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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Landmark Recording For the Hard Rock Genre, December 26, 2003
If there were a museum that showcased the most essential albums in hard rock, Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" would surely be behind a glass display case. It streamlined all of the important aspects that characterized the genre; gritty, riff-driven rock and a great level of accessibility. The album is full of talking-guitar techniques, powerhouse structures, and most importantly, a flexibility that is rarely found in most heavy metal albums: ballads that meant something and rockers that meant even more. Nazareth was one of the few bands that could pull off an equal balance of driving rock and power ballads that didn't sound overdone and empty. For instance, it's hard to find a band that could execute the anthemic title track, then craft a ballad such as the rendition of 'Love Hurts.' (It's a shame however that the power-ballad category would be turned into nothing more than a musical joke in the next decade, due to acts like Poison, Whitesnake, or Warrant.) Some more interesting moments are found in 'Rose in the Heather,' the doom of 'Miss Misery,' and the paranoid closer 'Please Don't Judas Me,' one of the songs that shows that not all songs associated with the word 'experiment' are wastes of time. All told, "Hair of the Dog" is an essential piece of rock music, the blueprint for many acts to follow.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Arguably Nazareth's Best, But...., May 31, 2004
Opt for the import version with the 6 bonus tracks instead of this release. A much better "bang for the buck" and the bonus tracks are pretty decent (compared to Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, & Motorhead releases where the bonus tracks are virtually unlistenable). But man, can ya get much better on a intro than the title track, "Hair Of The Dog"? "The Dog" is a bonified classic, right up there with Montrose's "Rock The Nation" for top hard rock intro of the 70's.
This album is a must have for any fan of 70's hard rock. So if you ain't got it yet, add to cart.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
View from a 70's teen, February 6, 2002
I'd like to know the ages of some of my fellow reviewers. I was a teenager in the mid-70's, so I LIVED THIS! Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" was such a powerful presence, this album was an absolute must in our 8-track players and at our parties, alongside albums by such hard rock staples as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. So, who's calling "Love Hurts" a "power ballad"? It never occurred to me to attach a label to this song. I'd rather not attach labels, thank you. Plain and simple, it's a great song. The album's title song, however, was hands-down the favorite of my crowd. The band at my boyfriend's prom (he was a year behind me) played it -- despite lyrics that were rather shocking by 1977 standards! -- and we all screamed out the words to the chorus along with the band (undoubtedly to the dismay of the chaperones). This was a very important album in the 70's. I'm overjoyed to find it's available on CD now. My vinyl copy is a bit worn out, and I just can't get the 8-track to play at all!
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