Snakes 'n' Ladders is the seventeenth studio album by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1989 through Vertigo Records. It was the final album to feature Manny Charlton, who left the band in 1990.
Background Snakes 'n' Ladders contains several cover songs alongside original songs by Nazareth. These include "Hang On to a Dream" by Tim Hardin and "Piece of My Heart", written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy. In particular, "Helpless" is a cover of a song written by Neil Young. The original version of "Helpless" appeared on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album Déjà Vu.
Musically, the album prominently features Nazareth's characteristic hard rock and blues rock influences, particularly on tracks such as "Animals" and "Lady Luck". Some reviews have suggested that the album's production somewhat diminished the band's energy, while others have praised Charlton's guitar playing and McCafferty's vocals and subsequently reassessed the album as an overlooked gem.
Snakes 'n' Ladders was also the final Nazareth studio album to feature Charlton. He left the band in 1990.
Track listing
Three bonus tracks above are from German single Winner on the Night.
Personnel Band members Dan McCafferty – vocals Manny Charlton – guitars, keyboards & computer programming Pete Agnew – bass guitar Darrell Sweet – drums
Other credits Joey Balin – producer Engineered and mixed by Martin Heyes Sleeve design – A.Backhausen, Cologne Illustration – Marc Klinnert Manny Elias – drum programming Phil Spalding – additional bass parts Dzal Martin – additional guitar parts Danny Cummings – percussion on "Trouble" Mark Feltham – harmonica on "Lady Luck"
Charts Chart (1989) Peakposition
References
External links