Expect No Mercy was Scottish band Nazareth’s ninth album, three removed from their Hair of the Dog peak.  That classic Nazareth line-up  of singer Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton, drummer Darrell Sweet, and bassist Pete Agnew remained intact, and the songs retained their trademark gravelly rock and blues-iness.  Here’s a taste:

Kind of makes you want to burn one in the back of a primer-gray Camaro, doesn’t it?

What really keeps this in my stacks, though, is that stonerific Frank Frazetta album cover.  It’s a long way from his Both Sides of Herman’s Hermits sleeve, but then again this wasn’t a work for hire.  Nazareth simply reused Frazetta’s 1967 painting, “Brain,” for this jacket.

So what’s this outta sight piece of canvas all about?  Hell if I know.  Let’s go with man’s inhumanity to man.  That answer is always good for a C+.

You can find a copy of Expect No Mercy on vinyl in the under $5 range, and it’s also still in print in both CD and the ever popular “I didn’t want to hear the bottom end anyway” MP3 formats.  Happy hunting.

(One last note:  I apologize for the bad photo, but I couldn’t bring myself to tear off the shrink-wrap.  It’s survived almost forty years, for Christ’s sake.  For a high-res photo of “Brain,” go here.)