Nazareth
Sound Elixir

The eighties and their "trends" as supreme gods to follow and fear… And here's one of them right away, the radio, seen as a container of music for those who don’t want to connect their ears to their brains and hearts. The album appropriately opens with the super orthodox (for the times) “All Nite Radio”: horrible drums, almost solely martial snare drum except for sporadic tom rolls spoiled by the infamous noise gate à la Phil Collins, the one from the unfortunately epochal, yet damaging “In the Air Tonight”; and then fake bass, wrong reverbs… everything. Singles, at the time, had to be structured like this to be aired. Today, they are insufferable to almost everyone, well there you go.

Following is the curious “Milk & Honey” which trots inoffensively, amidst bursts of synthesizers and distant harmonized guitars; however, the compositional value of Nazareth manages to somewhat redeem the situation, as the chorus sung in unison has suggestive capabilities. Fortunately, “Whippin' Boy” takes care of bringing the band back towards more classic and badass hard rock, but without additional merits, thus slipping away suitably but not memorably; and then there’s also the “dull” all-snare 80s drums to ruin the party here as well.

The first entirely pleasant, acceptable, successful track is the semi-acoustic, quiet yet rhythmic “Rain on the Window” with undeniable folk echoes, which make its little synthesizer solo in the middle tolerable. Alongside it, reinforcing the concept, appears “Backroom Boys,” another singalong song wholly related to the previous one, just more rhythmic.

One continues to be overwhelmed by that darn snare with chopped reverb, I am now referring to “Why Don’t You Read the Book” which at least contains a couple of successful solos by the Spanish/Scottish Manny Charlton, left for once free to roam with his guitars. On the other hand, “I Ran” is strong, managing to fit into the commercial rock standards of the era with a funky bass + liquid guitars riff in the style of the Police without annoying. Something that “Rags to Riches” instead manages perfectly, being filled with clichés of the time: a chorus heard millions of times, the muted AOR-style guitar, the flat and monotonous drums.

The more authentic Nazareth, once again, in these gray years, are perceived at the end of their albums. In fact, the penultimate track “Local Still” is a true homage to the Status Quo style, who however lack Dan McCafferty's raspy bray, and it is a fact that those with this singer stamped in their minds appreciate tracks like these. “Where Are You Now” in the final closing, however, is entirely different, a nostalgic ballad with an obvious text but with the right lyricism, devoid of any sort of “eighties-ism.”

The fourteenth work (1983) of the brave Nazareth really shows its age, no doubt. That’s how the world was back then, that’s how our guys held their own, still selling a bit and making up for it in concerts, where their great skills really came to the fore.