THIN LIZZY

it's gotta be 'jailbreak', and i attribute that to the high ratio of quality songs as well as the sublime twin lead break on 'emerald'.

jailbreak for sure

Yeah Jailbreak, but Johnny The Fox and Bad Reputation are close. Maybe I should try hearing the early records again, are they worth it?

the three I have (Jailbreak, Bad Reputation and Vagabonds) are all awesome but i'd probably feel challopy voting for anything other than Jailbreak. I guess by conventional wisdom the next one I should get is Fighting? anyone heard the live record released a few weeks ago?

Jailbreak through Bad Reputation a run of perfect albums. Voting Bad Reputation though, for "Southbound" alone.

Also curious about that live LP - woulda grabbed it but shit's pricey

Johnny The Fox.

Live and Dangerous was the sound of Dublin immediately pre-Punk - everyone had a copy.......
But since it ain't there 'Shades' because it holds out the promise of strange other career Phil might have had

fighting is dope fwiw

i would go with vagabonds, but they were so perfect in that there is no "one album." they transcend all canonical biz. you wouldn't have any idea how great they really were unless you got into some album tracks. i barely even like the big singles, its like there are two different bands to consider.

thin lizzy is like my favorite band where there are still gaping holes in my collection. outside of a greatest hits collection, i've never heard Shades or Vagabonds or anything post-Bad Rep. i will say that while i can't in good faith vote for the first record, it is definitely worth your time.

This is pretty hard because Thin Lizzy is so fucking awesome, but I had to vote for Johnny the Fox -- mainly for the tracks Borderline and Fool's Gold. Who said hard rock couldn't be depressing as fuck?

Fighting would be my second choice.

"Whiskey in the Jar" wld fit right in on Marquee Moon.

i own all these albums and the only ones i never listen to are the last two. i listen to phil solo more than the last two. first album is my favorite, but i love everything up to and including bad reputation. depends on my mood. sometimes i'm in a Chinatown mood! Nightlife might be my second fave album.

the New Day EP should be on here too, just cuz EPs are people too.

http://991.com/newGallery/Thin-Lizzy-New-Day-EP-222119.jpg

voted bad reputation

taking sides - U.K. debut cover -vs- U.S. debut cover:

U.K. cover

http://www.popsike.com/pix/20060628/150003506245.jpg

U.S. cover

http://www.popsike.com/pix/20080912/110288859457.jpg

usa

I like fighting waaaaaaaaaay better than jailbreak. (and better than most things.)

Hips n thighs always win, but that one is kinda bony. Black Rose: A Rock Legend.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

nice to see so many getting a vote

Gary Moore's 1969 Skid Row were pretty good. more 'prog' than lizzy.

fucking plebes voting for Jailbreak...

motorhead w/ lynott! wish this was better quality

A version I've not heard before of my favorite Thin Lizzy song. no video.

"Little Girl In Bloom" is a stunning song. Sounds way better on the Vagabonds album. That was supposed to be issued as a double deluxe a couple years ago, but then never appeared, except for possibly an ultra rare Japanese version. I wonder what happened.

Black Rose totally got robbed here!

"Do ANything You Want To" is the perfect cure for the blues, I swear.

Black Rose is my favorite. The first three albums got double deluxe treatment from Universal this week, including the stellar Vagabonds Of The Western World. Might be UK-only though. I'm waiting to find a good price.

Shiiiiit

If you find a good price on 'em stateside let us know - I'd definitely be interested.

"Do ANything You Want To" is the perfect cure for the blues, I swear.

― The Ten Things I Hate About Commandments (Abbbottt), Wednesday, October 13, 2010 11:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

listening to Got to Give it Up is a downer though. love Black Rose

For real, it's great! The album is a portrait of a conflicted inner life, which is the kind of thing I always appreciate.

'got to give it up'

WEDNESDAY LET'S GO

Opium Trail kills.

Just re-watched the Behind the Music on these guys that sold me on them a decade ago. Shazam helped me make a pretty ace Spotify playlist of things I either didn't know or didn't know well:

http://open.spotify.com/user/124420673/playlist/5hS7TBmVWVcVNxKJgX6VpH

Not sure I get the hate for Renegade. "Heart Attack"'a "Mama I'm dyin'/Mama I'm dyin' dyin' dyin'" chorus is Phil at his absolute best.

And "It's Getting Dangerous" is one of Phil's best melancholy "Don't look back in anger" lyrics.

Renegade and Thunder And Lightning were reissued on Universal on Oct 1, the latter a double CD. They're good albums, just not as consistent as their classics. I also recommend UK Tour 1975 as a great summary of their best stuff up to that point, just about as great as their more well known live album.

But since it ain't there 'Shades' because it holds out the promise of strange other career Phil might have had

It's a good record – but there are certainly elements that found their way into Thin Lizzy proper. For instance, the title track exudes the kind of languid young ruffians nostalgia of which he became rock's foremost practitioner later in his career. Not usually with mellotron tho.

And yes, I'm going thru their entire catalogue.

UK Tour '75 smokes btw.

Tons of these songs have become major earworms for me over the past few weeks. "Southbound," "It's Getting Dangerous," "Bad Reputation..." Amazing stuff.

Man I love Southbound

That song's been in my head lately too.

listening to Black Rose an it's oh so good. those guitar harmonies are so developed and smooth, and even though there's heavy guitar work all over this, it sounds so 'happy' and fun.

plus there weren't enough baritone vocalists like Lynott (and still aren't). I've always loved teh Lizzy style of "chunk-chunk" riff on their uptempo numbers.

obv "Got to Give It up" is anything but happy but it's gripping and well written/performed.

Opium Trail kills.
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, October 15, 2013 2:45 AM (9 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Jailbreak through Bad Reputation a run of perfect albums.

DON'T STICK YER SIGN ON ME, I AIN'T GOT NO LABEL

(I'm not sure why Black Rose hasn't clicked with me yet, but rest assured that once it does I will return to this thread to defy you once again)

This'll keep ya busy

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/your_new_car_jam_one_hour_and_twelve_minute_megamix_of_just_the_guitar_solo

when i'm tired of acca dacca, i let my neighbours listen to thin lizzy. i sang 'the boys are back in town' at an open mic last night for a giggle. had the entire pub singing along - all nine patrons. i recently learned that phil lynott's mum used to manage a (then) hotel on the next street from me, here in manchester - the song is purportedly about a gang who used to frequent it. the building still stands. pop fact!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Street_Gang

now that's what i call music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13sLQbqeWuA

fighting

these fuckin’ guys

i was cruising around this morning listening to Bad Reputation, and it just reinforced how absolutely sick the guitar on that album is. and on their other albums. and so many amazing tunes, Van Morrison would have killed someone to have written Dancing in the Moonlight.

Pretty much all the guitar on that album played by Scott Gorham! Brian Robertson just does a handful of solos/harmony parts.

fine as jailbreak clearly is it shouldn't have won by such a margin. the next three are all better at the very least.

i trust live and dangerous would have won had it been there.

starting a run-through of their catalog, listening to the s/t debut, you always heard bad things about the early stuff but this is kinda groovy!

Nightlife and S/T were robbed on this poll. still my faves.

this is really cool, there are obvious references here like cream, hendrix, maybe fairport but it's got it own identity, i can't think of anything that sounds exactly like this

also he had that great voice and delivery from day one apparently, goes a long way

Vagabonds is so awesome too.

I consider the song “shades of a blue orphanage” a classic Irish song

Bought Johnny the fox on vinyl this past weekend

i notice this a lot reading old reviews of 70s bands that were written in retrospect for record guides and stuff like that...it's like the band is known for a certain iconic album or period (jailbreak, rumours, etc etc) and then the entire catalog is framed as either the evolution to or the decline from that period...and anything old is only picked over for the bits that might look ahead to what they became famous for and anything else is sort of viewed as juvenalia that they shed later. people don't listen to them in the mind of "what if this was some old forgotten band that wasn't thin lizzy" and judging it on its own merits.

anyway this album is great.

I think that's just common with people in general. they see things within the context of what they know already and how it fits in with that they know. kinda hard not to do it. i was reading this book about Columbus's kid and they had this part where they talked about Columbus and other Spanish people seeing the native peoples on islands and they didn't see the people and what they did and what they had built. they saw the people and immediately thought: okay, how do these people fit in with the Bible. or: how can i fit them into my Bible world. they could never see them on their own. this is true for people who worship Rumours as well.

I'm not saying it's their best but I listen to the debut more than any other album of theirs. It's got the mystic Celtic stuff, great riffs ("Look what the wind blew in") and "Honesty is no excuse" is heart wrenching, maybe my favourite tune of theirs

I love Black Rose the most, and not only cuz of "Roisin Dubh," which everyone loves, but cuz of "Toughest Street in Town" which, if you only know the hits but dig the fukk out of 'em… well you should listen to that fucking song right now…

Black Rose is also my favorite…the only weak spot is S&M which isn’t even all that weak as far as 70s rock goes.

I bought Johnny the Fox a couple of years ago and it really blew me a way. I mostly only knew Fighting and Jailbreak. Still haven't gone beyond that except I know the song Old Town (great video, I got a beer at the pub in Dublin where they filmed part of it).

Something about Lynott's delivery and story just hits me in an emotional way beyond the "weight" of their actual catalog. I can't even really put into words. Even when he is being macho he makes me want to cry.

Definitely check out nightlife then

Waitin For An Alibi is my fave, especially the long version

I know music too, you see

ums otm re:first album, scott otm re:nightlife

here's what i had to say about the first album when i heard it for the first time in 2012:

Thin Lizzy — self-titled (1971)

Thin Lizzy's first album is an odd mixture of post-electric blues, folky Irish textures and that undeniable Lizzy slant of thoughtfully rocking out. The opener 'The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle' is a weird, half spoken venture through a post-Dylan stream of consciousness and the resonating tunefulness that was to come. Wah-wahed out psychedelic guitar tones and a surprising restraint in the arrangement and, before you know it, 'Honesty is no Excuse' comes in like a total winner. And, before you know it AGAIN, 'Diddy Levine' makes a mockery of any contemporary attempts at an actual buildup in a pop song. 'Look What the Wind Blew In' points towards the band's rockin' future and the proper album closes out with the thoughtful extended piece 'Remembering (Part One).' I picked up the expanded edition of the album from 2010, so it features the New Day EP also from 1971 and a batch of revised tracks from 1977 (inexplicably featuring the one and only Midge Ure). Among these extras, 'Dublin' (from the New Day EP) stands as one of the band's best ballads. 'Remembering (Part Two): New Day' is a really uplifting rocker, while 'Old Moon Madness' seems to anticipate no-wave in its frenetic pace and chaotic riffs that don't make sense until halfway through the song. The 1977 re-recordings are generally more rocked up. 'Honesty is no Excuse' just seems to be a great song, no matter the rendering and it's probably my favorite of the revisions here (the power-ballady stance that 'Dublin' takes on, for instance, just doesn't hit as hard). Overall, this must've sounded like a complete anomaly when it first came out. I'm along the thinking that it's actually among the band's best albums, especially in this expanded edition.

finally, would have voted nightlife. i love soft rockin phil.

oh yeah i was into giving star ratings (out of a possible 5) back then and i placed a lot of value and put probably way too much thought into it.

anyway, if that review wasn't gushy enough, i also gave it 4.5 stars

enjoyed that review

"don't believe a word" off Johnny the Fox would make a great country song. sing this to the tune of Waylon's "the door is always open"

Don't believe me if I tell you
Not a word of this is true
Don't believe me if I tell you, especially if I tell you
I'm in love with you

Don't believe me if I tell you
That I wrote this song for you
There just might be some other silly pretty girl
I'm singing to

Don't believe a word
Words are only spoken
But your heart is like a promise
Made to be broken

Don't believe a word
Words can tell lies
And lies are no company
When there's tears in your eyes

Don't believe me if I tell you
Not a word of this is true
Don't believe me if I tell you, especially if I tell you
I'm in love with you

Don't believe a word
No, don't believe a word
Don't believe me, don't believe me, don't believe me
Don't believe me, don't believe me, don't believe me
Don't try

oh shit, i came to this thread to talk about "don't believe a word", and i see heez's post. it's such a unique song! i'm having a hard time finding the words for why it makes me cry. i think because of the central tension between the narrator's obvious deep love for someone, so deep that they want to keep them from crashing at the end of the line. Underneath the utter falsehood of "happy ever after" is the ultimate love, a sort of cold and removed thing. So bittersweet.

i've been listening to johnny the fox and really enjoying it. "sweet marie" is such a beautiful song about lost love, alternating between wistful and devastated. that "somewhere out in arizona" section ugh dry my tears. and needless to say the guitars on this album sound like totems.

I often find myself trying to figure out why Thin Lizzy hits me on such a strong emotional level. Some of it's knowing Phil Lynott's background and the way that manifests for me in his lyrics and the music. I don't know. But you can also ignore all that stuff and just love his delivery and the twin guitar attack.

yeah i don't actually know anything about PL but i'm interested - i know there's the drug use and the death from it. i detect some mental health injuries too but idk. there's a lot of depth in the songwriting and a commitment to making beautiful things. there's the canard about how being screwed up makes your art really deep, and i don't think it's really like that at all. you can have depth of soul and a songwriting gift and not have unaddressed trauma. but idk they seem to bleed together a bit in this case. all of this is just a vibe lol.

Being a black man in Ireland is what I was referring to.

His delivery reminds me so much of Hendrix (and Dylan), that offhanded casualness, where he makes asides to the listener that draw one in. He's so assured like Hendrix, but just a better singer.

johnny the fox! i have never, ever heard guitars sound this good, in all my life.

and it's just a big bleeding heart of a record. so beautiful. elegance! refinement! tragedy never sounded so sweet. a stunning achievement.

My friends and I are doing a TL Music League theme this week. It’s been glorious.

In the unlikely event of Phil Lynott ever living past his thirties, I think he would have moved into singer-songwriter territory. The early Lizzy albums are pretty much that anyway, all they ever did was shift the style towards hard rock. You could strum out a lot of their songs on acoustic guitar and they'd sound completely natural. Sadly it was not to be!

i put 'johnny the fox' back on my gym playlist and oh how i love it. more than ever!

the soloing on this thing slams open my third eye man. the lyricism, depth of emotion, searching quality of it all. icarus touching the sun stuff.

there are a few moments in a few songs where there are these beds of electric guitars playing or accenting major thirds and they are all very slightly and intentionally out of tune in a microtonal kind of way. turns me into the guy shooting lasers out of my eyes.

in "johnny the fox meets jimmy the weed," the line

the beating drum for the lonely one

is a masterpiece all on its own. it leaves me breathless. i don't know why! it's just perfect. i can't think of anything more perfect.

and then, and then.. the solo on that song. you can barely hear it!! because it's drenched in reverb and barely there in the mix. the effect is just unbelievably sublime. vu come to mind again, when they manage to sound like what heroin supposedly feels like when it's good.

dammit I regret selling my LP of that