Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy is a rock band from Ireland, formed in Dublin in 1969, releasing twelve studio albums between 1971 and 1983. They were also a stunning live act, with 1978's “Live and Dangerous” having a serious claim to being the greatest live album in history. The band's musical style incorporates a wide range of influences, blues, soul, psychedelia rock and traditional Irish folk as well as contemporary folk, all within a pop sensibility that gave the band commercial appeal. The band was led by writer, singer, and bass guitarist Philip Lynott, the first Black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock and pop. With Lynott and Downey forming the band's rhythm section from first to last, the band featured a number of lead guitarists throughout their career. Although categorised as hard rock, the band had the ability to catch the ear with hooks and melodies, taking them into the charts on a number of occasions. The band had a musical intelligence and imagination that separated them from the heavy rock herd. The songs are well done and well written. The whole Scott Gorham-Brian Robertson pairing is amazing. The pairing of the twin guitars is fantastic. The guitar sound is distinctive. It's hard rock but not in any dull or predictable sense; it's intelligent hard rock in terms of the song structures and lyrical content. Thin Lizzy are very much an atypical blues rock band. They have all the familiar motifs but a whole lot more in terms of variety and musicianship. The band is playing at a much higher level.
There are few bands that you can listen to solidly, for the simple reason that they lack the variety. Thin Lizzy have a great multiplicity in music, with the softer and mellower stuff rounding it out. Each album has a great variety of material, moving from a heavy song to a lighter song, from fast to slow, heavy to light, quick to slow. There songs, too, have great variation. That results in a very distinctive sound. No one sounds like this band.
The Thin Lizzy albums
Thin Lizzy (1971)
Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
Nightlife (1974)
Fighting (1975)
Jailbreak (1976)
Johnny the Fox (1976)
Bad Reputation (1977)
Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
Chinatown (1980)
Renegade (1981)
Thunder and Lightning (1983)
Thin Lizzy (self-titled debut album)
Recorded 4–9 January 1971
Released 30 April 1971
Studio Decca Studios, London
Genre: Folk rockblues rock
Length 38:39
Label Decca
Singles from Thin Lizzy
"The Farmer" / "I Need You"
“Thin Lizzy”is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 30 April 1971.
Background and recording
Decca signed “Tin Lissy" to a one-year recording contract on December 1st 1970, with the option of extending the deal by two further periods of one year in September 1971 and September 1972, meaning that they were committed to delivering three albums should all go well. The band received an advance of £500, with a further £500 to be paid after the album had been completed. The album was recorded under the influence and has an ad-libbed feel.
Reception
Those who know Thin Lizzy by what the band was to become, a hard rock band with a pop sensibility, would find the debut album to be surprisingly folky and mellow.
There is clear evidence of musical and lyrical intelligence and creativity, with anticipations of things to come. The songs are an experimental blend of blues and folk materials outside of rock, and draw on Irish influences. The songs are incredibly well-crafted for a first effort, and retain an interest on their own merit. There are a number of good songs on this first album, often very folky in a way that might surprise those who know only the songs of the established band. The first album contains the songs of a band finding its sound and style, The songs are a little folky and acoustic, showing a dimension of the band that rather got overlaid by the rock later on. The lyrics are always intriguing, drawing you in. Lynott's trademark story-telling approach was apparent from the very first, defining him as a songwriter.
I have a soft spot for the early records, not least on account of the memories of the frustration, thwarted desire, and enjoyment I had as a Lizzy fan trying to track their first music down. It was a hobby, it was a reason to live.
Shades of a Blue Orphanage
Released 10 March 1972
Recorded 17 December 1971 - January 1972
Studio De Lane Lea Studios, Wembley, London
Genre : Folk rock hard rock
Length 40:09
Label Decca
“Shades of a Blue Orphanage” is the second studio album by Thin Lizzy, released in March 1972. The title is a combination of the members' previous bands: “Shades of Blue” and “Orphanage.”
Phil Lynott wrote "Sarah" for his grandmother, who raised him when his mother, Philomena, was unable to do so.
Reception
The album shows evidence of both ambition and ability, but is lacking in direction, clarity, and direction. The band aim at times at the heavy rock that they were later to deliver with applomb, but are still rooted in softer, folkier sounds. The album is the sound of a band coming from one place whilst aiming for another, revealing folk acoustic, Irish, sixties psychedelia, progressive influences and even fifties style rockabilly. Lynott’s lyrical approach anchors the songs, but the influences from the past suffocate the band's originality. There are high points, though, where the band shows something of its own unique qualities.
“Shades of a Blue Orphanage” is full of anticipations of the band Thin Lizzy was to become, if not enough of them to make it a full-blown Lizzy record. It's a solid record all the same, the sound of the band as a three piece trying to get out of the sixties and carve a distinct place for themselves in the seventies. “Shades” continues where the debut album left off, and demonstrates further development towards what would become the classic Lizzy sound. The songs contain a plethora of interesting words, but are still looking for the prefect blend with music that would come in time. You have to start somewhere, and the first two albums were a great start. You can hear the band getting a little harder in its approach and sound but you still have the folky influence, the traditional songs of Ireland but sounds which are also redolent of Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny.
My main criticism of the first two albums would be that, for a new band, they are quite backward looking. Heavy rock was exploding in the early seventies, with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and others offering a serious injection of pace and power. People talk about the influence of traditional Irish folk on Lynott but it is possible also to hear distinct strains of the gentler side of folk rock. That's very good in itself, but too many of the tracks are a little too light for a rock band that aims to go places. For a critical perspective on the early Thin Lizzy albums it is useful to bracket out what we know this band to have become and, rather than read backwards, put ourselves in the position of the record buyer at the time. The first two albums are 'interesting' without thereby being compelling. The music sounds dated, the sound quality musty and crusty. Lynott is still gaining in confidence as a vocalist. There is also a style-searching waywardness and a tendency to retreat to a pleasant but idle folkishness. Had you been a record buying punter back in the day, would you have spent your money here rather than on myriad other options in the burgeoining rock market? The band needed to up its game, settle on its style, and chart its course to the future.
Vagabonds of the Western World
Released 21 September 1973
Recorded 11 April — 19 July 1973
Studio AIR Studios and Decca 4, London
Genre : Hard rock blues rock
Length 39:59
Label Decca
“Vagabonds of the Western World” is Thin Lizzy's third studio album, released September 1973. It was the last album to feature guitarist Eric Bell, who left because he felt the band to be going nowhere. It was also the first album to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick on the front cover, the first of many which would shape the public image of the band. The cartoon cover art suited the story-telling quality of Lynott's lyricism and song-writing, with words and music inciting the imagination. Many of the Thin Lizzy albums have the quality of the concept album.
Reception
On “Vagabonds,” the band started to play with greater flow, force, and precision. The music has great density and is played with greater consistency, encasing Lynott's developing lyricism. The style of music, however, is still inconsisent, mixing any number of influences ranging from Irish, blues, folk, pop and Motown, hard rock. The result is an album of great richness and diversity, but with much that can seem out of kilter, lacking in coherent style and character. That's a valid point if variety and imagination can be considered criticisms – The Beatles were praised for those very things. And the band was still developing, showing more and more of its edgy and dangerous attitude, swagger, and confidence. These things would later click to make for the band we know and love, but the elements are all here. “Vagabonds” may be considered the first classic Thin Lizzy album, with songs that were finished and definite articles. "The Rocker" is the band's first bona fide rock classic. "Little Girl in Bloom" is also a classic statement of Lynott's softer ballad style, which also became a hallmark of the great Lizzy albums.
With the cool cartoon artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick on the front cover, “Vagabonds of the Western World” has a claim to be the first “real” Thin Lizzy album, one that belongs in the fold of the classic Lizzy albums. It is also the last with Eric Bell on guitar. The album gets a little Doors like in place, has some cool spoken word moments, and rocks hard in places, particularly on “The Rocker” with its scorching guitars. On “Vagabonds” Lizzy are a prodding, riffy, power trio. There is also some incredibly mature writing with “Little Girl in Bloom.” “Vagabonds” is the sound of a band that is no longer merely finding its way, but has found a good deal of what it is looking for and is now seeking to hone it to perfection.
I rate the album very highly. The band will have known that “Vagabonds” would be its last album on Decca and it is clear they determined to pull out a top performance (as when they delivered “Jailbreak” when given a last chance by Vertigo). There are some excellent tracks in the blues rock field ("Mama Nature Said," “Slow Blues,” and “The Rocker”), a superb soulful ballad in “Little Girl in Bloom”) and a couple of incredibly inventive and experimental tracks ("The Hero and the Madman" and "Vagabond of the Western World.") The only downside is the final track, "A Song for While I'm Away," which is another slice of that folky/hippie sixties psychedelia that characterised the first two albums, to no great effect.
With “Vagabonds” we are in sight of the “real” Thin Lizzy. We can hear the sound and the song writing maturing. There is still a lot of style-searching going on, but here it makes for an amazing mix of the folky, funky, bluesy, and the kazzy, experimental with a killer bass! This is the album where it becomes clear that Phil Lynott knows what he wants to do, where he is going, and how to do it and get there.
Nightlife
Cover art by Jim Fitzpatrick
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 8 November 1974
Recorded April and September 1974
Studio Saturn, Worthing; Trident and Olympic, London
Genre : Hard rock blues rock soft rock soul R&B
Length 37:11
Label Vertigo
Singles from Nightlife
"Philomena"
Released: 25 October 1974
"Showdown"
Released: January 1975 (US)
"It's Only Money"
Released: January 1975 (Ger.)
“Nightlife” is Thin Lizzy's fourth studio album, released on 8 November 1974 by Vertigo Records. It was the first album to feature Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitars, Eric Bell having left. The decision to replace one guitar player with two lead guitarists was inspirational, with the band developing its famous – and thrilling – twin guitar style. There are a lot of words wasted in idle controversy concerning who invented the twin guitar style. Who did it first is not the important point, it is who did it best, most, and most memorably, and that without a shadow of a doubt is Thin Lizzy. It's like the controversy Elvis continues to provoke, with everybody everywhere having done what Elvis did before Elvis did it. Tommyrot! The people who did it best are the ones who have the greatest impact, the ones who come to public prominence and linger longer in the memory.
Album artwork
The album cover was designed by Jim Fitzpatrick and is very evocative. It shows a panther-like creature prowling and stalking the big city. It can be read in any number of ways, not least given the album's title. Jim Fitzpatrick is on record as stating that the panther is a reference to the Black Panthers and African-American political figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. The album itself, however, isn't overtly political and explores 'nightlife' in more earthly and familiar aspects.
Reception
“Nightlife” is an incredibly difficult album to judge in relation to Thin Lizzy's catalogue as a whole, for the simple reason it doesn't quite fit. Had “Nightlife” been Thin Lizzy's breakthrough album instead of “Jailbreak,” and it so easily could have been, and you could have seen the band take shape with a different, more rounded, musical profile. The hard rock for which the band would become famous is certainly there, with “It's Only Money” and "Sha La La" pioneering what would become the band's trademark sound. But there are soulful elements which Lynott would only explore later on his solo albums. There are also softer tracks, ballads, and instrumentals, and still the Irish influence. The album serves to reveal all attempts to rank music as the most preposterously unmusical pretence of all. You are simply not comparing like-with-like, with ranking coming down purely to taste and preference. The album is something of an anomaly in the Thin Lizzy catalogue, in a category of its own. The sound is smooth and soulful, even subdued, in marked contrast to the thrilling rock sound that was to come. That said, there is thrilling rock on this album, whilst there were soft and soulful ballads on later albums. It remains true, though, that superb tracks like "She Knows" and “Showdown” are never really repeated on later albums, making this the Lizzy we could have had – had enough people bought the album to make further adventures down this route commercially viable.
The album is more musically and lyrically complex and diverse than much of rock music at the time, with the notable exceptions of the other great bands now making their name (Roxy Music, Queen etc. The best have imagination and take risks. They often fail, but when they make it they go big. There are no guarantees, so kudos to all who have a go).
“Nightlife” is packed with fantastic songs. With the injection of heavy guitar, the sound is filling out and Lynott's vocals becoming confident. Gorham and Robertson on twin guitars add a new dimension. The album has rock elements but is actually mellow and soulful for the most part. In many respects, “Nightlife” is something of a detour and deviation from the line of development. But it adds important elements all the same, all of which would endure in the later phases of the band's career. On the album, Thin Lizzy take shape as a fourpiece, with two new guitarists added to replace Eric Bell. Whilst Thin Lizzy didn't create the twin guitar lead they perfected it and brought it to light. This is the album where Thin Lizzy became Thin Lizzy as we came to know them, the classic lineup of four members boasting a twin guitar style. That said, the album is something of an anomaly in terms of its musical style, being very soulful. That element remained but was perhaps underdeveloped. It comes out a decade later on “Memory Pain,” a track I would have loved to have seen on “Renegade.” With the great artwork, showing a panther looking down over the city, “Nightlife” is such a cool album, showing the versatility of the band. It may not be the hard-hitting rock the band became noted for – although it does contain a couple of hard-hitters – but it is a real kaleidoscope of effortless musical style, with a soul sound that is both funky and sweet.
Fighting
Released 12 September 1975
Recorded May 1975
Hard rock blues rock
Length 37:56
Label Vertigo
“Fighting” is the fifth studio album by Thin Lizzy, released in 1975. At this point the experimentation with different styles and genres seems over with the band stamping its own indelible image on its influences. The result is hard rock, folk, pop, and rhythm and blues in the Lizzy style. On “Fighting” the band forged its sound around the twin lead guitars and Lynott's lyricism. There is a great precision and economy about the set, paving the way for its succossor “Jailbreak.” “Fighting” was Thin Lizzy's first album to chart in the UK, hitting No. 60.
Songs
The band had originally performed "Suicide" with guitarist Eric Bell. Showing the continued diversity of material, "Half-Caste" was released on the B-Side of the "Rosalie" single, but left off the album. Other material such as "Try a Little Harder" was also left off the album. The album has much greater coherence and musical definition than previous Lizzy albums, showcasing what would become known as the Thin Lizzy sound.
“Fighting” is a raw and visceral rock & roll album, although the folky inflections and story-telling that characterised the band's previouy albums is still very much in evidence. Propelled by the interplay of the twin-guitars, the sound is vital and thrilling, with a real uplift.
The sound is hard and solid, but fluid and harmonious, soft and soulful, with all elements woven into the very fabric of a distinctively Thin Lizzy sound.
"Fighting” was my favourite album back in the day. It had a fluidity and an electricity that raised it above much of the hard rock I was listening to. I played “For Those Who Love to Live” and “Ballad of a Hard Man” over and again, soulful, funky hard as nails rock that made many and most heavy rock bands sound leaden. If heavy metal was the sound of weighty objects falling from the sky, Lizzy took the heaviness and gave it lift, soaring for the skies. The album has real energy and aggression.
“Fighting” is the album where the band finally takes off and sounds like the band we know from later on. In my younger days this was my favourite Thin Lizzy record, with both “For Those Who Love to Live” and “Ballad of the Hard Man” vying for the claim to be my most favourite song of all. “Suicide” is groovy, “Spirit Slips Away” haunting, whilst “Wild One” offers a textbook lesson on intertwining twin guitar. The album is consistently good, with lots of balance and pacing, and great variety. In addition to the great songs, there is that tough guy image on the tooled up street thugs on the cover. When my mum and granny saw it they weren't shocked. Instead they chuckled, noting that Phil Lynott was married to TV star Leslie Crowther's daughter.
Jailbreak
Cover art by Jim Fitzpatrick
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 26 March 1976
Recorded December 1975 – February 1976
Studio Ramport Studios, London, UK
Genre: Hard rock blues rock
Length 36:15
Label Vertigo
“Jailbreak” is Thin Lizzy's sixth studio album, released on 26 March 1976, by Vertigo Records. The album marked the band's commercial breakthrough in the US, where it went Gold. The single "The Boys Are Back in Town" is Thin Lizzy's biggest US hit, and won the 1976 NME Award for Best Single.
Composition and recording
“Nightlife” and “Fighting” had met with little commercial success, so the band approached “Jailbreak” knowing that their record label were giving them one last chance to breakthough, writing songs and gathering ideas throughout 1975, working hard. Guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson felt that the approach resulted in a tightness and rigidity in the sound, at the expense of fluidity and spontaneity which characterised the normal guitar sound of the band. You notice it once you look for it, on “Angel from the Coast,” for instance. I just don't hear it as rigid, more focused, all business and economy. The approach succeeded in presenting the Lizzy sound in a concentrated and forceful style, enabling the band to pack its considerable punch. The album is focused, with nothing sprawling or going off on tangents.
"Running Back" savours a little of Van Morrison's “Brown Eyed Girl” and Lynott himself said at the time that it was "very much influenced by Van Morrison. I really like that song." The song has obvious commercial possibilities and was chosen to be the single instead of "The Boys Are Back in Town", the latter being ruled out as being too aggressive to receive much radio play. "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" was also considered for single release, with its catchy melody, memorable chorus, and exciting guitars.
But of the album has a strongly developed pop side, it also has a hard edge.
The drugs undercurrent throughout later Lizzy songs receives explicit statement from Phil Lynott when describing “Warriors.” "When I wrote 'Warriors'…" frontman and songwriter Phil Lynott remarked in 1976, "the only way I could give any sense of heavy drug takers was by describing them as warriors; that they actually go out and do it. People like Hendrix and Duane Allman were perfectly aware of the position they were getting into. They weren't slowly being hooked. It was a conscious decision to go out and take the thing as far as it can go." So there it is. Lynott would say that his name is Lie-not as in Why Not? A couple of years later he was writing “Got to Give it Up.”
Reception
The songs on the album showcase Lynott's story-telling abilities, showing his lyrical abilities running at peak form. With a striking Jim Fitzpatrick album cover, “Jailbreak” gives the impression of being a concept album, although the unity is more about the themes than a single coherent story. On “Jailbreak” Lynott emerges clearly as what he had been all along, an enormously-soulled rock and roll poet. The tales of outcasts and outlaws breaking out and breaking through on a grandiose, history-making, epic scale, encompassing both freedom and tragedy.
“Jailbreak” is superb album, hard rock with a pop sensibility and one of the very best, and maybe the best, of its kind. The songs are bursting with ideas and imagination and, allied to the kinetic energy in the playing, still sound new and vital at the umpteenth time of playing. All life is packed into the grooves of the album, in all its details and dimensions. The twin-guitar interplay between Robertson and Gorham received its classic expression here, defining the sound for all time. The folky introspective style of old is also showcased on tracks like “Fight or Fall” (my only complaint here being the gimmick of repeating “tell myself” to break the repetition – it also broke the beautiful flow). In telling a story, the songs pull at the emotional heartstrings. And rock hard.
“Jailbreak” is a classic album, the band's biggest selling album. Many might complain that the album, in being popular, is overfamiliar, the songs overplayed and overly familiar. I'm not remotely sure that that is true (or that being popular is a good criticism). The songs have a raunchiness and a speed, also a catchiness and a playfulness. “Warriors” is tough, a dark song in which Lynott reveals what serving the death machine entails. It doesn't matter how many times the songs on this album are played. I've heard them a million times now but always enjoy hearing them again. I heard “The Boys are Back in Town” umpteen times in the day. It was always played in the live performances on TV, which had me wincing in anticipating the “get your knickers down” demand from Lynott, given that I was watching with my mother – it was the days when there was just the one family TV, so everyone watched what was on. The same with respect to the “Cowboy Song” and its finger movements. I've heard the songs many times and whatever is lost by way of familiarity is more than gained in appreciation of enduring quality. The songs are awesome and the musicians are on fire. This album is brilliant, memorable and irresistible.
Johnny the Fox
Cover art by Jim Fitzpatrick
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 16 October 1976
Recorded August 1976
Genre : Hard rock blues rock
Length 35:37
Label Vertigo
“Johnny the Fox” is Thin Lizzy's seventh studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in October 1976. The third album in eighteen months, it was written and recorded while Phil Lynott was recovering from the bout of hepatitis that had brought the Jailbreak tour to a premature end. "Don't Believe a Word" was a British hit single. Musicland Studios producer John Alcock has stated the album suffered because Lynott needed more time to finish the songs, and that some songs, like "Boogie Woogie Dance", were not strong enough to merit inclusion on the album. It might be a blindspot on my part, but I have never rated “Johnny the Fox” as highly as others, with many Lizzy fans declaring it to be the best Lizzy album, or their favourite album. More often than not it ranks in the best three Thin Lizzy albums. I saw it as an attempt to build on the momentum of “Jailbreak” with a quick follow up. The songs are decent enough, but seem more contrived and needing more work or just not being good enough. But I may be missing something that others can see.
The album was the last to feature guitarist Brian Robertson, who was later sacked, reinstated, and sacked again by Lynott. Lynott and Robertson clashed over musical differences. Lynott first presented "Don't Believe a Word" as a slow 12-bar blues format, with Robertson declaring it not very good (or a word to that effect). Robertson reworked the song as a faster shuffle with drummer Brian Downey, with the result pleasing Lynott enough to record it that way. Robertson took umbrage when the song was credited solely to Lynott and went on to be a hit. Lynott recorded the original bluesy arrangement with Gary Moore on Moore's “Back on the Streets” album in 1978. I think Robertson was right.
Robertson also co-wrote the reflective country-style ballad "Borderline," which is a decent “lonesome cowboy” type song.
“Massacre” is one of the album's best tracks and was, according to producer John Alcock, written in the studio. Lynott was inspired to write the lyrics as an expression of regret for his defensive reaction to being visited in hospital by a Protestant clergyman, the lyric condemning religious prejudice.
"Fools Gold" is a story of the Irish travelling to the US in an attempt to escape the Great Famine of Ireland of 1845–52 and start a new life.
The story-telling approach is evident throughout, with the album again having the quality of a concept album. The album is personalised, with two tracks bearing the name of "Johnny" and one of “Rocky.” Add “Jimmy” and you have quite a cast of characters. “Johnny the Fox meets Jimmy the Weed” is a track in the funk style, with roots in the “Nightlife” album. The theme, again, is one of drugs and drug dealing.
Backing musicians
Phil Collins of Genesis plays on the album, but I have no idea where. Irish musician Fiachra Trench provided string arrangements and also contributed a brass arrangement to.
Album cover
Jim Fitzpatrick designed the artwork for the cover, a complicated neo-gothic Celtic border with a disc in the centre for the title and central design. Like the panther on the cover of 1974's “Nightlife,” both Lynott and Fitzpatrick felt that the fox represented a sort of "outsider" character. Outlaws and outsiders breaking free and doing what they can to hustle and survive on the margins, in and against “the system,” for nothing and no-one but themselves and their kind. That's the recurring theme in the story-telling at the heart of the songs Lynott wrote over the years.
Album release and tour
Johnny the Fox was released on 16 October 1976, and reached UK #11. "Don't Believe a Word" was released as a single and hit UK #12.
The tour was scheduled to continue in the US in late November, but was cancelled after Brian Robertson sustained a hand injury in a fight at the Speakeasy Club in London, preventing him from playing guitar effectively for several months. In January 1977 Thin Lizzy began a three-month US tour opening for Queen with Gary Moore standing in for Robertson, the famous “Queen Lizzy” tour.
Reception
The album bears comparison with “Jailbreak” in its sound and its story-telling. If the songs are not as good, the melodies are stronger and there is greater diversity and complexity, transcending the definitions of hard rock. The material just isn't as strong as on “Jailbreak,” or needs to be properly developed or finished. It makes for a strange listening experience, with great playing from the musicians, Lynott's lyricism and story-telling, and suggestions of a concept album, but tracks that, for the most part, are not as thrilling nor as gripping as those on “Jailbreak." It's just that it doesn't sound far off from being a masterwork, a richly textured work of melodic rock, soft and soulful and a little subdued and reflective in parts. I can hear why its many fans rate the album very highly. My view is that many of the songs, despite their strengths, just fall a little short of the mark. Now if “Rocky” and “Johnny” et al had been integrated in an overarching tale and theme, it could have been a masterpiece concept album.
Over a thirteen month period Thin Lizzy had issued three classic albums - “Fighting,” “Jailbreak,” and “Johnny the Fox.” The band was flying in this period, issuing albums packed with rockers, country-tinged ballads, effortless pop rock, even funk with a rock edge. The music has a great groove and in a variety of styles and genres: soft and smooth, tough, in equal parts, all overlain with great story-telling. “Johnny the Fox” is the favourite album of many. It contains some cool songs. The album could easily have taken shape as a “rock opera” concept album; it could have worked as a story telling album.
Bad Reputation
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 2 September 1977
Recorded May – June 1977
Hard rockblues rock
Length 35:50
Label Vertigo
Singles from Bad Reputation
"Dancing in the Moonlight"
Released: August 1977 (UK)
Released September 1977, “Bad Reputation” is the eighth studio album by Thin Lizzy. Although this is the band confirming their position as a major band, it isn't quite the classic band lineup. The album cover shows just the three members, Lynott, Gorham, and Downey, with Brian Robertson now out of the band. Most of the tracks feature only the remaining trio, with Robertson contributing guitar on just three tracks. This album would be Robertson's last studio involvement with the band. Given the centrality of the twin-guitar sound, this was a big loss. With no replacement for Robertson prior to the album's recording it was left to Scott Gorham to handle all the guitar duties himself, which he did admirably. Given that the Lizzy sound was based on the interplay of two guitars, the recruitment of a second guitarist was imperative. Gorham was to say later, "I was always a big believer in the magic circle – once you broke the magic circle, the whole thing was broken, right?” He left "Opium Trail" and "Killer Without a Cause" without recording guitar solos, persuading Lynott to allow Robertson to return to the band to record lead guitar parts. Robertson and Gorham shared lead guitar parts one last time on "That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart.”
It's incredible to think that, despite the immense success of the two breakthrough albums from 1976, the band felt themselves subject to such pressure as to be falling apart. "It was such an important album to us because of all the adversities that we'd been going through," recalled Gorham. "We had to pull this together or we were going to go down in a ball of flames." With fame and fortune come the pressure of expectations, and bad influences. Something of the melancholy attendant on getting to the top and seeing it to be empty was evident on “Johnny the Fox” in songs like “Borderline,” and the dark side and desperation was evident on “Bad Reputation” too.
Reception
“Bad Reputation” strikes me as a stunning return to form after “Johnny the Fox,” for the reason that the songs are better, tougher, and tighter. Produced by Tony Visconti, the album sounds better, too. Scott Gorham proves himself more than capable of handling the "double duty" of the two guitar sound, and the result is concentrated, visceral rock & roll, the “hardest and heaviest” that Thin Lizzy had made to that point. Visconti considered “Bad Reputation” to rival “Jailbreak” as the band's best studio album (with “Live and Dangerous” it's greatest live album. In many respects, the album revisits “Fighting” in its themes, but is musically sharper and tighter. The songs have a great kinetic energy, blending a pop sensibility ("Dancing in the Moonlight”) with a hard edge (the title track, “Opium Trail,” and “Killer without a Cause”) along with soulful low-key reflection (“Downtown Sundown”).
“Bad Reputation” is quite the achievement as an album, with Gorham having to handle all the guitar duties in a band noted for its twin guitar style. Gorham is not as flashy a soloist as Robertson but pulls out a stellar performance. The album opens on a high with a gong and just gets better from there. The lyrics match the sound in being dangerous, edgy, and gutsy. “Dancing in the Moonlight” is a great catchy pop hit that, like Lizzy's other hits, seems to have fallen into the shadow of “The Boys are Back in Town,” as though “Boys” is the only hit the band ever had. “Dancing” deserves to be better known as a pop rock classic. “Killer without a Cause” is modern metal, with Robertson on blistering form, the same with respect to “Opium Trail.” The album closes with “Dear Lord,” Lynott's cry for help.
Black Rose: A Rock Legend
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 13 April 1979
Recorded December 1978 – February 1979
Hard rockblues rock
Length 38:49
Label Vertigo
Singles from Black Rose: A Rock Legend
"Waiting for an Alibi"
Released: 23 February 1979
"Do Anything You Want To"
Released: 8 June 1979
"Got to Give It Up"
Released: September 1979 (US)
"Sarah"
Released: September 1979 (UK)
Released in 1979, “Black Rose: A Rock Legend” is the ninth studio album by Thin Lizzy. In many respects the album is peak Lizzy. The band had a position and a presence in the world of contemporary rock, were regulars on TV and radio, a big draw on tour, and
had a chart profile. The album spawned a series of memorable singles. I do indeed remember Phi Lynott performing “Waiting for an Alibi” on Top of the Pops with a black eye. I mean, how more rock and roll could a singer be?! The album hit UK #2, it's highest ever chart placing in the UK, and was their fourth album in succession to be certified Gold by the BPI.
Musically, the album is also very strong, with hard rock and blues guitarist Gary Moore, who had played with the band on tour, staying for the album. The songs have a hard and abrasive edge, retaining the vibrant guitar sound of old.
The album contains a sweet song titled "Sarah," which Lynott wrote for his daughter.
The final track "Róisín Dubh" is a tour-de-force, consisting of a guitar medley of traditional songs, arranged by Lynott and Moore.
Reception
The album continues the band's successful blend of pop and rock, often on the same song - “Waiting for an Alibi” and “Anything You Want to Do” are loud and hard but catchy enough to have been successful pop singles. Memorable tunes with a hard edge sums up the album. In many respects “Black Rose” would prove to be the band's peak, a great album that received critical acclaim and commercial success. The album contains so many standout tracks that they don't stand out at all, merely mark the album as one of sustained blistering brilliance from first to last. Even the lesser songs are memorable in punching a considerable weight with Moore on guitar.
“Black Rose” is a strong, solid album, the title track being a traditional guitar epic in multiple parts. It is a brilliant record, with the fewer lesser songs having an entertainment value. Great songs, heavy rock with a pop sensibility.
Chinatown
Cover art by Jim Fitzpatrick
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released October 1980
Recorded April–August 1980
Genre Hard rock
Length 41:02
Label Vertigo
Released October 1980, “Chinatown” is the tenth studio album by Thin Lizzy. It was the first album to feature Snowy White on guitar, in place of Gary Moore. “Chinatown” also featured eighteen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, with Wharton joining on a permanent basis later in the year.
Cover
The cover for the album was designed by Jim Fitzpatrick and features a dragon with flames emanating from it.
Recording
The first song produced by the new lineup was "Dear Miss Lonely Hearts," which, despite having all band members playing on the track and all of them appearing on the video, was issued on Lynott's debut solo album “Solo in Soho” rather than on “Chinatown.” Which is a bit of a shame, because it would have strengthened the first album of the new lineup considerably. I remember it well as a single and considered it, not unnaturally, to be a Thin Lizzy track.
“Chinatown” is a patchy album that would have benefitted from a lift and an injection of quality, and “Lonely Hearts” is an incredibly infectious track. I love the wordiness and the catchiness.
Co-producer Kit Woolven acted as a guide in the studio, describing the recording process as "hard to do" owing to Lynott's tendency to make up ideas on the spot and eschew pre-production work. That made things difficult for new guitarist Snowy White, who was accustomed to a more regimented style of working. White is a fine guitarist, but in style and image never seemed to fit the band. He can play, though. I think the image leads many to downgrade the two Snowy White albums as not quite rock'n'roll enough, which is a travesty. Bass guitarist Jerome Rimson, who worked on Lynott's solo albums, described the scene in the studio: "I watched him [Lynott] record most of the Chinatown album standing at the microphone and making up the words as he was standing there. There was a full-blown party going on in the control room."
There were other songs that could have found a place on the album, with "The Act" (also known as "It's Going Wrong") and "The Story of My Life" both considered before being deemed unsuitable. The former was eventually re-worked as "Don't Talk About Me Baby" for Lynott's second solo album. "Turn Around" was another possible track for the album, but was instead issued as the B-side of the "Killer on the Loose" as “Don't Play Around.” “Don't Play Around” is a fantastic song, which could easily have gone out as an A-side. To my ears it sounds, in part, like a stronger, faster, tougher version of Dire Strait's “Solid Rock.” Its inclusion would have strengthened the album considerably.
The title track "Chinatown" is a killer track that rocks hard and has a fantastic riff. The album opener "We Will Be Strong" is also strong, and was a single release in the US. "Sweetheart" has a shuffling beat, propulsive drums, and the great “Lonely Heart” guitar, played harder. "Sugar Blues" was another band collaboration which strongly featured White.
"Killer on the Loose" was the big single release, and a controversial one given the attacks on women at this time by “the Yorkshire Ripper.” The song was a sizeable hit nonetheless, peaking at UK #10. It caused a lot of notoriety and kept the band in public view. It's visceral and exciting enough, but rather dubious in its theme.
"Having a Good Time" is amiable enough pop with a rocking beat, "Genocide (The Killing of the Buffalo)" a rather clumsy protest at the slaughter of American bison in the 19th century, and its effects on the Plains Indians, "Didn't I" somewhat unLizzy like with its string sound more like the material on Lynott's solo albums, "Hey You" non-descript. There's just not enough quality material on the album for it to be on a par with the band's usual standards.
“Chinatown” represents something of an anti-climax after “Black Rose: A Rock Legend.” Some of the problem is simply the change in guitar sound, but it's not the main problem, since Snowy White's playing is excellent. The problem is the quality of the songs. The good songs are very good but there is much here that is distinctly average, with the limitations of the material covered by some very spirited and forceful playing. Some reviews describe Snowy White as more of a session man than a band member, which is unfair, but perhaps explains part of the problem. White was more used to a structured environment, with a more studied approach. He felt that the album would have beneffited from more work, and complained that some of the guitar he recorded whilst waiting in the studio were wiped at Lynott's instructions without having been heard. There seems to be a clash of styles and personalities here, with co-producer Kit Woolven declaring that the album could have been more "rock 'n' roll": "It needed a Robbo or someone like that in there." But perhaps Woolven put his finger on the real reason for the disharmony when he referred to increasing substance abuse within the band. Gorham himself has described “Chinatown” as "kind of a strange album" that was “tough” to “actually get through" owing to drugs. He claims not to remember recording some of the material. Drummer Brian Downey also noted a waning of Lynott's song-writing powers, "There's some great tracks on both [“Chinatown” and the follow-up “Renegade”], but Phil's songwriting seemed to be slipping a bit. All that pressure was getting to him and the drugs were starting to take effect... For some reason we were becoming a little bit unfashionable as well." Gorham added, "We realised that at this point we weren't actually getting any bigger." I think the point to be made is that the band were no longer getting better, but were repeating and recycling or merely settling for lesser material and performances. “Chinatown” is far from being a bad album. I described “Didn't I” earlier as average, which is unfair. It has a pleasant ambience and guitar sound and is not unlike the material on Lynott's solo albums. Similarly “Hey You,” which opens with Police sounding reggae before adopting a hard rock edge. It's just not very exciting. Whereas Lizzy had usually added something with each album release, much of “Chinatown” is a holding operation.
From here you could easily anticipate the band sliding, having run out of ideas and inspiration.
“Chinatown” is an album that takes a lot of flak. Snowy White is an obvious target, being a somewhat unusual choice for a rock band. He acquits himself well all the same. The albim boasts strong riffs, has that drugs/dream undercurrent that is a recurring theme in Lizzy albums. Vital and visceral, the album has its own sound and tone and improves with age. It's a little uneven, but whilst two or three songs are not the best material, their deficiencies are overcome by some excellent playing from the musicians.
Renegade
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Genre Hard rock
Length 40:51
Label Vertigo
“Renegade” was released in 1981 and is the eleventh studio album by Thin Lizzy. “Renegade” was the first album which featured keyboard player Darren Wharton as a permanent member, turning the band into a quintet. That made for a change in sound, a more expansive soundscape. Wharton's presence is immediately felt on the opening track, the immense and foreboding "Angel of Death," with the creepy and ominous keyboards soon accompanied by a tight galloping beat and bass. It's a masterpiece, frankly, (and sent me straight to the shops buying every book I could find on Nostradamus – apparently the world is going to end in the seventh month of 1999). The bass, drum, and keyboards on this are outstanding.
“Renegade” was the second but final album to feature guitarist Snowy White. It was a parting of the ways by mutual consent, with White conceding that he was more of a blues player than heavy rock. The apparent musical incompatibility of White and Thin Lizzy tends to colour the image of the band in this period, but that rather lazy view misses the qualitative leaps taken in the White albums. “Thunder and Lightning” didn't come from nowhere, the groundwork had been prepared the previous couple of years.
A track which could have found a place on the “Renegade” album is "Someone Else's Dream," which was later released as a Lynott solo song as B-side to the single “Together.”
In July, the band recorded two covers: "Trouble Boys," which was written by Billy Bremner of Rockpile (who was present in the studio at the time), and Percy Mayfield's "Memory Pain." “Memory Pain” was recorded at the suggestion of Snowy White and features an excellent blues lead guitar from him. Oddly, Lynott rated “Trouble Boys” when no one else did, wanting that as a single release. “Everyone hated the damn song," Wharton recalls. Lynott rated the track so highly that he had it pencilled in as the title of the forthcoming album. The “Trouble Boys” single bombed at number 53, causing it to be dropped as from the album. Unfortunately, the sublime “Memory Pain” was dropped also, whilst “Someone Else's Dream” was issued as a solo B-side. “Someone Else's Dream” and “Memory Pain” are lost classics and their inclusion on “Renegade” would have pushed the album into the upper echelons of the Lizzy catalogue. As it is, it is a mighty fine album which sustains the highest quality until into the second side. It seems that there was a lot of confusion caused by crossed purposes, with Lynott working on both band and solo material. Co-producer Kit Woolven objected: "I wanted to try and make sure that the solo album sounded one way and the Lizzy stuff sounded another way. If you're flipping between things all the time, it's quite confusing." Drummer Brian Downey agrees, "There was definitely confusion, absolutely. There was a definite crossover where you didn't know which album the songs were going to appear on... Kit questioned the whole procedure, and I had to agree with him."
Had there been just the one album to focus on, it would have been impossible for it to have not been a classic, recognized as being on a par with “Jailbreak.” But there was confusion and dissension in the ranks, with "Angel of Death" being for the album title. Gorham was less than keen: "I thought "Angel of Death" was too heavy metal for words, and I hated it." He came to see its merits later, "For a time there, it wasn't one of our favourites... [but] that song, more than any other song convinced me that [Wharton] had a right to be in Thin Lizzy." As a heavy rock kind of guy, I loved it from the first. But as a title track “Renegade” is perfect. The origin of the song is an idea of Snowy White's from the previous year, titled "If You Save Souls." Taking a break from recording, Lynott saw a biker wearing the Thin Lizzy and Motörhead logos on his jacket. Also on his jacket was the word "Renegade," which inspired Lynott to rewrite "If You Save Souls" as "Renegade," and using it as the album title. Lynott was also inspired by Albert Camus' "The Rebel," saying "it sort of came in a blinding flash: the idea of there being a rebel in us all.” Rocker, renegade, rebel, and raconteur sums Lynott up.
Completion
The album opened with the apocalypric "Angel of Death," signalling Wharton's arrival in the band, as musician and songwriter. Next up is the title track, "Renegade," co-written by Snowy White, with White playing most of the lead guitar. "That was mostly all Snowy on "Renegade", Tsangarides recalls. “The whole style of the song was really him." It's a great song, alternating between soft and slow and hard and fast. White declares it to be his favourite Thin Lizzy song of all and I for one don't blame him, it's definitely a contender.
"The Pressure Will Blow" comes next, a powerful hard rock song. "Leave This Town" is the last track on side one and is catchy as hell, a quicker, harder ZZ Top.
Side two opener "Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" is as tough as teek. The track was chosen for single release, but peaked at a miserable #53. As a beefed up version of “Jailbreak,” it was far too strong for the pop market. The best bet for the charts, in my view, would have been the track which closes the album, the powerhouse "It's Getting Dangerous," which builds and builds with all the intensity of Lizzy at their classic best. "It's one of my favourite tracks that I still listen to, to this day,” Tsangarides has declared.
The remaining three tracks on the album are either not of the same high standard as the rest of the album or, maybe, represent a change in style that is a little jarring.
"No-One Told Him” is one of only two songs that were written solely by Lynott. It's fine, but it sounds like Lizzy by numbers, a track in the Lizzy formula. Band members also had reservations about "Fats," a song somewhat in Waller's style. "I remember "Fats" going down on tape” recalls Gorham, “and thinking, 'Whoa, what was that?'" Wharton was also sceptical, "Despite the fact I got to do a piano solo, I thought "Fats" missed the mark. So did "Mexican Blood" and one or two others." Downey, however, likes "Mexican Blood": "I play some timbales as well as marimbas on "Mexican Blood". Good song, I like that one."
They are three fine tracks, each with their own merits. “Fats” and “Mexican Blood” add variety and a change of pace and direction, which eases up the intensity on a power-packed album. That said, I still say that the inclusion of “Someone Else's Dream” and “Memory Pain” would have made this album an undeniable classic.
Reception
The album was poorly received. Greg Prato of AllMusic declares “Renegade” to be Thin Lizzy's worst album, with "blatant pop leanings and a production too similar to British heavy metal bands of the early '80s" [really? Such as who?]. Prato blamed Snowy White's musical incompatibility with the band, a view he could claim to have been proven by White's leaving the band by mutual agreement within the year. He also draws attention to the band's growing problems with drugs, which is also true. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke writes that "only the rousing chorus of "Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" and the poignant sense of loss in "It's Getting Dangerous" hint at the sensitive yet anthemic writing and hard-rock smarts that usually separate Thin Lizzy from the lunkheads."
The criticisms strike me as predictable and lazy, as things that could be said to dismiss an album without taking the trouble to really listen to it. Yes, White and Lizzy were a strange mix, but not a disastrous one – there is some fine playing from White on “Chinatown” and “Renegade,” and a distinctive guitar sound. Yes, drugs. The drugs never went away, but the next album, the last in Thin Lizzy's career, is stellar.
When it comes to music I trust my ears; when it comes to music, I am a pleasure seeker above all things. I don't care for image or reputation or loyalty to a favourite artist. I want my pleasure buds stimulated. I thought “Renegade” was on the money in a way that “Chinatown” or, before it, “Johnny the Fox” were not. I thought it a quality album the first time I heard it and have found it to have an enduring quality, like all great art and music. Canadian journalist Martin Popoff is right to describe “Renegade” as "an absolute masterpiece of deeply soulful and richly textured hard rock,” whose "fullness and maturity tend to emerge only when played repeatedly." I thought it quality when I heard it and have played it over and again since, with it increasing returns. Co-producer Chris Tsangarides would later say, "When I hear the Renegade album now, I get it... I think it was maybe ahead of its time. It was just too diverse for people to accept when it was first released. If you listen to it you'll notice that no one song on there is like another." I'm not sure that diversity is the problem at all, but agreed – Lizzy were breaking new ground with “Renegade.”
I've written a lot on “Renegade” for the reason it has always been one of my most favourite albums by any artist or band, and because it tends to be dismissed for any number of reasons. It is a magnificent record, which introduces keyboards to the band, adding new dimensions and changing the sound. “Angel of Death” is hard core, full frontal Lizzy. Other tracks have great heavy riffs and it is only well into side two that the intensity leaves off for a short while. The songs are biographical and steeped in reality, not a tough guy stance or pretence. The album boasts some top drawer songs, not least the title track. It's a fine album showing hard rock crossing over into the metal sound.
Thunder and Lightning
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released 4 March 1983
“Thunder and Lightning” is the twelfth and final studio album by Thin Lizzy and was one almighty way to go out, all guns blazing. It was released on 4 March 1983, and I remember it well. The end of Thin Lizzy was an 'event.' I loved the renewed attention the band were receiving, the live performances on TV, the single releases, the televised concerts. Truth be told, it never struck me that the band was about to call it a day. “Thunder and Lightning” sounded like a vital band in the prime of life. It crossed my mind – and the minds of many others – that talk of the end was a ruse to generate such a wave of new interest in the band that it simply had to carry on. But, no, with the live album “Life / Live” it was all over. But what a way to end it all! “Thunder and Lightning” must have a claim to having been the best final album of any band, with only “Abbey Road” by The Beatles, the final Police album, and Queen's “Innuendo” and “Made in Heaven” being rival claims I can think of.
Snowy White was replaced on guitar by hard and heavy John Sykes, confirming the trend towards an increasingly heavier sound from Gary Moore and “Black Rose” onwards. Keyboard player Darren Wharton co-wrote a number of the tracks, including the final single, the magnificent "The Sun Goes Down". There was a farewell tour and a “Life / Live” album, the band disbanded, and Philip Lynott died.
Reception
The title track opens the album at blistering pace, fast and furious, hard as nails. “This is the One” is slower but just as heavy. “The Sun Goes Down” sombre, with a soaring, seering guitar solo from Scott Gorham. “The Holy War” is hard rock with a dance beat. “Cold Sweat” a straight hard rock classic.
The band went balls-out heavy metal as they went out.
As with any artist or band, it is possible to argue which phase in their career was the best. All pretensions to objectivity aside, the 'debate' reduces to taste and preference in no time at all. One of the intriguing things about Thin Lizzy is that the band offers high quality in all its incarnations - Eric Bell trio, the classic quartet with Gorham and Robertson, with Gary Moore, Snowy White and John Sykes. The consistent thread is the Lynott and Downey on bass and drum, Lynott's charismatic vocals and innate lyricism, and always the quality guitar, whatever the cast. Each album from every phase of the band's career contains songs which may be considered classics. “Thunder and Lightning” is such an epic way to bring a rock'n'roll career to an end, and begin a legend.
I'm loathe to rank the albums of Thin Lizzy, for the way it breaks up a stellar catalogue of the highest quality and refashions it as a hierarchy which descends from first to worst. There was no descent with Thin Lizzy and no worst, either. The band never made a bad album, nor even an average album. For the most part, the albums this band released were brilliant. And I would include the first three albums in that assessment. However much the early albums were the music of a band finding its musical way, the songs are always interesting in both what they promise and in what they give.
“Thunder and Lightning” is Thin Lizzy's last album and it makes a great farewell. Everyone mentions the heavy rock sound with Sykes's incredibly hard edge on guitar making this a metal album. But also worth mention is the new dimension that Darren Wharton brings on keyboards, shown to great effect on “The Sun Goes Down,” which is as good and as deeply soulful a song as the band ever did. It's an incredibly heavy album all the same, classic Lizzy played faster, harder, louder. It was the heaviest album the band ever made.
The first three Thin Lizzy albums are fine, and “Vagabonds of the Western World” is excellent, but they are the sound of a band finding its sound. The same could also be said, with qualification, of “Nightlife,” the first album boasting the classic lineup. You really can't go wrong with every album after those, albums which in the most are so good that there is almost no separating them.
It's impossible to rank these albums because you are selecting between favourites and classics which all have equal claims on your time.
Thin Lizzy issued twelve studio albums and there's not a bad album among them. “Live and Dangerous” is possibly the best album of all. It's a live album which was worked to perfection in the studio. But it is a compilation of Lizzy's best tracks to that point and so is excluded from my rankings. I could have placed at least six of these albums at the top, the margins between them, such as they are, being so fine. And that's not including “Johnny the Fox,” which is the choice of many for the best Lizzy album, but which I don't rate as highly. A lot depends on your own taste and mood at any particular time.
I don't dislike any Thin Lizzy album, merely like particular albums more than other well liked albums.
Once you get to the crème de la crème, the albums are impossible to separate. The top six could simply be presented as the joint top.
My rankings
I thought it might be interesting to offer two lists ranking the Thin Lizzy from 1 to 12. The first list presents my personal judgement, taking the albums I love the most in descending order. The second list makes more of an effort in being analytical, rating each track on each album to find an average score for the album, then calculating the average based on the best seven tracks, so as to weigh for quality rather than consistency of quantity.
My rankings
1. Jailbreak (1976)
2. Fighting (1975)
3. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
4. Bad Reputation (1977)
5. Thunder and Lightning (1983)
6. Renegade (1981)
7. Johnny the Fox (1976)
8. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
9. Chinatown (1980)
10. Nightlife (1974)
11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
12. Thin Lizzy (1971)
Any of the top five could have been placed first. I think 'Fighting' ought to have been the big breakthrough album that 'Jailbreak' was. I give the top slot to 'Jailbreak' because the songs just seem to be better crafted and more tightly played, with no rough edges – the perfect merging of rock and pop – and tracks like 'Warriors,' 'Cowboy Song,' and 'Emerald' really are mind blowing. At the same time both 'Bad Reputation' and 'Black Rose' have topped my charts in the past, with the outstanding tracks on these albums being truly outstanding. I place them slightly lower for no other reason than the lesser tracks are slightly lesser than their peers on the other two albums – but that's a highly contentious view. I could easily have placed 'Thunder and Lightning' at the top, being a heavy rock fan. I desisted because I wanted a 'proper' Lizzy list. 'Thunder and Lightning' isn't a typical Lizzy album and indicates a band experimenting with a new, harder, sound – and the result is exceedingly good. If it is indeed true, as some argue, that 'Thunder and Lightning' is the best final album of any band with a long and successful career behind it, then it gives a glimpse of what might have been.
I place 'Renegade' just behind this top five. It is an album that is often overlooked, with some objecting to new guitar player Snowy White as not being quite aggressive enough for Lizzy, others not liking the change in sound and style that came with the introduction of piano and keyboards. I loved the album from the first and much preferred it to the much more celebrated 'Johnny the Fox.' The first three Thin Lizzy albums, from the days when the band was a trio with Eric Bell on guitar, usually bring up the rear on the album rankings. I think this is an understandable if easy judgement to make, because the band was finding its way into its sound. It is also lazy. Listen to those albums again and you can hear a band on a steep learning curve, quickly finding its feet and attempting some incredibly ambitious material. I think they got it right on 'Vagabonds of the Western World' and, blessed with the first Jim Fitzpatrick artwork on the cover, is the 'first' Thin Lizzy album that can be considered the mature rock band in fiery good form. I place it above 'Nightlife' for the reason that, as good as 'Nightlife' is, it's variety and experimentation with a range of styles and sounds – as impressive as that is – is not quite the Lizzy sound we know and love. I also just think it is a better album than 'Chinatown.' 'Vagabonds' is a gem of an album that stands in need of reappraisal.
With 'Jailbreak' at the top my list may seem all too predictable. In my defence I would claim the top five albums at joint top, with a very strong recommendation for 'Renegade.' My placing of 'Johnny the Fox' at seven is much lower than most other critics and fans rankings, and placing the early Eric Bell Lizzy of 'Vagabonds' above a couple of the later Lizzy albums is also somewhat different.
All that said, I thought it would be interesting to go through each album and rank each song out of ten, then scoring an average based on the best seven songs, to judge for quality rather than the consistency of the greater quantity. Then rank the albums according to the best averages. And then compare and contrast the two lists.
I shall use this chart:
10 Perfect – the crème de la crème
9 High Quality
8.5 Excellent
8 Very Good
7.5 Good
7 Fair – neither good nor bad
6.5 Decent but unremarkable
6 Unmemorable or uninteresting
5.5 Poor
5 Poor
Thin Lizzy (1971)
1. "The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle" Eric Bell, Lynott 3:01 7
2. "Honesty Is No Excuse" 3:40 7.5
3. "Diddy Levine” 7:04 5.5
4. "Ray-Gun" Bell 3:05 8
5. "Look What the Wind Blew In" 3:23 6
6. "Eire” 2:07 8 (redolent of Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention)
7. "Return of the Farmer's Son" Brian Downey, Lynott 4:14 8.5 (Emerald, guitar and drums)
8. "Clifton Grange Hotel" 2:26 6
9. "Saga of the Ageing Orphan” 3:40 7.5 (redolent of Sandy Denny and Fotheringay)
10. "Remembering" 5:59 5
69 / 10 = 6.9 best 7 = 52.5 at 7.5
Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
1. "The Rise and Dear Demise of the Funky Nomadic Tribes" Lynott, Eric Bell, Brian Downey 7:06 (drumming Sitamoia, funky, Johnny the Fox & Nightlife 7.5
2. "Buffalo Gal” 5:30 6.5
3. "I Don't Want to Forget How to Jive” 1:46 (Elvis homage) 5
4. "Sarah" 2:59 (piano ballad) 7
5. "Brought Down" 4:19 (wordy, like the early Springsteen, better to cut to the chase) 5
6. "Baby Face" 3:27 8.5
7. "Chatting Today" 4:19 5
8. "Call the Police" 3:37 7.5
9. "Shades of a Blue Orphanage" 7:06 6
58 / 9 = 6.444 best 7 49 /7 = 6.857
Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
1. "Mama Nature Said" Phil Lynott 4:52 8.5
2. "The Hero and the Madman" Lynott 6:08 (vocal story) 9.5
3. "Slow Blues" Brian Downey, Lynott 5:14 8
4. "The Rocker" Eric Bell, Downey, Lynott 5:12 9
5. "Vagabond of the Western World" Lynott 4:44 10
6. "Little Girl in Bloom" Lynott 5:12 9
7. "Gonna Creep Up on You" Bell, Lynott 3:27 7.5
8. "A Song for While I'm Away" Lynott 5:10 (sixties psychedelia and folky/hippie) 7
68.5 / = 8.562 best 7 = 61.5 / 7 = 8.786
Nightlife (1974)
1. "She Knows" Scott Gorham, Lynott 5:13 10
2. "Night Life” 3:57 (Slow Blues, BB King) 8.5
3. "It's Only Money" 2:47 (like the early Lizzy only harder, more concentrated force) 9
4. "Still in Love with You" 5:40 10
5. "Frankie Carroll" 2:02 (bit of a throwback to The Beatles, great variety but a little maudlin) 5.5
6. "Showdown" 4:32 (funky, Shaft mode, anticipating Johnny the Fox, indicating potential song avenues) 9
7. "Banshee" 1:27 (instrumental, old fashioned) 6
8. "Philomena" 3:41 5
9. "Sha La La" Brian Downey, Lynott 3:27 10
10. "Dear Heart" 4:35 (Beatlesque, harking back to another era, but with a soulful Philadelphia sound) 8
81 / 8.1 = 7.8 best 7 64.5 / 7 = 9.214
Fighting (1975)
1. "Rosalie" Bob Seger 3:11 9.5
2. "For Those Who Love to Live" Brian Downey, Phil Lynott 3:08 10
3. "Suicide" Lynott 5:12 10
4. "Wild One" Lynott 4:18 8.5
5. "Fighting My Way Back" Lynott 3:12 8.5
6. "King's Vengeance" Scott Gorham, Lynott 4:08 8.5
7. "Spirit Slips Away" Lynott 4:35 9
8. "Silver Dollar" Brian Robertson 3:26 5.5
9. "Freedom Song" Gorham, Lynott 3:32 7.5
10. "Ballad of a Hard Man" Gorham 3:14 10
87 / 10 = 8.7 best seven = 65.5 / 7 = 9.357
Jailbreak (1976)
1. "Jailbreak" Phil Lynott 4:01 9.5
2. "Angel from the Coast" Phil Lynott, Brian Robertson 3:03 9
3. "Running Back" Lynott 3:13 8.5
4. "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" Lynott 3:55 7.5
5. "Warriors" Lynott, Scott Gorham 4:09 (Angel of Death menacing intro) 10
6. "The Boys Are Back in Town" Lynott 4:27 10
7. "Fight or Fall" Lynott 3:45 8.5
8. "Cowboy Song" Lynott, Brian Downey 5:16 10
9. "Emerald" Gorham, Robertson, Downey, Lynott 4:03 10
83 / 9 = 9.222 best 7 67 / 7 = 9.571
Johnny the Fox (1976)
1. "Johnny" Phil Lynott 4:18 8
2. "Rocky" Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Lynott 3:43 8
3. "Borderline" Lynott, Brian Robertson 4:37 9
4. "Don't Believe a Word" Lynott 2:18 9.5
5. "Fools Gold" Lynott 3:53 7.5
6. "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed" Downey, Gorham, Lynott 3:36 9.5
7. "Old Flame" Lynott 3:05 8.5
8. "Massacre" Downey, Gorham, Lynott 3:01 (the Emerald song) 9
9. "Sweet Marie" Gorham, Lynott 3:58 7
10. "Boogie Woogie Dance" Lynott 3:06 5
81 / 10 = 8.1 best 7 60 / 7 = 8.643
Bad Reputation (1977)
1. "Soldier of Fortune" Phil Lynott 5:18 8.5
2. "Bad Reputation" Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Lynott 3:09 10
3. "Opium Trail" Downey, Gorham, Lynott 3:58 10
4. "Southbound" Lynott 4:27 (love the melodic guitars) 8.5
5. "Dancing in the Moonlight" Lynott 3:26 9
6. "Killer Without a Cause" Gorham, Lynott 3:33 9.5
7. "Downtown Sundown" Lynott 4:08 8.5
8. "That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart" Lynott 3:25 (Wild One vibe) 7.5
9. "Dear Lord" Gorham, Lynott 4:26 8.5
80 / 9 = 8.888 best 7 64 / 7 = 9.142
Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
1. "Do Anything You Want To" Phil Lynott 3:53 10
2. "Toughest Street in Town" Scott Gorham, Lynott, Gary Moore 4:01 (Back on the Streets) 7.5
3. "S & M" Brian Downey, Lynott 4:05 (Shaft soul sound, formulaic) 6.5
4. "Waiting for an Alibi" Lynott 3:30 10
5. "Sarah" Lynott, Moore 3:33 10
6. "Got to Give It Up" Gorham, Lynott 4:24 10
7. "Get Out of Here" Lynott, Midge Ure 3:37 7.5
8. "With Love" Lynott 4:38 10
9. "Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend" 7:06 10
81.5 / 9.055 = 9 best 7 67.5 / 7 = 9.643
Chinatown (1980)
1. "We Will Be Strong" Phil Lynott 5:11 9
2. "Chinatown" Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Lynott, Snowy White 4:43 10
3. "Sweetheart" Lynott 3:29 7.5
4. "Sugar Blues" Downey, Gorham, Lynott, White 4:22 8.5
5. "Killer on the Loose" Lynott 3:55 8.5
6. "Having a Good Time" Lynott, White 4:38 8.5
7. "Genocide (The Killing of the Buffalo)" Lynott 5:06 6.5
8. "Didn't I" Lynott 4:28 (the Dear Heart vibe, with the now trademark Lizzy guitars) 7.5
9. "Hey You" Downey, Lynott 5:09 (a bit of a Police Walking on the Moon sound at the start) 7
73 / 9 = 8.111 best 7 59.5 / 7 = 8.5
Renegade (1981)
1. "Angel of Death" Phil Lynott, Darren Wharton 6:18 10
2. "Renegade" Lynott, Snowy White 6:08 10
3. "The Pressure Will Blow" Scott Gorham, Lynott 3:46 10
4. "Leave This Town" Gorham, Lynott 3:49 9.5
5. "Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" Gorham, Lynott 4:09 9.5
6. "No One Told Him" Lynott 3:36 7
7. "Fats" Lynott, White 4:02 (variety, swing, jazzy piano solo) 8
8. "Mexican Blood" Lynott 3:40 7
9. "It's Getting Dangerous" Gorham, Lynott 5:30 9
81 /9 = 9 best 7 67 /7 = 9.571
Thunder and Lightning (1983)
1. "Thunder and Lightning" Brian Downey, Phil Lynott 4:56 10
2. "This Is the One" Lynott, Darren Wharton 4:04 9.5
3. "The Sun Goes Down" Lynott, Wharton 6:20 10
4. "The Holy War" Lynott 5:12 10
5. "Cold Sweat" Lynott, John Sykes 3:06 9.5
6. "Someday She Is Going to Hit Back" Downey, Lynott, Wharton 4:05 7
7. "Baby Please Don’t Go" Lynott 5:10 9.5
8. "Bad Habits" Scott Gorham, Lynott 4:04 (back to the old Lizzy formula) 8.5
9. "Heart Attack" Gorham, Lynott, Wharton 3:39 7
81 / 9 = 9 best 7 66 / 7 = 9.428
I tend to judge albums by the overall mood and impact that the best songs contained make, blending in with the other songs. To rank an album by the average score of the songs it contains values an even consistency over quality. Sometimes a couple of ephemeral tracks can bring an overall score down, to the detriment of high quality contained elsewhere on the album. The better approach is to evaluate according to the best seven tracks, which is a substantial enough quantity to judge the overall quality of the album. This is as exact a science I can make it. I have two lists, one that ranks according to the average score of every song on the album and one that ranks according to the best seven tracks. As a guide to the quality of the album and the impression it leaves, I take the second list as more reliable, as a guide to consistency the former. In the end, we will always be forced to use our own judgement.
Rankings according to best average score for every track on the album:
1. Jailbreak (1976)
83 / 9 = 9.222 best 7 67 / 7 = 9.571
2. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
81.5 / 9.055 = 9 best 7 67.5 / 7 = 9.643
3. Thunder and Lightning (1983)
81 / 9 = 9 best 7 66 / 7 = 9.428
3. Renegade (1981)
81 /9 = 9 best 7 67 /7 = 9.571
5. Bad Reputation (1977)
79.5 / 9 = 8.833 best 7 64 / 7 = 9.142
6. Fighting (1975)
87 / 10 = 8.7 best seven = 65.5 / 7 = 9.357
7. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
68.5 / = 8.562 best 7 = 61.5 / 7 = 8.786
8. Chinatown (1980)
73 / 9 = 8.111 best 7 59.5 / 7 = 8.5
9. Johnny the Fox (1976)
81 / 10 = 8.1 best 7 60 / 7 = 8.643
10. Nightlife (1974)
81 / 10 = best 7 64.5 / 7 = 9.214
11. Thin Lizzy (1971)
69 / 10 = 6.9 best 7 = 52.5 at 7.5
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
58 / 9 = 6.444 best 7 49 /7 = 6.857
Comments:
Few will be surprised to see “Jailbreak” topping the list. Many would also have expected to see “Black Rose” high up on the list. Many might have placed “Bad Reputation” higher than five. But there is little in it. “Thunder and Lightning” and “Renegade” tie in third place, which seems appropriate. “Renegade” tends to be dismissed as Snowy White's last album, “Thunder and Lightning” praised as the greatest last album in history – the one leads to the other. I suspect that what will cause the most surprise, even consternation, among many is that the highly acclaimed “Johnny the Fox” trails in at nine. “Fighting” at six has always been my favourite Thin Lizzy album, and should have been the breakthrough album, with opening track “Rosalie” as the hit single. “Vagabonds of the Western World” in seven may surprise many. I would simply tell people to listen to the album without any baggage of prior knowledge, it has great swagger and style. Just 0.01111 separate “Chinatown” from “Johnny the Fox” and “Nightlife,” which strikes me as about right, given that the albums are a mixture of the good and the average. Few will be surprised in seeing the first two albums bringing up the rear.
Rankings according to the best seven tracks on each album:
1. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
81.5 / 9.055 = 9 best 7 67.5 / 7 = 9.643
2. Jailbreak (1976)
83 / 9 = 9.222 best 7 67 / 7 = 9.571
2. Renegade (1981)
81 /9 = 9 best 7 67 /7 = 9.571
4. Thunder and Lightning (1983)
81 / 9 = 9 best 7 66 / 7 = 9.428
5. Fighting (1975)
87 / 10 = 8.7 best seven = 65.5 / 7 = 9.357
6. Nightlife (1974)
81 / 8.1 = 7.8 best 7 64.5 / 7 = 9.214
7. Bad Reputation (1977)
79.5 / 9 = 8.833 best 7 64 / 7 = 9.142
8. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
68.5 / = 8.562 best 7 = 61.5 / 7 = 8.786
9. Johnny the Fox (1976)
81 / 10 = 8.1 best 7 60 / 7 = 8.643
10. Chinatown (1980)
73 / 9 = 8.111 best 7 59.5 / 7 = 8.5
11. Thin Lizzy (1971)
69 / 10 = 6.9 best 7 = 52.5 at 7.5
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
58 / 9 = 6.444 best 7 49 /7 = 6.857
How do these results measure up to my rankings based on a combination of judgement and preference?
My personal rankings:
1. Jailbreak (1976)
2. Fighting (1975)
3. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
4. Bad Reputation (1977)
5. Thunder and Lightning (1983)
6. Renegade (1981)
7. Johnny the Fox (1976)
8. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
9. Chinatown (1980)
10. Nightlife (1974)
11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
12. Thin Lizzy (1971)
'Black Rose' and 'Thunder and Lightning' are almost joint first, with 'Rose' taking the top slot on account of the extra 0.5 point in the overall total. They were both in my top four based on judgement and preference. It might be worth pointing out that I consider the lesser songs on 'Black Rose' to be of much poorer quality than those on, say, 'Jailbreak' and 'Fighting,' but they are so few as to make little difference, and are played very well indeed, the musicians more than making up for any deficiencies in the material. I always felt that the second side on 'Thunder and Lightning' to be much inferior to the first side, leading me to understimate the quality of the tracks. The truth is that side one is simply so strong it blew me away and had raised my expectations to an impossible level – every track is stunning. I shaded 0.5 from both 'Cold Sweat' and 'Baby Please Don't Go' because I felt that handing out as many 10s as I had was a tad excessive, and it didn't seem right to place those songs on a par with my favourite tracks from 'Black Rose,' 'Fighting' and 'Jailbreak.' But, gee, it's mighty close. 'Jailbreak' not only still scores strongly at joint second, it has the highest average when all songs on the album are considered.
'Renegade' is perhaps the biggest surprise coming in at joint second ahead of much more acclaimed albums. But put reputation and history to one side and simply listen closely – 'Renegade' sustains the high quality throughout the album and that's what gives it the edge – it just has just more of the high quality. But note well – the best seven tracks on the top six albums all average over nine out of ten. That is evidence of sky high quality. There really is little if anything to separate the best albums.
'Nightlife' comes in at a very high six, overtaking 'Johnny the Fox' on the best seven average. That's a highly controversial placing which will strike Thin Lizzy fans as plain wrong. All I would say is that the method here was to judge each track on its merits – there are some bona fide Thin Lizzy classics on 'Nightlife,' but also some choice selections of different sounding material, soulful and funky. The funky stuff cropped up again here and there on Lizzy albums - “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed” and “S&M.” It is impeccably done on “Nightlife” and the fact should be acknowledged. The remarkable thing is to consider that Thin Lizzy had quite a few strings to its bow, and could have taken any number of different forms. The first Scott Gorham album has tracks like 'She Knows' and 'Showdown' on there, the last is solid heavy metal. I suspect that many will be surprised to see “Bad Reputation” at seven. The biggest surprise, however, will be seeing “Vagabonds of the Western World” coming in ahead of “Johnny the Fox” and “Chinatown.” I really don't need numbers and charts here, though, “Vagabonds” just strikes me as more vital.
The only remaining comment to make is that with the list based on song ratings the three Eric Bell albums once more bring up the rear, with the excellent 'Vagabonds of the Western World' dropping below 'Nightlife' and 'Chinatown.' The conclusion to draw is that there aren't any 'worst' Thin Lizzy albums. Those lower down the list are very good indeed, with every album above the bottom two containing truly outstanding tracks, and more of them the higher you go.
My conclusion is that “Jailbreak” (1976), “Fighting” (1975), “Black Rose: A Rock Legend” (1979), are joint top “ Bad Reputation” (1977), with “Thunder and Lightning” (1983) and “Renegade” (1981) a close second. I trust that helps.
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