Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Dan McCafferty
Company: A&M
Catalog: SP-4553
Year: 1975
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: white label promo; cut out hole top right corner
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5515
Price: $15.00
Dan McCafferty's been the voice of Nazareth since 1968 and has one of those instantly recognizable voices that folks seem to love, or hate - very little in between. Growing up in the mid-1970s McCafferty and Nazareth were a big part of my musical curriculum so I tend to be a fan ...
McCafferty's solo debut didn't come until Nazareth had released six studio sets - 1975's "Hair of the Dog" finally providing the band with their first major commercial success and undoubtedly an underlying factor in the decision to release a McCafferty solo effort.
Produced by fellow Nazareth member Manny Charlton (who shared lead guitar duties with future Nazareth member Zal Cleminson), 1975's cleverly-titled "Dan McCafferty" probably didn't come as a major shock to most folks. A collection of McCafferty's personal favorites given a suitable 'Nazareth' styled hard rock treatment, the results were actually pretty entertaining. If was far from perfect with the reggae flavored numbers being particular ill suited for McCafferty's sledgehammer roar. Still, give credit to McCafferty for his eclectic tastes which ranged from old 1950s chestnuts like The Platters' 'Great Pretender to Neil Young ('Cinnamon Girl'). Rockers like 'Watcha Gonna Do About It' and 'You Got Me Hummin'' were clearly intended to keep Nazareth fans satisfied, but at least to my ears McCafferty was at his most interesting when willing to stray from Nazareth's patented sound. Powered by a killer guitar solo from either Charlton of future Nazareth member Zal Cleminson, his Neil Young cover was fantastic. Equally impressive were the simmering ballads 'Boots of Spanish Leather' and 'Trouble'. Surrounded by a wall of strings, a third ballad 'Stay with Me Baby' was way too MOR for McCafferty's own good. Still, overall a pleasant surprise and an I actually play a couple of times a year.
While they did little commercially, the album was tapped for a series of three singles:
- 1975's 'Out of Time' b/w 'Cinnamon Girl' (Mountain catalog number TOP 1) (it just missed the British top-40)
- 1975's 'Watcha Gonna Do About It' b/w 'Boots of Spanish Leather' (Mountain catalog number TOP 5)
- 'The Honky Tonk Downstairs' b/w 'Trouble' (Mountain catalog number TOP 18)
"Dan
McCafferty" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Honky Tonk Downstairs (Dallas - Frazier) - 3:42
2.) Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young) - 4:17
3.) Great Pretender (Buck Ram) - 3:05
4.) Boots of Spanish Leather (Bob Dylan) - 4:56
5.) Watcha Gonna Do About It (Carroll - Payne) - 3:57
(side
2)
1.) Out of Time (Mick Jagger - Keith Richards) - 3:45
2.) You Can't Lie To a Liar (Hampton) - 2:32
3.) Trouble (Lowell George) - 2:15
4.) You Got Me Hummin' (Isaac Hayes - David Porter) - 4:05
5.) Stay with Me Baby (Ragovay - Weiss) - 4:30
Sporting the same catalog number and track listing the album was also released with a more conventional cover.
