”. On “Teenage Nervous Breakdown” he rides the front of the beat like a demon, turning a boogie woogie Little Feat song into a proto-punk blast of rebellion.

Charlton is a master of rhythm and when he’s great at creating energy by jumping the beat, on songs like “Child in the Sun” he’s equally solid sitting solemn in the pocket providing a gentle, soulful wail. His solo on “Freewheeler” is thick and rich and takes its time to develop naturally out of the melody. Fast in places, but not relying on speed, it draws you in and makes your spine tingle with delight.

Speaking of “Child in the Sun” this a song that I have been singing to myself for over 40 years. It doesn’t matter if I’ve just heard it or I haven’t heard it in months, it is always there in my mind, ready to calm me like a Buddhist mantra.

“Loud ‘N’ Proud” only has eight songs and three of them are covers. These covers are classic, iconic songs that Nazareth converts into something totally different and superior to the original.

I’ve already discussed two, but the third and last one may be the best. On “Ballad of Hollis Brown” they take a five minute Dylan folk song and turn it into a nine minute dirge that is the harbinger of modern grunge and doom metal wrapped into one. Charlton’s thick oppressive reverb guitar and the rolling thud of Darrell Sweet on drums add another layer of visceral desperation to Dylan’s tragic tale of starvation. A song so soul-crushing the only surcease for the hapless family trapped within it becomes a mass murder suicide.

I still have my original vinyl copy of this record, but this review is of the CD remaster. It sounds great, but I was disappointed that they felt the need to add four bonus tracks, all of them live sessions on BBC from the original year of release. These tracks show how great Nazareth were live in the day, and the inclusion of “Razamanaz” means if you only buy this album you’ll get that song as a bonus. Despite this, I wish this stuff weren’t here. “Loud ‘N’ Proud” is perfect in its original form, and the bonus tracks mar this perfection with their excess and repetition.

Back to the original record, which is a master class in how rock and roll should be played – with vigour and controlled aggression. I’ve heard “Loud ‘N’ Proud” hundreds of times – maybe- over the four decades it has been in my life. I gave it another seven or eight listens in a row this week and never once got tired of a single song. This is must-have rock and roll.

Best tracks: All of them, although I am particularly partial to Go Down Fighting, Not Faking It, This Flight Tonight, Freewheeler, Child in the Sun and the Ballad of Hollis Brown. The other three are also good.

CD Odyssey Disc 816: Nazareth

It is December 29 and I’ve already spent all my Christmas money on clothes and music. Yeehaw!

Since this isn’t a fashion blog I’ll stick to the music. I purchased some sea chanteys, a bunch of rap (Killer Mike, Edan), an old Okkervil River album, an even older Sleater-Kinney album and a relatively new Dwight Yoakam album.

However of all the albums the one I am most excited about is Courtney Barnett’s “Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit” which is one of the best albums from 2015. Check her out.

Anyway, this next album is none of those (I prefer reviewing albums randomly, folks) but it is one I heartily recommend all the same.

Disc 816 is….Hair of the Dog

Artist: Nazareth

Year of Release: 1975

What’s up with the Cover? Nazareth usually has awesome album art and this is no exception. Three devil dogs growl and look menacing. At least one of them seems to be equipped with wings. I’m sure these dogs have an owner that tells everyone “O don’t worry, they are totally harmless.” To which I would only say, “dear God man – look at the bones!

How I Came To Know It: I’ve known Nazareth since I was a little kid. Their 1975 Greatest Hits album was the second record I ever bought. When I was in university I bought “Hair of the Dog” on cassette and now I have it on CD.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Nazareth albums. “Hair of the Dog” comes in at number two overall. It is close to being number one, but couldn’t quite beat out…another album I’ll talk about when I roll it. That’s a teaser.

Ratings: 4 stars

After a painful encounter with Radiohead in my last review, “Hair of the Dog” was a welcome tonic. This is music that is direct and powerful and stirs something primal when you listen to it.

Scottish rockers Nazareth were heavy to begin with, but they are never heavier than on “Hair of the Dog.” This album churns the depths of guitar and blues rock like few others I’ve heard. “Miss Misery” pounds like a North Sea storm, turning the simplest of riffs into an anthem heralding the metal gods that would be born just a few years later.

“Changing Times” is as thick and crunchy as anything Led Zeppelin was doing at the time. Lead singer Dan McCafferty doesn’t have the vocal chops of Robert Plant, but he knows how to use what he does have to full effect. McCafferty’s voice is smooth as 40 grit sandpaper and is what nails on a chalkboard would sound like if that sound was awesome. On “Hair of the Dog” the band is clearly ready to fully embrace being as heavy and gritty as they can and the decision works perfectly with their skill set.

With an undercurrent of blues, it is critical that the band be on point in terms of timing, and these guys nail it. You can’t fake perfect timing in blues music, and Nazareth has it, with just the right amount of dirty around the edges to keep it organic.

The title track has every tool rock and roll excess offered at the time: someone bangs a cowbell relentlessly, a guitar squawks through a synthesizer, and McCafferty sings “now you’re messin’ with a son of a bitch!” at the top of his lungs. This is the song for every small skinny guy who decided to go full crazy on his tormentors. It is full of a grimy desperate, dangerous energy. And if you’re a teenager, it is devilish good fun to sing along to because – swears!

When the album isn’t pounding you into sonic submission, it is exploring the band’s bluesy roots. “Guilty” is a slow moving ballad that captures the feeling of being down on your luck. “Please Don’t Judas Me” is a ten-minute monster that builds with the power and patience of a glacier; inexorable, ice-cold and undeniable.

The subject matter of the record is fitting for its gritty approach. These are songs about the angry, the down-and-out and the troubled. “Guilty” is about a man showing up on a woman’s doorstep drunk and stoned, knowing that’s exactly how she doesn’t want to see him. His only excuse is:

“That's how it is with me darlin'

You know I just can't stand myself

But it takes a whole lot of medicine darlin'

For me to pretend that I'm somebody else.”

Nazareth are equal opportunity purveyors of sin, however. “Miss Misery” and “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman” are both songs where it’s the woman showing up drunk on the doorstep and “Beggar’s Day” takes heartbreak to such a dark place you’re sure it’ll cause some kind of riot or fire before it’s worked itself out.

Before “Beggar’s Day” ends it morphs into a beautiful guitar solo called “Rose in the Heather” as if the band wanted to remind me that they can still smooth it out and sound pretty if they want to. I’m not sure if “Rose in the Heather” is inspired by the fiddle jig of the same name, but it has the same timeless quality and easy grace.

This album is 40 minutes long and despite some long tracks never feels stretched out or bloated. This is a tight little album that is grimy and dirty and rough in all the right ways. If you like hard rock music, it is a must have for your collection.

Best tracks:  Hair of the Dog, Miss Misery, Guilty, Beggar’s Day/Rose in the Heather, Please Don’t Judas Me

CD Odyssey Disc 706: Nazareth

Who’s in the mood for some seventies rock? We’re here to help.

Disc 706 is…. Rampant

Artist: Nazareth

Year of Release: 1974

What’s up with the Cover? A whole lot of awesome. It appears that the Field Marshall of Rock is on a resort vacation. He’s got palm trees, pretty ladies and a little hut by the beach to take his mind off all that rock n’ roll he’s been hurling around the battlefields.

Even on vacation the Field Marshall of Rock never completely relaxes. He’s taken his cape off (note it is hanging over his guitar, but he’s still got his military jacket, complete with epaulets and lapels festooned with suns. He has undone the collar, though. After all, it’s hot down here in the tropics, and this is 1974, after all.

There is nothing wrong with this cover, which also features a ridiculously cool lion crest and four coins featuring the band’s heads. Why, you ask? Because nothing exceeds like excess.

How I Came To Know It: When I was a kid, I used to own a 1975 Nazareth greatest hits record. On the inside of the jacket sleeve there were depictions of all the albums that it took songs from and “Rampant” was one. I only recently bought this album on CD, and got to see what all the fuss was about.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Nazareth albums – basically their 3^rd through 6^th studio releases. Of the four, “Rampant” is the weakest – so 4^th. Sorry, Field Marshall of Rock.

Rating: 2 stars but almost 3

Way back in March of 2011 at Disc 254 when I reviewed a Greatest Hits package by Nazareth I vowed to resist temptation to go out and buy their studio albums. Instead I did the opposite, giving away the compilation to a friend and delving headlong into their catalogue. Four records in, it was “Rampant” that blunted my enthusiasm.

“Rampant” is not a bad record, and has a solid mid-seventies rock energy about it. Vocalist Dan McCafferty belts out the songs with gusto, in that high raspy screech that is both perfectly of its time yet still unique and instantly recognizable once you know it.

The band is solid and very tight. This is particularly evident on the many bonus live tracks at the end of this special edition version, but more on that later.

The album gets going strong with “Silver Dollar Forger” which has the added bonus of having not been on the Greatest Hits package of my youth, and therefore fairly new to my ears.

“Rampant” also has two of my all-time favourite Nazareth songs, “Shanghai’d in Shanghai” and “Sunshine.” The two songs showcase the band’s musical range.

“Shangai’d in Shanghai” is a bluesy guitar-driven headbanger of a track, with a natural groove that is hard to resist. Lyrically, the song is one step past ridiculous as it conjures up the notion of a band on the road, singing about the KGB tapping your phone , trying to score drugs in a foreign city and opening for the Rolling Stones in Arizona (the latter story being followed up with a cheeky lick from “Satisfaction”). None of that matters; I loved this song as a kid, and nothing has changed. Since I reunited with it in electronic format it rarely if ever leaves my sorry little 400 song MP3 player.

“Sunshine” is the polar opposite. A slow love ballad that is both touching and tough at the same time. The melody of the song is so a part of my DNA after almost 40 years of hearing it, that I often find myself singing along whenever I’m enjoying a bit of sunshine. “Sunshine,” it is easy loving you.

Unfortunately, the rest of the record doesn’t hold up to this standard. The lyrics that stray so close to the edge of goofy on the good songs, trip awkwardly over on most of the others. While well played, the group’s musicianship is wasted on songs that just kind of jolt around with the uninspired feel of a bar band in a small town.

Also annoying, from an original album of eight tracks, the Soulless Record Execs have added another eight to this remaster. This doubling of the album’s length sucks the soul right out of it when you listen clear through.

I’ll admit that it didn’t help that when I uploaded it the song titles were all wrong, but knowing that most tracks were just live BBC versions of songs off of “Razamanaz” (which I also have) wouldn’t have helped. I bought “Rampant” to hear “Rampant” not to hear “Razamanaz” a second time. The fact that the live versions were good (bland and boring voice of the BBC anchor notwithstanding) was a positive, but I’d have happily paid half the price for the disk and skipped the experience.

Because “Rampant” has two of my favourite Nazareth songs there’s little chance I’ll ever part with this album, but beyond that, there’s only one silver dollar and a lot of empty forgeries.

Best tracks: Silver Dollar Forger, Shanghai’d in Shanghai, Sunshine

CD Odyssey Disc 254: Nazareth

Well I've just finished all my worky-work stuff for tonight and here I sit at 8:30. I'm tired, but thankfully the tonic of the music review awaits. Well - at least it's a tonic for me - you'll have to decide how you feel when you get to the end.

Disc 254 is...The Primo Collection
Artist: Nazareth

Year of Release: 2007, but with music from 1971-1981

What’s Up With The Cover?: Somebody over at Primo records was playing with the background maker on their graphics program, and discovered 'water'. Inoffensive, but uninspiring, particularly given how many awesome covers some of the original Nazareth records had.

How I Came To Know It: I have known Nazareth since I've been conscious of music. their 1975 Greatest Hits album was the second record I ever bought (after KISS' Destroyer). I have two records of theirs, but nothing on CD, so when I saw a 2 CD set I bought it, despite my misgivings with 'best ofs'.

How It Stacks Up: It may say "The Primo Collection" but we all know that actually is just another way to say 'best of', so of course, it doesn't stack up. I do have an actual Nazareth studio album, "Loud and Proud", but only on record, and this is a CD Odyssey.

Rating: 'best ofs' don't get a rating.

Nazareth is a seventies hard rock band from Scotland that was a big influence on me early on. I used to play their 1975 Greatest Hits record and "Loud and Proud" all the time when I was a kid.

"The Primo Collection" is two discs, and 24 songs. Listening to it over the past three days, I think it is safe to say that I am no longer enamoured with the band like I was when I was seven years old. I still had fun, mind you.

Being a Greatest Hits collection, the Primo Collection has a lot of good songs. Standouts include their famous remake of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight" which I maintain is better than the original. Incidentally, Nazareth also does a very good job of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown" although sadly that song didn't make it onto this compilation. What did make it on, was a version of Clapton's "Cocaine" which isn't the greatest.

Worse, "Cocaine" is a live track, and reminds me of the time in the early nineties I saw them play in a local club. That was a bad concert, but the crowd was worse. They booed Nazareth when they played songs off their new album, and just kept calling for "Hair of the Dog" (I think Nazareth did it twice). It was a painful moment for a band that once did a whole lot better for themselves. I'm told in recent years their live act has improved, which is good. I hope they've been rewarded with more respectful audiences as a result.

Back to the record, which has a few highlights that I remember from my old seventies greatest hits album. These include "Razamanaz" (off of the album of the same name) and "Shangai'd In Shanghai" (off of "Rampant").

There is also a lot of filler, like "Telegram" which is a song composed of very obvious heroic couplets, that would have Alexander Pope spinning in his grave and - even worse - songs that I absolutely loved as a kid, but which have not aged well. "Go Down Fighting" comes to mind here, which meant a lot to a skinny kid who dreamed of being tougher on the playground, but just doesn't resonate anymore.

Listening to this album made me want to own more than one of Nazareth's studio albums - maybe as many as three ("Razamanaz", "Loud and Proud" and "Rampant" come to mind), but ultimately, I think the songs I enjoyed most here, were the ones off of their 1975 Greatest Hits record, minus all the filler on the "Primo Collection."

Additionally, while all their classic albums have been re-released as remastered "30th Anniversary Editions", they cost around $24-$28, and all have additional 'bonus tracks' (which are rarely a bonus, in my experience).

So I'm going to resist drilling into the collection of this once proud seventies band (this may be a first) and actually downsize to a more manageable Greatest Hits package. A humble fate for a band that once filled my entire musical horizon. Thanks for the memories, Nazareth.

Best tracks: This Flight Tonight, Hair of the Dog, Razamanaz, Free Wheeler, Shanghai'd In Shanghai, Teenage Nervous Breakdown