Although Nazareth had already broken into the big time in England with their 1973 release RAZAMANAZ, the band had yet to crack the U.S. market. Their stateside break came two years later in the form of 1975's HAIR OF THE DOG. By keeping to their high voltage rock formula the Scots band finally won U.S. rock fans over, though it didn't hurt that they included one slight musical departure, the melodic ballad "Love Hurts."
Besides becoming a monster worldwide hit, Nazareth (for better or worse) helped create the whole power ballad format--a style adopted wholesale by numerous other bands by the late '80s. But besides "Love Hurts," HAIR OF THE DOG is a red-blooded hard rock set, as evidenced by songs such as the title track, "Miss Misery," "Changin' Times," and "Beggars Day."
Professional Reviews
Mojo (Publisher) (p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "HAIR OF THE DOG is quintessential '70s hard rock, typified by the title track, a gritty boogie with clunking cowbell and a screeching vocal from Dan McCafferty..."
