Thin Lizzy: Classic or Dud?

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total classic!

scott pl. (scott pl.), Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:39 (twenty years ago) link

Josh - get Night Life! It's kind of their transitional album, it's a little laid back. Starts off with "She Knows", which is just a beautiful song. But it also has some cool rockers, like "It's Only Money", which I think was sampled by the Beastie Boys somewhere. Anyway, it's kinda funky. Yeah, that's a great album.

Broheems (diamond), Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:42 (twenty years ago) link

In any event, fuckin' classic, and anyone who suggests otherwise has their head way, way, way up their ass...like a certain highly-placed US music mag editor who cited TL as laughably lost'n'forsaken 70s burnouts in my presence a while back."No need to do an update on THEM, hahaha." Words of wisdom from a no-nothing douchebag.
Try "Johnny the Fox VS Jimmy the Weed" it's funky as hell. That's the only great cut missing from the Dedication best-of. All their LPs have good cuts, but Jailbreak is their only filler-free album in my book.
Sadly, I noticed an entity called Thin Lizzy are playing in NYC this spring. Beats playing in a Crue covers band, I guess.

lovebug starski, Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:43 (twenty years ago) link

Thanks Rob! Man, I remember how many Thin Lizzy LPs HPK had in their library and was always amazed.

Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:49 (twenty years ago) link

Sadly, I noticed an entity called Thin Lizzy are playing in NYC this spring. Beats playing in a Crue covers band, I guess.

Yeah, I spotted that too.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:50 (twenty years ago) link

One of them was signed!!! I think. If I'm remembering correctly.

Broheems (diamond), Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:50 (twenty years ago) link

Live & Dangerous sounds great but was widely known as a "doctored" (re-recorded) live album. Lynott's Solo in Soho sounded good at the time (79/80) but I don't know how it would hold up now.

lovebug starski, Saturday, 6 March 2004 20:51 (twenty years ago) link

Completely classic.

Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Saturday, 6 March 2004 21:02 (twenty years ago) link

See, the big misconception that a lot of people who have only heard the radio hits STILL have is that they were just some monolithic boogie/arena rock band to be filed next to Foghat and Bad Company or whoever when nothing could be farther from the truth of course. They were a multi-faceted machine to say the least. (don't shoot if you think bad company and foghat were the bees knees-just needed some quick klassic rock examples)

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 6 March 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago) link

I'm still glad the used their double lead guitar facet as often as possible.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 6 March 2004 21:25 (twenty years ago) link

'Live & Dangerous' and 'Johnny The Fox' are the two albums I'd go for and singles-wise you should hear 'The Rocker' and, of course, 'Whiskey In The Jar'

LondonLee (LondonLee), Saturday, 6 March 2004 21:30 (twenty years ago) link

I just don't always need Thin Lizzy to "rock", for me, even though they certainly did it quite well. But I've got Sir Lord Baltimore records and Budgie records for that. I guess I just like their mellower stuff, the stuff that really emphasizes Phil's voice, his songwriting, his lyrics, etc. I'll take the ballads on the early stuff ("Honesty is No Excuse", "Remembering", "Sarah", "Little Girl In Bloom", "She Knows") over any of the big rocking radio hits, great as they are.

Damn, I really need to get those Lynott solo albums.

Broheems (diamond), Saturday, 6 March 2004 21:33 (twenty years ago) link

Sadly, I noticed an entity called Thin Lizzy are playing in NYC this spring.

This is an exception that breaks the rule. Its John Sykes and Scott Gorham's travelling shrine to Phil Lynott. In the past they've also toted along one of the old Lizzy keyboard players, Mark Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge.

And, man, do they smoke for a few dollars. I was a skeptic but the live "Thin Lizzy" album they made a few years ago is very good, altogether superior to the final Lizzy live album and good to hear alongside "Live and Dangerous."

George Smith, Saturday, 6 March 2004 22:32 (twenty years ago) link

When I interviewed Lemmy a couple of months ago, he mentioned them to me, apropos of nothing. He said, "Go see Thin Lizzy if they come around. You wouldn't think they'd be able to do it without Phil, but they're really fuckin' great." So there you go.

Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Saturday, 6 March 2004 22:41 (twenty years ago) link

"Mark Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge." as in "The Animal" of Dictators/Twisted Sister fame and the hack drummer from Pat Travers/Ozzy Ozbourne/Whitesnake? How many keyboard players did Thin Lizzy have anyway? Good for Scott Gorham, who stood by Phil Lynott's side the whole time, but I'm not quite convinced..

lovebug starski, Saturday, 6 March 2004 22:59 (twenty years ago) link

I saw Tommy Aldridge drumming for Ted Nugent about three years ago.

Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Saturday, 6 March 2004 23:14 (twenty years ago) link

"You wouldn't think they'd be able to do it without Phil, but they're really fuckin' great."

It's true. The rep on them is really grass-roots.

George Smith, Sunday, 7 March 2004 00:46 (twenty years ago) link

the hack drummer from Pat Travers/Ozzy Ozbourne/Whitesnake?

Don't forget Black Oak Arkansas. "Raunch & Roll."

George Smith, Sunday, 7 March 2004 00:47 (twenty years ago) link

Actually, the Phil Lynott album "Solo in Soho" is worth checking out. The Elvis tribute song, Kings Call is probably it's best remembered track.

jim wentworth (wench), Sunday, 7 March 2004 02:57 (twenty years ago) link

Phil Lynott : Old Town, dodgy synths and all - beautiful...

David Nolan (David N.), Sunday, 7 March 2004 03:09 (twenty years ago) link

NED - You wanna date?

Dear Abbey, Sunday, 7 March 2004 05:03 (twenty years ago) link

Anthony - Could you post the tracklisting of the mix?

57 7th (calstars), Sunday, 7 March 2004 13:33 (twenty years ago) link

Alright I don't have it with me but I'm gonna try and do my best here. I know it was all of Jailbreak and songs from Bad Reputation, Fighting and Chinatown (those are the ones he's got). I don't know whether or not he grabbed ALL the winners (from what I've read I'm surprised he didn't include "Rosalie") but I really enjoyed everything on here. He's actually bugging me to make HIM a copy cuz he can't dub tapes and he wants a copy he can play in his walkman. This is good enough that I'm debating buying a new walkman, cuz right now only the radio on it works.


Side One
1. Jailbreak
2. Angel from the Coast
3. Running Back
4. Romeo and the Lonely Girl
5. Warrior
6. The Boys Are Back in Town
7. Fight or Fall
8. Cowboy Song
9. Emerald
10. Killer Without A Cause
11. Dear Lord

Side two
1. Soldier of Fortune
2. Bad Reputation
3. Opium Trail
4. Southbound
5. For Those Who Love to Live
6. Suicide
7. Wild One
8. Fighting My Way Back
9. Spirit Slips Away
10. Sweetheart
11. Sugar Blues
12. Killer on the Loose

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:21 (twenty years ago) link

If I was gonna do a POV on this I'd pick: Boys Are Back In Town, Running Back, Sweetheart, Rodeo Song & Southbound (or Dear Lord...dammit I've had this tape for two days and already POVs are too hard)

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:23 (twenty years ago) link

my list from the POX thread would be my mix if i had a mix. it's fairly chronological.


The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle
Honesty Is No Excuse
Shades Of A Blue Orphanage
Rocker
Black Boys On The Corner
Whiskey In The Jar
Showdown
It's Only Money
Sweet Marie
Suicide
Rosalie
Cowboy Song
Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed
Jailbreak
We Will Be Strong
Cold Sweat
Dancing In The Moonlight
Opium Trail
That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart
Toughest Street In Town

scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 7 March 2004 18:06 (twenty years ago) link

best hip-hop Thin Lizzy reference: Original Concept (two rappers, two deejays one of which was the MTV/NYC disc jockey Dr. Dre) in "Here Comes the 5-Oh!": "And on the radio, they're playin' Thin Lizzy!"

Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Sunday, 7 March 2004 18:14 (twenty years ago) link

Right im 16 and i adore Thin Lizzy, im fed up of all the shit thats around today and i want you all to know that even though im only in my teens i totally appreciate phil and co's contribution to the 70's rock era.

Danielle, Saturday, 20 March 2004 20:26 (twenty years ago) link

Right im 16 and i adore Thin Lizzy, im fed up of all the shit thats around today and i want you all to know that even though im only in my teens i totally appreciate phil and co's contribution to the 70's rock era.

me, Saturday, 20 March 2004 20:26 (twenty years ago) link

two weeks pass...
Hi Folks,
Glad u guys keep Phil´s music alive. It was and still is awsome.
Met Phil a couple of times in 82 and 83 when he played both solo and Lizzy.His was nice man "a cool cat".The Lizzy concerts and his solo thing were great.So keep on rockin! and God bless u up there Phil along with Elvis and Hendrix.

Rock On, Thursday, 8 April 2004 19:00 (twenty years ago) link

seven months pass...
G.day,
What a performer,musician & poet.Got my Live in 78 Dvd outside of the Sydney Opera house.Those guys new how to rock. Phil ,Gary Moore,Scott Gorham & some dude on drums ( It wasn't Brian Downey) played a concert that would have been so awsome to see live,if only i wasn't 8 at the time.Gay Moore absolutely goes off in " are you ready" if only the quality of the audio on the dvd was a tad better i could puump it up relly loud ....Live on Lizzy, their music still has a meaning!!!

Johnnythefox, Friday, 12 November 2004 20:26 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Guess who just got back today? Them cats ... etc etc. You know what is great about this band: they're like the opposite to those jingle-writers, or 40s musical writers, who always scrape to make their lyrics scan ... that guy phil has stupidly complicated lyrics but they scan in this wonderful way, as if they're in a whole seperate song but it's a BETTER song

mm, Monday, 10 January 2005 02:49 (nineteen years ago) link

"that guy phil"

Haibun (Begs2Differ), Monday, 10 January 2005 02:52 (nineteen years ago) link

three months pass...
Yeah, you know, the one guy.

What's the better subtle touch on "Whiskey in the Jar," the extended intro or the keyboards? (Or would you nominate something else, which you are welcome to do?)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 18:35 (eighteen years ago) link

What's the better subtle touch on "Whiskey in the Jar," the extended intro or the keyboards? (Or would you nominate something else, which you are welcome to do?)

Metallica bludgeoned all subtly out of that song for me! It's sad....I can't hear it with pure, un-Helfield damaged ears now! They took something from me I will never get back.

- "i would press delete"

M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 18:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Can't believe no one has mentioned "Waitin' for an alibi".

Cooom on!

Kris England, Wednesday, 27 April 2005 22:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Generally, I am not at all into heavy rock. But Thin Lizzy has something about them. The "Jailbreak" album is certainly classic.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 28 April 2005 00:13 (eighteen years ago) link

Thin Lizzy never lets me down...every time I hear Phil's voice I smile, they rock so hard. Ned -- I'm down with the extended intro on "Whiskey In the Jar"...it's that nuance that you forget between listens, that reminds you why you came back to it. Like a buried treasure. Then again, the keyboards have the same quality

Love the Lizzy!

VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 28 April 2005 01:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Black Rose is one of the great forgotten albums on the '70s.

John Fredland (jfredland), Thursday, 28 April 2005 06:28 (eighteen years ago) link

five months pass...
Lynott for some reason reminds me of that chap in the Stranglers, esp. on "The Rocker".

classic!

gear (gear), Monday, 10 October 2005 04:42 (eighteen years ago) link

Googlers on this thread are awesome

Keith C (lync0), Monday, 10 October 2005 13:07 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

I'M A ROCKER!
I'M A ROCKER!
I'm a roooooller, too, baby.
I'M A ROCKER!

Trip Maker, Monday, 7 July 2008 16:59 (fifteen years ago) link

"Cowboy Song" is really becoming my favorite song of all time

some dude, Monday, 7 July 2008 17:02 (fifteen years ago) link

so classic

latebloomer, Monday, 7 July 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link

man, fighting is all killer, no filler! probably top ten of all time material for me.

original bgm, Monday, 7 July 2008 20:08 (fifteen years ago) link

one year passes...

I had no idea they were this good. Somewhere along the line I picked up a prejudice against them, maybe based on my old brother's dismissals (not that I remember any) or a certain friend's snickering mention of them.

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 5 December 2009 14:18 (fourteen years ago) link

Thin Lizzy was/is godhead.

Johnny Fever, Saturday, 5 December 2009 15:15 (fourteen years ago) link

There was a repress of their first album at a record store in STL a few weeks ago. I got excited cuz I never see it anywhere, but it was priced $32.99 and it was already bent up at the corners. No way am I paying that much! So I went back to the used records section and found Bad Reputation for 7.99. It's a better record and I didn't own a copy already. So I won, I guess.

Trip Maker, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:41 (fourteen years ago) link

It was the fisheye photo jacket, not the skinny lady's hip.

Trip Maker, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:42 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Word going around that Gary Moore has passed on.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 6 February 2011 17:12 (thirteen years ago) link

barreras otm

she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Monday, 9 December 2019 12:33 (four years ago) link

'still in love with you' off live and dangerous absolutely crushes me

Wee Bloabby (NickB), Monday, 9 December 2019 12:59 (four years ago) link

most amazing and melancholy guitar solo

Pinche Cumbion Bien Loco (stevie), Monday, 9 December 2019 13:35 (four years ago) link

starts off like a codeine song, ends up like dinosaur jr

Wee Bloabby (NickB), Monday, 9 December 2019 13:40 (four years ago) link

'still in love with you' off live and dangerous absolutely crushes me

― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Monday, 9 December 2019 12:59 (two hours ago)

that bass! trickles like tears running down your cheeks

The World According To.... (Michael B), Monday, 9 December 2019 15:27 (four years ago) link

three weeks pass...

Nothing to celebrate about Phil dying on this day in 1986 but the t-shirt is too good not to share. pic.twitter.com/Fd0r6PNy3r

— GlennA (@GlennAirey) January 4, 2020

a day late with this.

calzino, Sunday, 5 January 2020 10:24 (four years ago) link

six months pass...

Emerald/Still In Love With You (Live) back to back for an epic emotional thursday night shred party

incapacitant hairdresser society (rizzx), Thursday, 9 July 2020 19:23 (three years ago) link

one month passes...

A mere smidgen:

https://www.stereogum.com/2095399/thin-lizzy-rock-legends-box-set-unreleased-tracks/music/

And now, for the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation, Universal is embarking on a big reissue campaign to underline the group’s legacy, the first installment of which is a giant box set. The career-spanning compilation features six discs of rarities, demos, radio sessions, and live recordings. Altogether, there’s 74 previously unreleased tracks.

In addition to all the music, there are also a couple DVDs featuring the BBC documentary Bad Reputation and the band’s performance on Rod Stewart’s 1976 TV special A Night On The Town. The set also includes a bunch of book material, spanning everything from reproductions of old tour programs to Phil Lynott’s poetry.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 20 August 2020 17:44 (three years ago) link

one month passes...

I just noticed this four-CD box set that was released back in 2006: https://www.discogs.com/master/view/282774

Apparently never released in the U.S. which probably explains why I've never seen one. Anyone have this? There's a few tracks I would have included from Live and Dangerous but otherwise it looks pretty solid.

birdistheword, Thursday, 8 October 2020 03:00 (three years ago) link

Sorry, 2001, not 2006 - apparently it was reissued in 2006 in more compact packaging with a cheaper price.

birdistheword, Thursday, 8 October 2020 03:01 (three years ago) link

I've got it, and it's a great into to Lizzy. The thematic tracklisting thing goes against my own preference for chronological, but...

comorbidities in the BK lounge (stevie), Thursday, 8 October 2020 07:22 (three years ago) link

POP FACT! i just moved house, but i was living one street away from the clifton grange hotel in manchester - which lynott's mother used to run. the boys are back in town is about a manchester gang who used to frequent the hotel. 'the quality street gang'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Street_Gang

maelin, Thursday, 8 October 2020 10:23 (three years ago) link

That’s a pretty great name for a gang

calstars, Thursday, 8 October 2020 13:01 (three years ago) link

Just listened to this interview with Huey Lewis who mentioned that Phil Lynott was a mentor to him in the pre-News days when Huey was in Clover. Starts around the 26 minute mark.

https://www.pushkin.fm/episode/huey-lewis/

j.o.h.n. in evanston (john. a resident of chicago.), Thursday, 8 October 2020 13:59 (three years ago) link

quality street gang rules

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 8 October 2020 14:03 (three years ago) link

I heard they couldn't fight for toffee

comorbidities in the BK lounge (stevie), Thursday, 8 October 2020 14:07 (three years ago) link

A few of them were hard nuts.

Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Thursday, 8 October 2020 14:18 (three years ago) link

Listening to "She Knows," the Van Morrison influence on Lynott's vocal is pretty charming, especially the brief scat at 2:40. And I really dig the exquisite guitar solos that follow, not to mention those smooth drum fills that punctuate them.

Anyway, great stuff - musically, the record feels like a lovely marriage between Hall & Oates's No Goodbyes and Steely Dan's Katy Lied.

birdistheword, Friday, 9 October 2020 16:38 (three years ago) link

two weeks pass...

This slipped by too - Thin Lizzy gets a LOT more press in the UK than the US, that's for sure - but here's Record Collector's review for the next box set that's out this week. This part is pretty insane:

"The first in a series of archive releases, Rock Legends will satisfy collectors disappointed with the Warriors, Kings, Vagabonds, Angels (2001) box set’s paucity of rarities. By comparison, this hits the motherlode, with 74 previously unreleased tracks, sourced from an extensive cache of newly recovered master tapes, long rumoured to exist. Nick Sharp, one of the consultants involved in compiling Rock Legends, told RC that the tapes were retrieved when outtakes from Johnny Thunders’ So Alone album appeared on eBay. Knowing of Lynott’s contributions, the seller was contacted and found to be the custodian of the Lizzy tapes. Despite having at one point been stored in the damp confines of a barge on the Manchester Ship Canal, the majority of tapes were salvageable, and the songs chosen for inclusion have been newly mastered."

Maybe it'll be in the booklet but how does a stash of master tapes like that wind up sitting in a barge?

birdistheword, Monday, 26 October 2020 19:55 (three years ago) link

This may be the greatest maritime rarities salvage incident since the Grateful Dead's houseboat tapes.

peace, man, Monday, 26 October 2020 23:35 (three years ago) link

holy shit

I listen to Thin Lizzy like once a week, just a miraculously good band

holy shit

J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 01:55 (three years ago) link

it's been a while for me, but Jailbreak and Black Rose are impeccable. need to finally dig through the rest of their oeuvre.

Neanderthal, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 03:11 (three years ago) link

FIGHTING!

"what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 03:53 (three years ago) link

one year passes...

I, too, have joined the Church of Lizzy & Lynott.

SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 2 February 2022 09:22 (two years ago) link

nine months pass...

Well that'll do ya

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/thin-lizzy-live-and-dangerous-super-deluxe-edition/

Ned Raggett, Friday, 18 November 2022 18:12 (one year ago) link

The super deluxe edition of Live And Dangerous finally puts to bed the myth that the album was extensively overdubbed in the studio, and demonstrates that Thin Lizzy was one of the best live bands of the 1970s.

I mean, wasn’t it Tony Visconti himself who said this?

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 20 November 2022 05:54 (one year ago) link

one month passes...

Old Dan in a raincoat
hums the very, very, very special notes
Of a long lost favorite melody
It reminds him of a love affair
when he was young and did not care
And how he parted so soft, so sadden

Heez, Sunday, 15 January 2023 03:12 (one year ago) link

Something so Irish about that verse. Reminds me of “The Dead”

Heez, Sunday, 15 January 2023 03:14 (one year ago) link

seven months pass...

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