Nazareth Album: “No Jive”

Although I only have something like a half a dozen Nazareth CD's,I can tell you that 'No Jive' is a decent all new material effort.Almost as good as the last album I've heard of theirs,'Sound Elixer'.The disc's first two cuts,"Hire And Fire" and "Do You Wanna Play House",I remember they included in their set the last time I saw them play live.Those two as well as "Keeping Your Love Alive" and "Thinking Man's Nightmare" are the best tracks here.'No Jive' has the trademark hard rock vocals of Dan McCafferty fully intact.Guitarist Manny Charlton left awhile back to be replaced by Billy Rankin(2nd guitarist on the 'Snaz' 2-lp).I notice the cover art here is similar to that of their 'Exercises' lp.I can NOW hear where Axl Rose just might've got some of his influence.

Wow, many fans had written this band off and then wham! With younger American Guitaist Billy Rankin at the creative helm this CD soars! The opening track rivals "Telegram" & "Razamanaz" and the second track is pure hard rock boogie heaven. The ballads and other tracks are very solid. "Cover Your Heart" sounds like the kind of track that Bryan Adams whishes he could still write. The Scottish instrumental near the end is a lot of fun, even the remake of "This Flight Tonight" isn't bad...but if you want to hear a great bluesy acoustic version of "Flight" check out the bonus track on "Move Me" which while not as good as this offering is still a great CD.

For a whole decade, Nazareth had the Midas touch. But something very strange happened as the 1980's began, and gold turned to dirt with a few exceptions. I just don't get it! How can a band that gave us so many unforgettable tunes end up in this mess? "No jive" includes only one good song and that's "Every time it rains". Although that one is very good, the rest of the songs are just bad and clearly below average. If you want a dose of the great Nazareth you should invest in the albums between the years 1973-1977, which are:

Razamanaz (1973)

Start with the masterpiece "Expect no mercy" because that is Nazareth's proudest moment. And even `tho the band were uneven and sometimes horrible throughout the 1980's and parts of the 1990's, they managed to record a strong album in 1998 titled "Boogaloo".

As good as it gets for a REAL ROCK.