Nazareth – Born Under The Wrong Sign [1976-79] (5CD Boxset)

Nazareth, one of Scotland’s finest exports, were surely one of the hardest working in the Seventies. They spent most of the first half of that decade achieving some tangible success culminating with Hair of the Dog, their best selling album thus far. During the second half of the decade, they had to work just as hard to try and maintain that success, and it is that period covered by this box set. Born Under The Wrong Sign gathers together the four albums they recorded between 1976 and 1979, plus the one which got away when the record company refused to release it!

So the follow up to the big selling Hair of the Dog was Close Enough for Rock ‘n’ Roll in 1976, again produced by guitarist Manny Charlton. It’s good to hear this again after many years, and it’s a varied and polished collection of songs. Opening track Telegram is a four part mini epic, as the band take a humorous look at themselves as they go out on tour. It proves that Nazareth could still rock hard whilst taking on a more adventurous approach to songwriting. They opened their live shows with Telegram for years after, and it’s easy to hear why. One of the band’s trump cards was Dan McCafferty’s barbed wire voice, and he was on top form throughout these albums, but his performance on Telegram is special.

They were happy to play different styles though, such as the hard edged funk of Born Under The Wrong Sign or their electrifying cover of Jeff Barry’s You’re The Violin. There’s even a stab at a touch of reggae on Carry Out Feelings, but overall it’s a polished hard rock album, and classy with it. This version includes a number of bonus cuts, including the non-album single My White Bicycle (originally by Tomorrow), and alternate edits of some songs from the album.

Of course Close Enough For Rock ‘n’ Roll was a success, despite its lack of hit singles, and so the record company were keen for a follow up straight away. The excellent accompanying booklet, which includes interviews with bassist Pete Agnew, the only surviving original band member, tells how they were booked into a studio to start work on Play ‘n’ the Game before they had written anything for the album. It’s perhaps not surprising then that the record sounds rushed and unplanned, and is heavy on covers. Nazareth were always very good at covering other band’s songs and making them their own, This Flight Tonight being a prime example, but on Play ‘n’ the Game, some of the covers were pretty turgid. It’s not all bad though, and there are some good songs, such as Somebody To Roll, Flying, and Born To Love, so it’s a respectable effort, if unspectacular. Again, there are various alternate takes and edited versions for the completist, but I don’t hear anything essential.

1977’s Expect No Mercy is much better, although its gestation wasn’t very easy. The band recorded the first version of the album, but it was rejected by the record company as being ‘too countryfied’! A rather shocked band were tasked with reworking it in a more rock direction. The story is recounted in the booklet, and makes fascinating reading. Both versions are included in this box, and the comparisons are interesting. The original version does have some serious country picking on the first take on Crazy Horse’s Gone Dead Train, and Shot Me Down is similarly quite country in style, and not what one might expect from Nazareth. There are a few other cuts which weren’t terribly inspired, but the fact the album was rejected seems a bit harsh. On the other hand, the second version of the record which did see the light of day was for my money, much better. The title track, absent from the first version, is an up tempo rocker, hard and fast, with Dan McCafferty at his gravelly best. The second take on Gone Dead Train is a definite improvement, whilst Kentucky Fried Blues is transformed into a ZZ Top style boogie with some blistering guitar from Manny Charlton. New York Broken Toy also sees him shine, and the set closes with another new song written by McCafferty and Charlton, the anthemic All The King’s Horses. The extras include a live version of Expect No Mercy, and alternate rockier versions of some of the original albums tracks, such as Greens and Desolation Road, which are actually pretty good.

The final Nazareth album of the Seventies was No Mean City, which saw the band reinvigorated by the addition of Zal Cleminson as a second guitarist. It seems that when the Sensational Alex Harvey Band was wound up by Alex, Zal was out of work, and when Nazareth heard he was available, it seemed a good fit. In fact they all got on so well, Cleminson contributing to writing as well as playing, it is generally agreed that No Mean City was their best effort for a while. It’s a harder heavier album, and released just as the NWOBHM was taking off, so the timing was perfect. Just To Get Into It is a fine statement of intent, May The Sunshine was a hit single reaching 22 in the singles chart in the UK, and there are many other highlights. Cleminson’s Simple Solution is a two part mini epic, as is the title track, which rocks like thunder, and Claim To Fame is a heavy chugging rocker from Charlton. In short, they finished the decade on a creative high, and Cleminson had an important part to play in that.

So Cherry Red have done it again, lovingly curating a slice of Nazareth history, and presenting it well. It’s properly researched and informative, and each album comes with its original art work intact. It might not represent the very best period of the band’s career, but it’s definitely the second best period, and all the more interesting for being largely overlooked.

TRACKLISTING
CD 1: Close Enough For Rock ‘n’ Roll (1976)
01. Telegram (Parts 1-4) (7:53)
02. Vicki (2:24)
03. Homesick Again (4:31)
04. Vancouver Shakedown (4:04)
05. Born Under The Wrong Sign (3:57)
06. Loretta (3:20)
07. Carry Out Feelings (3:19)
08. Lift The Lid (3:54)
09. You’re The Violin (4:48)
~ Bonus tracks:
10. My White Bicycle (single) (5:21)
11. You’re The Violin (single edit) (3:35)
12. Loretta (alternate single version) (2:37)
13. Carry Out Feelings (US single edit) (3:19)
14. Lift The Lid (alternate single version) (3:29)
15. My White Bicycle (original version) (3:28)
16. Telegram (edited version) (4:28)

CD 2: Play ‘n’ the Game (1976)
01. Somebody To Roll (3:56)
02. Down Home Girl (5:05)
03. Flying (4:21)
04. Waiting For The Man (4:54)
05. Born To Love (3:59)
06. I Want To Do Everything For You (4:19)
07. I Don’t Want To Go On Without You (3:47)
08. Wild Honey (3:05)
09. L.A. Girls (3:53)
~ Bonus tracks:
10. Good Love (b-side) (3:52)
11. I Don’t Want To Go On Without You (alternate edit) (3:24)
12. Waiting For The Man (alternate edit) (6:13)
13. Somebody To Roll (edit) (3:30)
14. Born To Love (edited version) (3:34)

CD 3: Expect No Mercy (1977)
01. Expect No Mercy (3:27)
02. Gone Dead Train (3:44)
03. Shot Me Down (3:31)
04. Revenge Is Sweet (3:05)
05. Gimme What’s Mine (3:46)
06. Kentucky Fried Blues (3:08)
07. New York Broken Toy (3:39)
08. Busted (3:41)
09. Place In Your Heart (3:02)
10. All The King’s Horses (4:29)
~ Bonus tracks:
11. Greens (2:50)
12. Desolation Road (2:59)
13. Gone Dead Train (edited version) (3:32)
14. Expect No Mercy (alternate version) (2:54)
15. Place In Your Heart (alternate edited version) (3:04)
16. Kentucky Fried Blues (edited version) (2:50)
17. Expect No Mercy (live) (3:19)

CD 4: Expect No Mercy (Original Version) (1977)
01. Kentucky Fried Blues (3:18)
02. Gone Dead Train (3:25)
03. Shot Me Down (3:44)
04. Greens (2:54)
05. Life Of A Dog (4:16)
06. New York Broken Toy (3:50)
07. Revenge Is Sweet (3:08)
08. Desolation Road (3:09)
09. Can’t Keep A Good Man Down (4:19)
10. Moonlight Eyes (2:48)

CD 5: No Mean City (1979)
01. Just To Get Into It (4:24)
02. May The Sunshine (4:55)
03. Simple Solution (parts 1&2) (4:59)
04. Star (4:55)
05. Claim To Fame (4:30)
06. Whatever You Want Babe (3:42)
07. What’s In It For Me (4:20)
08. No Mean City (parts 1&2) (6:30)
~ Bonus tracks:
09. Snaefell (No Mean City instrumental outtake) (3:37)
10. May The Sunshine (single edit) (3:32)
11. Whatever You Want Babe (single edit) (2:59)
12. Star (US version) (4:55)
13. No Mean City (alternate edit) (3:33)
14. Simple Solution (edit) (4:18)

MUSICIANS
Dan McCafferty – Vocals
Manny Charlton – Guitars
Pete Agnew – Bass
Darrell Sweet – Drums
Zal Cleminson – Guitars (CD 5)

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 26^th June 2026

LINKS
Nazareth – Website | Facebook | Instagram | Boxset info at Cherry Red Records