"Hair of the Dog" a classic of rock music

Nazareth's song "Hair of the Dog" is not just a great heavy metal song or a "white trash classic" or whatever conceptual ghetto you would consign it to. It's a great rock anthem. Period. The song begins with a classic percussion signature - a hook in itself. Then the guitar riff rises as if it were a monster emerging from some dark swamp. When Dan McCafferty's vocals kick in, the music actually starts to swing - a quality Nazareth is never credited with. But the really great moment is when the song stops in its tracks for the chorus. It's like a big wolf grinning to reveal all its fangs. I swear to God(or whatever deity you please), this is a classic moment in itself. This is not just vulgarity for its own sake, but a genuinely liberating gesture. There is nothing on earth like a large group of people singing "Now you're messing with a son of a bitch!" Of the recorded live versions, the rendition of "Hair of the Dog" on a Palladium cheapie is pretty good, but, for my money, the best live version is on a cheapie produced by some British Columbia company which is split evenly between live Blue Oyster Cult tracks and live Nazareth tracks(as much as I'll always love Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth walks all over them on this one, in my opinion anyway). The band and the audience are definitely on the same page, same wavelength,etc., in this rendition. A thing of joy. Every damn thing in this song is a hook. If that doesn't make it a classic of rock music, I don't know what does. Some classic rock compilations, perhaps at last realising there's something that need accounting for, have been grudgingly including Nazareth in their comps. Sure enough, they go for the cover of "Love Hurts." Don't get me wrong. The band's cover of "Love Hurts" is all very fine and wonderful, but "Hair of the Dog" is their true claim to rock posterity. Any history of rock music ignoring it(and they all have to date) is revisionism and censorship, plain and simple. Rock has always managed to morph into many different things - that's why it has survived as long as it has. There's always be room for Procol Harum, the Sex Pistols, the Eagles, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, and Gentle Giant. But, really, rock music has a special soft spot for music that scratches the furniture and messes on the carpet. "Hair of the Dog" is just one such song. Dave Marsh once sneeringly called Nazareth "dog food." It is an indirect way of calling all their admirers dogs. Apparently, the band is to be judged by its audience and not its music. Well, I put to you that every dog will have its day. It's time for "Hair of the Dog" to have its day and take its place among the rock greats. And while you're at it, check out the rest of the band's output. They're always dressed to kill, so to speak. Many surprises and pleasures await you. Listen to music, not music critics. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada