Customer Reviews

Razamanaz (Dig)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title of this album says it all really, just say the word "Razamanaz" and you know it's time to party. With the release of this album, Nazareth had one of the most unusual albums to roar up the charts in 1973, not unusual in musical content, as it is a straight ahead, smack between the eyes Rock `n' Roll album, but in the company it kept at the upper reaches of the charts, considering this was the time of either Glam-rock (Sweet, Slade, T-rex etc) or highly avant - garde progressive rock (Yes, E.L.P., Jethro Tull) so to see a bunch of geezers from the heart of Glasgow, Scotland up against them caused many a backward glance, but shoot up the charts it did, attaining a high of No. 11 in the British charts. No mean feat for a band that had previously only released 2 albums, both recorded and promoted on small budgets, being honest, neither of them were truly representative of their wild stage act, mostly filled with ballads, where as this little baby is choc-a-block full of rockers. The Razamanaz album was a turning point in changing the fortunes of these Scottish rascals for the better. The basis of any good rock band is a solid rhythm section, these positions were filled by one of the nicest guys in Rock `n' Roll the aptly named Darrel Sweet on Drums, with the flamboyant and must have in your stage line up, Pete Agnew on Bass. If that was the engine room, then the decorations were laid on thick by Manny Charlton, Lead Guitar. (Who's catch phrase must have been "If you've got it flaunt it" as sprayed all over the songs, is wah-wah, fuzz box, feed back, and loads of slide guitar). Out front was graval voiced vocalist Dan McCafferty, who must of gargled with broken bottles every day to keep the chords in such rough shod order. The production work of Roger Glover the bassist from Deep Purple should not be overlooked as he encouraged the band to go for the throat & enjoy themselves, which they certainly did, having not only a hit album, but 2 top ten singles in "Broken Down Angel" & the wonderfully politically incorrect "Bad Bad Boy" with it's boisterous lyrics of "She was the apple of her daddies eye, but when that woman looked up at me, & I said honey we'll be together till the day I die............. Well I Lied!". Mind you on the following song "Sold My Soul" Dan McCafferty sounds as if he's singing from the bowls of Hades itself, so perhaps what goes around comes around. Nazareth built their reputation as an all action party band, and this studio album was a great representation of the live animal, over the next 3 decades the influence of Nazareth can often be heard especially in bands like "AC/DC" & "Guns & Roses". So if you want to hear the original, get out & get yourself Razamanazed. Mott the Dog.

This is undoubtly the best album by Nazareth, and probably one of the greatest records ever produced ('though I liked the production of "Woke up this Morning" better on Excercises).

The songs, well, they are all great. The overall feeling of the record is very southern. If I didn't know these guys were from Scotland, I would have guessed Texas. "Vigilante Man" starts as an almost embarrassing-to-listen-to country-like song with lots of slide guitarr, but as the song moves along the sound gets rougher and rougher until it rocks really hard. The slide guitarr intro of "Woke up this Morning" is a logical progression to that.

Sold my soul is not only a great song, but also tells with much wit and humor exactly how it is to pray. "I prayed to God and Jesus, but I guess they didn't hear... I looked to the lord in heaven, but he must have went away." Take it for what it is, very intelligent humour, which most songs and records by this group is so full of. It may look like an ordinary "Wine women and Whiskey" attitude (like that of Guns'n'Roses), but it is done with a humour that I haven't seen with many other bands.

As some of the other reviewers have already pointed out, AC/DC and Guns'n'Roses got everything they know from these guys. Enough said!

Nazareth is one of those good old hard and heavy rock'n'blues bands that were forgotten after the new wave hype. Even heavy rock fans tend to overlook Nazareth, and that's bad, because in their best moments, those scots could rock as well as, say, Aerosmith in the '70s, and their vocals were the biggest influence for Axl Rose's style. RAZAMANAZ captures the band struggling for their first sucess, and it was very well-received by the rock audience back in 1973. It is a no-nonsense slab of hard rock, well produced by Roger Glover, the Deep Purple bassplayer.

The title track, and "Alcatraz" are all terrific old-school hard rock (people at the time would call it heavy metal, but by today's standards is too rock 'n' roll for that); "I sold my soul" is a darker, Sabbath-influenced slow tempo number. "Bad Boy" has a Southern Rock feel, with good slide-guitar and the singer giving a lesson in rough voice that Axl paid close attention; "Woke up these morning" is very catchy, with the bass propelling the boogie and more hot and dirty slide and vocals.

Oh yes, "Vigilante Man" is allright! It begins fragile, with a country blues feel, but then it evolves into the fat sound with agressive vocals that is so good to hear when you are in the mood for some rock 'n' roll music.

This album has some other good moments, like the more commercial "Night Woman" and "Broken Down Angel" (their first radio hit). Summing up, it delivers good rock and for those who miss the band, RAZAMANAZ and HAIR OF THE DOG are essential listening. For people interested in the heavy rock scene of the early seventies and only know Zep, Aerosmith and KISS, Nazareth can be a pleasant surprise. Recommended!

E-mail me if you like this kind of music.

This is how hard classic rock is done. My favorite Nazareth CD. Good from start to finish.

Like most people I was introduced to Scotland's finest rock band by way of their kick-ass single "Bad Bad Boy" when it first hit the airwaves in July 1973. I quickly nipped out to Pat Egan's Sound Cellar in Dublin and nabbed the album too - the fabarooney "Razamanaz" - and I've loved them both ever since.

This is the 2nd title in Salvo's UK reissue of Nazareth's back catalogue - "Nazareth and Exercises" (their first and second albums on 1CD) was their first and it's reviewed separately.

Released in September 2009, SALVOCD031 breaks down as follows (59:22 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Razamanaz" released in May 1973 in the UK on Mooncrest Records CREST 1 and on A&M Records SP-4396 in the USA. ROGER GLOVER of DEEP PURPLE produced the album to great effect.

Tracks 10 and 11 are "Hard Living" and "Spinning Top", the 2 non-album B-sides to "Bad Bad Boy", the UK 7" single issued on Mooncrest MOON 9 in July 1973

Tracks 12 to 15 are "Razamanaz", "Night Woman", "Broken Down Angel" and "Vigilante Man" - recorded live-in-the-studio in March 1973 for The Bob Harris Radio Show on the BBC

Each of these UK issues comes in a tri-gatefold card sleeve with the 'Loud, Proud & Remastered' logo on the front cover. When folded out, you get a repro of the gatefold artwork of the original UK LP and live shots from the period (the disc in the right flap, the booklet in the left). The 16-page colour booklet is superb, liner notes by band expert JOEL McIVER, pictures of rare UK 7" singles, Euro picture sleeves, US white-label promos, black and white snaps of the band in studio and on stage - all very nicely done.

But the really big news for the fans (as it is on the 1st Salvo CD) is the fantastic new SOUND. TIM TURAN at Turan Audio has remastered the original tapes and a truly fabulous job has been done - loud, clear, and ballsy - without ever being overbearing.

Highlights - the moment the sheer speed and riffage of Manny Charlton's guitar work on "Razamanaz" hits you, you know you're in for a head's down ride. It's followed by the first of 2 covers on the album - "Alcatraz" first turned up on Leon Russell's debut album for A&M in 1971 "Leon Russell & The Shelter People" and it's funky rock backdrop suited both the band and McCafferty's rasping vocals. Just as good is the second cover - their version of Woody Guthrie's "Vigilante Man" which owes more to Ry Cooder's take on his 1972 "Into The Purple Valley" album that they'd be listening to. Then comes the absolutely blistering "Woke Up This Morning" which they'd tried on their second album "Exercises" but didn't quite get there. Here they do - it ends Side One on a blast of great rock boogie.

Side 2 opens with the drums of another funky rocker "Night Woman" sounding not unlike Bad Company at their best. The breakthrough single "Bad Bad Boy" follows which to this day sounds brill, while "Sold My Soul" sounds like Robin Trower circa "Bridge Of Sighs". Then it's back to rocking basics with the wildly catchy "Too Bad To Sad" and then ends with the other huge hit single - and some say their best track - "Broken Down Angel". Downsides - there's an "Alternate Edit" of "Razamanaz" on the 2001 remaster that could easily have been fit on here, but no show?

The BBC stuff sounds suitably rough and rocking, but still as tight as a Nun's knickers in the Vatican. It's presented in really great sound quality - the bass work of Pete Agnew on "Night Woman" is superlative. Even the quiet slide intro to "Vigilante Man" is not too drenched in hiss - then the echoed vocals impress - then they let rip...fab stuff!

A great reissue of a great rock album then. And it's cheap too.

To use the vernacular - this rocks. Buy it with confidence.

After two unsuccessful albums, Nazareth decided that hard, ferocious rock would be their calling card from then on. The result was the mighty "Razamanaz", one of the greatest hard rock albums ever, and one that makes anything by Sabbath sound lame in comparison.
Of course, the title track is a blistering display of guts and aggression, right up there with Purple's "Highway Star" and Sabbath's "Paranoid". Turn this bad boy up real loud and be prepared for an adrenaline rush like you've never experienced before! The riff is a slightly modified version of Deep Purple's "Speed King", but this does not detract from it's greatness, believe me. Other than the first part of the riff, it actually sounds nothing like "Speed King" at all. Anyway, great, vicious vocals from Dan, and Manny gets in his usual scorching guitar licks (if you think this is wild, it's nothing compared to the first live version on BACK TO THE TRENCHES, which makes this studio version sound almost boring!). The band's take on Leon Russell's "Alcatraz" is equally ferocious, with a pounding riff and that great, sinister beat. "Vigilante Man" is fantastic, mainly because of the way it goes from a slow, bluesy tune to an all-out furious rocker. Great, great stuff. The re-make of "Woke Up This Morning" from the EXERCISES album is great fun. A nice, bluesy tune. "Night Woman" has a drum beat that sounds a lot like Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love", but the tune is glorious. One of those great sing-along types. Very catchy. "Bad Bad Boy" is one of my personal favorite Naz tunes ever. KILLER song! Spectacular riff, and you just gotta love the way Dan wails out "I'M A BAD BAD BOY, AND I'M GONNA STEAL YOUR LOVE!". It just makes me lament the fact that these guys were so damn underrated. "Broken Down Angel" was of course the big hit on the album. But, as is usually the case with radio hits, it's nowhere near the best song on here. Great chorus, though. And "Sold My Soul" isn't anything special, just an evil-sounding, Black Sabbath type of song.

All in all, though, this is one of hard rock's many masterpieces. Such a shame that it's not available in America.

This is an excellent offering from the band, and somewhat hard to find. There are some great songs and guitar work on this album. While most Nazareth fans will have heard the title track, I especially recommend a careful listen to the other tracks - for example, the slide guitar work on Vigilante Man and Bad Bad Boy. But if you really want to turn the volume up, check out Too Bad Too Sad. A must-have for all Nazareth fans, and all 70's rock fans as well.

If you love 70's rock that has a bluesy Southern feel, you have to pick up this disk. "Razamanaz" is Nazareth's 3rd album, and released in 1973. This disk features just one great song after another. Dan McCafferty's smokey vocals were custom made for these hard driving songs. Deep Purple's Roger Glover not only produced the disk, but lends a hand occasionally on bass. The songs featured on this disk never get repetitive, and the bluesy flavorings on tunes like "Vigilante Man" and "Sold my Soul" sound so fresh and new in today's environment of over-produced and under-performed music. These guys really knew how to craft songs, and it's a shame that the band has become a footnote, forgotten by most classic rock fans. There was so much more to this band than "Hair of the Dog".

A great album from Nazareth, and a key one in their journey to becoming a great hard rock act, Razamanaz shows considerable growth from their previous two efforts.

Tracks such as the high energy title track "Razamanaz" and the bluesy "Vigilante Man" are much more reminiscent of things still to come for Nazareth, rather than their early albums, but really every track on this one is strong.

A classic!

As stated in the previous review by J. Jagella this is not the original release of Razamanaz from 1973, nor is it the rerelease with 4 bonus tracks. This is an anthology where the powers that be could not come up with a new title to distinguish it from the classic album or maybe that was their plan. This disc does, however, have 16 good to great songs on it. If you will see the review mentioned above you can see the correct track listing. There are hits you will recognize like My White Bicycle, Expect No Mercy, Morning Dew, Love Leads to Madness, This Flight Tonight and Razamanaz the only song from the original release to make this disc. There is also a fantastic orchestrated version of Love Hurts here. Many of the remaining songs are obscure or at least not on any of my 5 CDs or 18 albums. After listening, though, some of these songs have merit like When the Lights Come Down, Kentucky Fried Blues [Expect No Mercy-1979], a cover of Ruby Tuesday and Dear John [Nazareth-1972]. Other tracks include Cat's Eye, Apple Pie [Excercises-1972], Freewheeler and the Ballad of Hollis Brown [both from Loud 'N' Proud-1973]. The majority of the songs I know are from 1972-1981, but there are only 4 I am unfamiliar with.

Be advised this is not Razamanaz, except in name. It is a decent anthology, though, spanning much of their first decade of music releases. If you can find this at a fair price [<$8], it is an excellent buy. If you are looking for greatest hits then try either Classics Volume 16-1987 or Greatest Hits-1996 [Backlot series]. Both have the same songs [17] in the same order, except greatest hits has 1 extra track, which is a live version of Cocaine. Classics can usually be found rather cheaply and was a part of A&M's 25th anniversary collection. The good thinng about this Razamanaz collection is that it contains tracks from the older warner Brothers releases. I gave this a 5 because it is a great affordable selection of songs not because of the false advertising. Extremely good listening!!!