10 tracks · 36 min
It remains a mystery, the original title of the Scots' ninth LP, as the record they delivered to their label didn't have the blistering sabre-dance that is "Expect No Mercy" on it. It was a totally different product even though it shared half of the tracks with the finished variant, the souped-up one which A&M hoped would send the quartet back up the charts. Not that the original songs were bad as this reissue, revealing the first version for the first time, proves - the crystal ballad "Moonlight Eyes" was to be revived three years later for "The Fool Circle", and the omission of the rousing "Life Of A Dog", a worthy follow-up to another canine gem from the NAZ canon, feels sinful - but ultimately, the suits were right: the platter didn't pack much punch. So Manny Charlton as a producer, and a principal writer this time, grafted some weight to what was to remain on the cards without compromising the band's country leanings. Yet the bluegrass picking had to get impressively metallized in the "New York Broken Toy" bustle and go down the drain from CRAZY HORSE's "Gone Dead Train", but the speeding up of and adding volume and bass swing to the soulful "Shot Me Down" only sharpened its…
