Customer Reviews

Snaz

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Incredibly, by the time this album was released in 1981 by Vertigo Records as a live double album (oh those good old days of vinyl), Nazareth had already released thirteen studio albums. That does not include the masses of Greatest Hits, etc., that have been put out over the years by the record companies. That was surprising as Nazareth had always been known as a live band, guaranteed to deliver live and pack them in wherever they were booked. But by not putting out their live albums until 1981, Vertigo rather missed the boat. Punk rock had already come and gone, which had not really hurt Nazareth as they were always too hard-edged to be roped in with the hated progressive bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis, etc. However, when you look at what live double albums did for the careers of the likes of U.F.O. with 'Strangers In The Night?; Deep Purple with 'Made In Japan'; or Thin Lizzy with 'Live And Dangerous?, it raises the question of how would Nazareth have fared had they had the extra kick of a double live album out on the shelves as further grist to their mill.

There is no doubt that this is a mighty tome indeed. Nazareth's original Scottish quartet of musicians are still together by the time of Snaz. Manny Charlton with his thick chords and chopping riffs. Was there ever a tighter rhythm section of Pete Agnew and Darrell Sweet? And all topped off by the gravel vocals of Dan McCafferty, who sounded as though he gargled with acid before hitting the stage. The only changes to the lineup to this point had been the addition of fellow county man Zal Cleminson (ex- The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) for a couple of albums and tours directly before this album. The story goes that the rest of Nazareth found Zal temporarily between bands driving Taxis in Glasgow, Scotland. Not believing that such a talent was not actually playing in a rock 'n' roll band, they dragged him out of the taxi and immediately enrolled him in the band until he found his musical feet again. And then when he did, they let him go. After Zal departed, the band felt a bit of a musical void, so they enrolled fellow Scots Billy Rankin on guitar and John Locke on keyboards. Then they set out on a massive tour of North America, recorded every concert for their projected live album, and decided that the concert held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, was just what they wanted. So they discarded all the other recordings and put this one out in its entirety.

I think they were right as it catches the band on what was definitely a special night. Starting with the epic ?Telegram? (the story of being on the road with a rock 'n' roll band, including the immortal lyric "I need your picture, smile this way, oh, by the way, will you tell me what you play?) they carried on till a rousing encore of Nazareth's biggest hit, the ballad 'Love Hurts', followed by a version of ZZ Tops 'Tush', left both, band and crowd, breathless. In-between are all the classic Nazareth songs and cover versions which they became famous for. Of course this is one of the advantages of not recording your live album early in your career, but saving it till you have a full two hours of classic material. Mind you, if Nazareth had released a live album in the early seventies, they could of done an equally good one for the eighties.

Snaz was first released on C.D. in 1997, but horrifically, that was a pretty poor effort as the sound was very tinny, and it was not possible to get all the material from the live double vinyl album onto one C.D. As a solution they hacked off six tracks to make it a more manageable seventy minutes, and so completely ruined the flow of the running set, especially as it meant missing out ?Big Boy?, magnificently penned by Zal Cleminson.

However, Eagle Records have gotten hold of the original masters and under the expert supervision of Robert M. Corich and Mike Brown, the original Snaz has been returned to its full glory. The spread covers two C.Ds, has new liner notes, and even the two new studio tracks that had been tacked onto the end of the live recording in 1981 have been faithfully restored. Whether you want to buy a collection of Nazareth's greatest hits or just of a very fine rock 'n' roll band doing what they do best on the live concert circuit, Snaz will not disappoint.

Razzed by Mott The Dog
Snazzed by Ella Crew

This by far is the best recording live of Nazareth. Unfortunately I never had the chance of seeing them (YET!), but this makes up for it. Well worth every penny.

Another great CD by Nazareth. You will not be sorry for buying this cd.

There's very few releases I can stand to listen to every track. This is one of the few in decades of listening to rock I can say I like the live performance better and can stand the whole album. Heard other live Naz songs, some recorded at concerts not too long before or after this. Snaz is the best of all of them.

Just my opinion that Telegram, This Flight Tonight, Every Young Man's Dream, and Holiday are their best versions ever, live or recorded.

I can't believe I've finally found a place to buy this album again. Back when I was in high school - around '86 or so - I got turned on to Nazareth. Hair of the Dog, it was (of course). I really got into it, so I went looking for another of their albums. Shopping the local music store, I came across Snaz. I've always believed that the true proof of whether a band is worth their salt or not can be found in their live performances, so even though I was familiar with only one or two tracks, I bought the (double) cassette. Man, was I knocked out! This album is INCREDIBLE from start to finish! They cover ground ranging from dirty blues (Java Blues, I Want To Do Everything For You) to balls out rocking (Telegram, Shapes of Things), ballads (Love Hurts, Heart's Grown Cold), more pop-ish sounding tunes (Holiday, This Flight Tonight), and even a taste of reggae (Let Me Be Your Leader). There's not a bad track on this album. Needless to say, I've had my eyes open for another copy ever since my cassettes wore out. And lo and behold, 25 years later... You can bet I'm going to scoop one of these up and re-live a page from my youth, happy in the knowledge that my taste in music back then was valid and that the music is as good as I remembered.