Nazareth Album: “Razamanaz [Digipak]”

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!

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

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.

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!