No Mean City

The lead-up to "Just To Get Into It", with a hint of "Flight Of The Bumblebee", makes the opener buzz with excitement and catch no less than three solos on its rock 'n' roll spine, while "Claim To Fame" adds a good dose of menace to this, one of the sharpest NAZ collection. But it's in the easygoing "Whatever You Want Me" where the Scots' collective heart booms wild, spurned by the song's galloping golden motif; the same warm joy spills from the acoustic cowboy ride of "May The Sunshine" painted over with bold, yet exquisite, electric strokes. Then, "Star" flows in as its silvery, night-time counterpart featuring Dan McCafferty at his most reflective but sounding dangerously close to the Rod Stewart-fronted THIN LIZZY, whereas "What's In It For Me" employs too much Americana sliding to be as fiery as it tries to be. Still, the title track drives it all to a pounding finale to show that NAZARETH, for all the irony of Rodney Matthews cover, the sitar inflections on the Celtic march and the band's secret laughter, really mean it.