ARTICLE ABOUT Nazareth FROM New Musical Express, April 21, 1973

Did you ever hear that song “Raza McNaz” by Nazareth? That Scottish hymn they are so famous for creating? No?
Not me either… But Mr. Weir should be excused as the song called “Razamanaz” wasn`t released on an album until about three weeks after this concert review. And naturally, if a Scottish band sings that title it may well be that they are singing about someone named Raza McNaz.
Read on!

Nazareth / Marquee

Concert review by Paul Weir

THERE’S SOMETHING about Nazareth that’s hard to pin down. It’s the same thing that broke the house record at King’s Cross and packed London’s Marquee club last week.
Nazareth opened with “Night Woman” and, as I’ve said before, it was loud. Nazareth and volume seem to go together. No pulled punches here — it’s music for the body and hard as nails. Manny Charlton’s melodic guitar and the group’s harmony vocals add colour to a driving, brash pulse. Four weeks ago I would have said that Nazareth had little stage routine. Suddenly it’s all starting to gel. They’re posing more and Dan McCafferty is communicating more directly with the audience. He’s got an edge to his voice which suits the grittiness of the music.
“Raza McNaz” set the bones rattling and “Vigilante Man” followed, featuring some nice slide guitar from Manny. “Red Light Lady” showed leanings toward the early Uriah Heep. And here, I think, is where Nazareth score. Heep, Purple and others of the ilk are very big business, and the aggression in Nazareth’s music hits right home in similar fashion. They’ve built up their following slowly but surely in the clubs and concert halls with that little extra bit of support from their tartan-blooded brothers. Seeing Nazareth in Scotland must be like watching Thin Lizzy play Dublin.
Nazareth’s treatment of “Morning Dew” still has to be one of their most notable stage numbers with Pete Agnew’s bass laying down a steady hyper-funky backbone and Manny’s lead soaring over the top. On this song the vocals and guitar runs are that much more delicate by basic Naz standards. Holding it all together on drums was Darryl Sweet who reliably informs me that he was superb.
“Ruby Baby” boogied along with Pete ‘n` Manny singing the “Ooh’s” between lines, and Dan passing the mike down to the audience. “Woke Up This Morning” brought massive applause, and soon Nazareth were back for an encore of “Going Down”. “No seriously, thanks very much,” said Dan as Naz returned once more to do “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”.
Earlier, Rushwood played a very interesting set from a visual point of view. The music was a bit rough but they move like the mis-shapen cogs of a tripped-out machine, looking thoroughly demonic. I can only say see it because there are no parallels – they’re going to be very interesting in a few months time.

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ARTICLE ABOUT Peter Gabriel (Genesis) FROM New Musical Express, March 24, 1973

Some thoughts from Peter Gabriel in this one. It should come as no surprise that he has some spiritual views. I liked this one by Mr. Weir. Good job.
Read on!

Genesis fantasy
A meeting with the first of the mohicans

By Paul Weir

WHEN YOU MEET Peter Gabriel offstage, it’s difficult at first to relate what you see on stage to the person you’re talking to. Soft-spoken, his speech lacks the composition and smoothness of those well-known, on-stage monologues.
His mind is also prone to wander off at devious tangents to make mincemeat of the question you asked in the first place. Attempt to probe beyond this and he’ll become evasive; ask a searching question and he’ll blow it with an irrelevant, sarcastic answer.
Gabriel has plenty to say, but he says it on his own terms.
When we met at his London flat last week, he first made the point that prior to the recognition that’s come their way of late, Genesis were close to abandoning ship.
“We were losing money fast and it wouldn’t have been possible to continue much longer,” he says.
That situation, however, didn’t indicate any lack of faith in the music, for Gabriel added: “I do think the band has improved in the past year and when I stop thinking that, I`ll go off and do something else.” So just what is Genesis’s appeal now? “I think it’s that we’re a fantasy-type band who can create situations the audience can relate to. At the moment we’re more aware of the fantasy than the audience, and so I hope we`ll expand the visual side so that they can’t avoid it.”
What sort of concert audiences do they play to?
A quick answer: All sorts, from teeny boppers to middle-aged people. I hope our audience isn’t a classified sub-section of the public. We like playing to people who like us.”
“Get ‘Em Out By Friday,” from the “Foxtrot” album, was prompted by a TV documentary about housing in Islington, Gabriel informs me. Did he tend to over dramatise the situations? I asked.
“I don’t think so. There is emotion in the lyrics but they’re not sentimentalised. If you say the people in the song are caricatures, that’s fair enough. Everybody you read about in the papers is categorised. Journalists always try to put labels on everything.”

Taking a quick break from his cameras, NME’s Bob Ellis chipped in: “How do you see yourself? – as bizarre and frightening or as the friendly boy next door?”
“I don’t really do very well at frightening people.” “On stage you do,” said Ellis.
“Yuh, on stage maybe, but not off stage. My appearance helps to exaggerate people’s reactions. Some people will react negatively to anything that’s different, and others will think, ‘poor boy, he’s been in a car accident, had his brain taken out.’
“Some people think it’s a great self-conscious act of drawing attention to myself. I don’t mind, I just sit in my body and watch – the reactions are very interesting. I haven’t found it’s got in the way with my communicating.”
So appearance is no problem. But why does Gabriel shave the centre of his head?
“My list of answers runs like this: To avoid people. I don’t want to meet; a cheap gimmick to make me more money; so that I can swat the lice as they cross from the left to the right every night at six o’clock… another is that a clairvoyant once told me that I was a Mohican in the last life, and a friend pointed out that I was obviously a Mohican in the negative in this life – an outward sign of the spiritual desert that lies within and so on. “A guy from the Radha Krishna Temple came up to me on a tube train and told me that I was half-way there.”
How does Gabriel react to being a pin-up?
“A pin-up? I’d better wear thicker underwear. I think we’ll have a show that will attract seven or eight-year-olds, but if they want to scream they can go elsewere.”
It’s been suggested that he is carrying visual presentation of the music further than the rest of the group would like. How does he feel about it?
“On the whole we’re all interested in visual presentation of some sort — it’s over specific items that we have friction.
“Mostly I’ve done my thing and no-one has complained much.”
Does friction help to keep Genesis alive, healthy and creative?
“I’m never sure about this. There’s bound to be conflict when you have a number of strong-willed people. But I’d rather work with strong-willed people than weak-willed people.
“I think we’re an unusual band in that no-one dominates. We’re the only co-operative band that I know. Everyone has a fair say.
“Different musical tastes are good because everything is constantly questioned, and I think friction in the band also works to an extent. We’re better at avoiding the sort of emotional bitching arena that used to exist.”

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ARTICLE ABOUT Thin Lizzy FROM New Musical Express, March 17, 1973

Always nice to see a good review for this wonderful band.
Read on!

Thin Lizzy / Southbank Poly

Concert review by Paul Weir

A GOODLY CROWD of ravers turned up to see Thin Lizzy at South Bank Poly the Friday before last.
No doubt a lot of people expected Lizzy to bastardise hundreds of traditional folk songs. No way — “Whisky In The Jar” is hardly what Lizzy are all about. They have more to offer.
Lizzy opened with “1969 Rock” — rather like the “Doctor Who” theme goes heavy — and despite the all-glass acoustics of the hall, the effects were quite pleasant. Phil “Mine’s a Guinness” Lynott’s voice echoed clear as a bell, sounding remarkably like Robert Plant, and Eric “Ding Dong” Bell played fine snappy guitar breaks.
“Nazz” had Bell singing and showing off his silver disc waistcoat. Up front the boogieing was already getting well under way.
OK, so let’s have the hit single, lads. “Whisky In The Jar” is pretty good even if it is a bastardised folk song and that guitar line is something else. Lizzy treated it with total irreverence and Eric danced about like a fairy with a ferret down its trousers. Applause was noticeably greater.
A quick boogie to “Suicide” and Lizzy were into “Buffalo Girl” — their best number for my money. It has a superb riff and an excellent guitar ending from Eric.
Somewhere at the back of the hall the fabulous Brainettes were making the Tiller Girls look like stuffed penguins and getting into a bit of Gaelic rock.
“Slow Blues” had the lot — good vocals, a bit of blues, a bit of funk and nice sustained guitar. “The Rise And Dear Demise Of The Funky Nomadic Tribes” (people have died from writing less) featured Brian Downey on drums and some difficult juxtaposed rhythms from all concerned.

The original music paper this article came from (pictured at the top) is for sale!
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ARTICLE ABOUT Uriah Heep FROM New Musical Express, January 13, 1973

A really fine concert review, for once a bit of positivity in the NME when writing about this great band.
Read on!

Heep big appreciation

Concert review by Paul Weir

Uriah Heep opened their British tour at the Rainbow on Sunday to scenes of, would you believe, Heepmania.
But first Silverhead started the evening with a driving set of real rock n’ roll. Irradiated by beams of coloured light, Michael Des Barres displayed all the attributes of a future rock star: namely, confidence, an ability to move and a seductive, evil leer.
“Sold Me Down The River” chugged along nicely and the guitar of Rod Rook-Davies was mixed effectively from one side of the stage to the other. During “Underneath The Light”, Silverhead’s other guitarist, Steve Forrest, fell off the stage.
Bloody good job they filled in the orchestra pit after Frank Zappa’s mishap.
“Will You Finance My Rock an` Roll Band” is a plea Silverhead don’t need to make these days but, working on a pretty cold audience, it was this number which finally had everybody getting it on. Negotiations between Uriah’s Mick Box and myself to curtail their set after one song (so that I could catch the last train home) never came to fruition — with three thousand Heep fans out there rooting for them the band had to give a good show. This was definitely a case of playing to the converted. At up to £1.50 a ticket it needed to be. “Sunrise” was met with a wave of applause before the first note had been played and, like the bulk of Heep’s set, was very very `eavy. “Sweet Lorraine” featured some haunted-house-type synthesiser from Ken Hensley and plenty of tight choreography between Mick Box on lead, Gary Thain on bass and vocalist David Byron in his silver suit.
“July Morning” was a mixture of music and showmanship: Mick Box displayed a Townshendesque respect for his guitar and a nerve like a brain surgeon. (You’ve got to have nerve to throw a good guitar fifteen feet into the air.)
Whether it was Mick striding across the stage or David kneeling down and singing a la Jolson, it was all designed to get the energy going. And it did. Heep were getting standing ovations long before the end of the show.
Over to David: “All having a good time?”
“Yeah!” shouted the £ 1.50s.
“Are you all having a good time UPSTAIRS?”
“Yeah!” shouted the £1.25s, the £1s and the 75pS. “Gypsy” was overpoweringly heavy — apart from the break, in which the spot fell on Ken Hensley playing an evil organ and synthesiser solo, looking not unlike the mad organist who comes up through the floor in horror films. Mick Box continued to throw his guitar around and kicked a mikestand over now and again just to keep the aggro flowing.
The essential element of Heep’s music remains unchanged — from the first album to the fifth, from Farx Club to the Rainbow, Heep are HEAVY. Man. “Circle of Hands” saw Gary Thain riding David like a horse, Mick worshipping the drum kit and another ovation. Everyone stood up at David Byron’s command and clapped along with “Look At Yourself” as the spotlights swirled around the auditorium.
An encore of “Love Machine” brought the audience surging onto the stage and many valiant attempts were made to slip through the line of bouncers. One girl dodged through and the whole band before leaping off the stage in triumph. Two girls got to kiss David Byron (sneaky — they rushed him from the side) and he also had the pleasure of being dragged into the front row by a mass of grabbing hands.
Uriah Heep have returned to England, very ‘eavy indeed, but not so ‘umble anymore.

The original music paper this article came from (pictured at the top) is for sale!
Send me an e-mail if you are interested. Send it to: geirmykl@gmail.com
The offer should be 20 $ (US Dollars) to be considered. (This includes postage).
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If you have a large collection of the following magazines, don`t throw them out, but contact me as I would be very interested in these: Creem, Circus, Hit Parader and Metal Edge.

If you have a music-related web-page where this fits – please make a link to the article. With credits to the original writer of the article from all of us music fans!