AUDIOPHILE VINYL
62 HI-FI WORLD SEPTEMBER 20 19 http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk
A
new batch of vinyl
LPs from Nazareth
have been released
from Salvo and
I managed to grab three often
ignored titles to review and con-
trast. The group’s break-out third LP,
‘Razamanaz’ is always noted by crit-
ics but the first two covered here
are worthy of your full attention.
The band’s self-titled debut from
1971 is an interesting affair because
you can sense the band searching
for a consistent style and direction.
There’s a welcome array of light and
shade: hard rock, introspective rock,
balladic moments and sometimes
even slices of Status Quo-like
boogie intrudes. That said, there’s
plenty of energy to add a hard-
edged flavour.
Moving onto the second album
‘Exercises’ (1972), the commitment
towards high energy rock has not
yet been made. What we have here
is a spot of introspection with
acoustic tracks a-plenty, strings
and excellent vocal harmonies thattouch upon Lindisfarne and The
Moody Blues on occasion. Easily
ignored and often criticised but
there’s plenty to like.
After this classic period
Nazareth released albums like
‘The Fool Circle’ in 1981. It was
criticised for moving too far in the
other direction with, some say, an
over-produced presentation allied
with cack-handed songwriting. It’s
not a terrific album, the hard edge
isn’t there but the music is fun and
melodic and really, it’s not as bad
as all that. If anything, this album
really does square a circle because it
returns to musical experimentation
with a synth-based beat on ‘Every
Young Man’s Dream’ and reggae on
‘We Are The People’
Mastering is good. Fairly neutral
and detailed with a slightly warming
area around the soundstage on the
debut, open instrumentation – yet
slightly restricted, muddy vocals on
‘Exercises’, but with a clean and
detailed presentation from ‘The
Fool Circle’.A
man with a sax,
Stitt was skilled
on both tenor and
alto – although if
you shoved an alto in his hands
he would blow like Charlie Parker.
That said, his Lester Young side
would emerge if you replaced that
with a tenor. His uptempo work
could be dazzling and experimental- but I personally prefer his ballad-
ic approach which is both thought-
ful and beautifully structured.
Stitt played with many of the
greats from Billy Eckstine in the
forties to Dizzy Gillespie and Bud
Powell – then Gillespie again – in
the fifties. During this time, before
joining Miles Davis in 1960, Stitt
collected a number of sessions
on the Roost label (launched by
producer, Teddy Reig) and the
tracks here span 1952-1957. The
trouble with Roost was cash and
power. The company was a minor
player – compared to the likes of
Verve and Prestige, at any rate. So
getting Stitt’s Roost sessions ‘out
there’ and in shops was a tough
call when the pockets were so
shallow.
These limited-edition tracks
are alternatives to the originals
heard on albums such as ’37
Minutes and 48 Second’ (1956)
and ‘Sony Stitt with the New
Yorkers’ (1957). Tracks taken
from the former album extend
the playing time by almost eleven
minutes, so there’s plenty of new
and interesting music to consider.
I find Stitt’s playing bold,
confident and packed with
emotional vibrato yet clean and
often spare. He doesn’t waste a
note.
This LP has been mastered in
a relatively neutral and balanced
manner to offer dynamic reach
around the midrange and sparkle
at the treble end. I get the feeling
that the original masters were a
touch lively. But there’s nothing to
fear here.NAZARETH
SONNY STITT
AUDIOPHILE VINYL
Nazareth/Exercises/The Fool
Circle
SalvoLone Wolf: The Roost Alternates
Run Out Groove