Ross - whose ear for music is second to none, chose this album. At the time I remember thinking how much I'd like to listen to it on my walk to work if it weren't for this damned CD Odyssey I embarked on almost three years ago.
Well, here we are - you leave enough sacrifices on the altar of randomness, you occasionally get a prayer answered, I suppose.
Disc 360 is...Jailbreak
Artist: Thin LizzyYear of Release: 1976
What’s Up With The Cover?: A comic book vibe, with the band depicted as escaping some kind of evil overlord character, explosions going off all around. The artist is Jim Fitzpatrick, which is funny given the previous review featured art by Tony Fitzpatrick. Could this signal the beginning of a reign of terror by artists named Fitzpatrick? Somehow, I doubt it. Of the two, I prefer Jim by a wide margin.
How I Came To Know It: My buddy Spence is a walking encyclopedia of seventies rock and he has often talked about Thin Lizzy and this album in particular. My other friend Nick is also keen. Spurred on by the both of them, I bought this record, which is the most iconic of Thin Lizzy's career. I am seeing both of them this weekend and will be sure to thank them again for the good advice.
How It Stacks Up: This is my only Thin Lizzy record, but I am meaning to get more. I will delve into Spence's brain this weekend for recommendations on what should be next.
Rating: 4 stars.
The 1970's are the golden age of guitar rock, and "Jailbreak" is one of the decades seminal records. Not as heavy as the metal generation that would follow it, its true weight is found in the incredible influence it had on the generation of musicians that grew up listening to it.
It spawned one of guitar rock's most famous hits, "The Boys Are Back In Town," a song which is no better than 4th best on the record. That is saying something, because there is a reason that the "The Boys Are Back In Town" still gets heavy rotation on rock radio thirty-five years after it was released; it is that good.
It is a song about very little - as near as I can tell it is basically a bunch of young guys out on the town drinking and carousing. The lyrics are hardly poetic, yet Phil Lynott makes them come alive, reminding us of what it was like to be young and go clubbing. I wouldn't want to go back to that, but Lynott reminds me how the power of youth can make even the most pointless night out drinking and dancing into an adventure.
However, you'll note I didn't quote any of the lyrics, because frankly, the lyrics on "Jailbreak" are forgettable, salvaged only by Lynott's genius delivery. At least twice, women are referred to as 'females' simply to serve a strained rhyme. "Romeo And The Lonely Girl" has a chorus that goes
"Oh-oh, poor Romeo
Sittin' all on his own-ee-o."
Yeah, that just happened. What's amazing about this record is even a song with a lyrical crime that heinous, is still a great song.
This is because musically "Jailbreak" is as fine a record as you will hear. This is rock and roll at its best - written with skill, played with passion, with every player, as Thin Lizzy might say, "shakin' what they got."
Whether they are rocking out on the title track, or "Angel From The Coast", or infusing rock into soul music ("Fight of Fall") or into western music ("Cowboy Song") they always hit just the right balance. They walk to the edge of rock excess, lean over that cliff and play as hard as they can without falling over.
The guitar work on every song overwhelms me. I always know a guitar piece is good when I catch myself wanting to air guitar while walking down the street with the headphones on. This record had me actively doing it, and I didn't care who saw - the song was too good to be contained in the confines of my skull; it had to find release in my limbs.
"Jailbreak" is probably my favourite song on the record, but for a pure demonstration of the musical might of this band at the peak of their powers, I recommend "Warriors" a riff-laden monster, complete with a killer guitar solo and a killer drum solo, and which accomplishes everything it needs to in a respectable 4:08.
If it weren't for its lyrical crimes, this would easily be a 5 star album. As it is, Phil Lynott's vocal delivery was so good he almost cancelled that negative out entirely. The musical genius of "Jailbreak" is easily 5 star territory, so if lyrics are secondary to you, you should be racing out to buy this album. If lyrics are important to you, you should still be racing out to buy this album. There is an exception to every rule, my friends.
Best tracks: Jailbreak, Angel From The Coast, Romeo and the Lonely Girl, Warriors, The Boys Are Back In Town, Cowboy Song,
No comments:
Post a Comment