CD Odyssey Disc 1358: Thin Lizzy

Greetings gentle readers, and welcome to the final day of the Easter long weekend. I’m celebrating my complete inability to see other humans today by not using hair gel. I gotta save that stuff now that all the salons are closed.

Disc 1358 is…. Fighting

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1975

What’s up with the Cover? The band looks like they are ready to fight. Weapons of choice include…a knife! ...a bat! …a pipe! And…crossed arms? I assume that guy with the crossed arms is a skilled enough pugilist that all he needs are his fists.

In any event, Thin Lizzy better hope they're not off to a gunfight. You know what they say, "never bring a knife, a bat, a pipe and crossed arms to a gun fight."

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to most of Thin Lizzy’s back catalogue through my buddy, Spence. Spence even named his second daughter after the opening track on “Fighting”, “Rosalie”. I’m not often jealous of people who decided to have kids, but getting to name your kid after a song makes me mildly envious.

I’m not sure which way I would have gone if I’d had the chance. I like quite a few songs called “Annabelle” and that’s a good name. Or I could honour Blue Oyster Cult with “Vera Gemini” or “Debbie Denise”. Not great names but hey, Blue Oyster Cult. I like a songs about Joan Crawford and Joan of Arc (by Blue Oyster Cult and Leonard Cohen respectively) but it doesn’t go very well for either Joan, so probably not that….

Anyway, it doesn’t matter – I’m much happier not having kids. Maybe one of my friends will whimsically decide to let me name their next kid, but I don’t like my chances.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 10 Thin Lizzy albums. I’ll put “Fighting” in at #4, bumping both “Bad Reputation” and “Vagabonds of the Western World” down a spot in the process, and staying just a hair behind “Nightlife”. I view “Nightlife” and “Fighting” as equals, but that’s not the way “How it Stacks Up” works. Ask me next week and I may just switch the order depending on my mood.

Ratings: 4 stars

From 1974 through 1977 Thin Lizzy released one exceptional album after another – five in total. “I could happily pick among the five blindly and never be disappointed. Today we give “Fighting” the spotlight; the second released during that brilliant run, and Thin Lizzy’s fifth record overall.

The magic of Thin Lizzy starts with the brilliance of singer/bassist Phil Lynott. A born frontman oozing with aggression, sex appeal and a bottomless reservoir of cool. Lynott is the master of phrasing. On “Fighting” (which is much harder-edged record than the smoother-sounding “Nightlife” released the year prior) he gets to show a bit more snarl than usual giving him a slightly different sound, but no less amazing.

Lynott writes most (but not all) of the songs, but the other band members get in on the action to varying degrees. The opening track (“Rosalie” as noted above) is a cover of a Bob Seger song and is WAY better than the Bob Seger version. Sorry, Bob – you know I love ya). Thin Lizzy just gives the song the extra grit and groove that it needs.

And while Lynott’s vocal talents are on full display throughout, “Fighting” is also an album for anyone who loves the power and glory of the electric guitar. The twin talents of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson do not disappoint. Whenever I see two lead guitars in a band I get nervous, but as with Judas Priest’s Glen Tipton and KK Downing, Gorham and Robertson are the perfect complement to one another. Both have amazing tone, and it feels like the guitar has just as many meaningful things to say as Lynott, no easy feat.

The best part of having two great guitar players is you don’t have to pick a favourite. Sometimes you get one, sometimes the other, and on the songs where they both play (“For Those Who Love to Live”, “Suicide”, “Wild One”) they elevate one another, giving the listener even more flavours and shades within a single song.

When things do go back to that smooth soul-rock of “Nightlife” like on “Spirit Slips Away” you get a brief reprieve from all those thunderous guitar riffs, but it comes right when you need it. A metaphorical chill out on the deck of a party before you return to rock and roll, refreshed and recharged.

After a little middle ground boogie woogie with “Silver Dollar” the album gathers its hard rock legs under it again with “Freedom Song”. There ain’t nothin’ more rock and roll than freedom and Scott Gorham’s guitar strikes the perfect balance for the concept: part ambling solo, and part low rumbling growl. Even though our song’s hero, Jack McDuff, gets hanged in the end, you are left with the uplifting feeling that freedom still wins. Jack dies free in mind and spirit, his last words exclaiming:

“I believe in the freedom song
Long live liberty!
I believe in the freedom song
Doesn't matter what you do to me”

The record ends with “Ballad of a Hard Man” which may be the record’s grittiest track, and this time it is Brian Robertson laying down some six-string truth (at least according to the liner notes). That struck me as odd, given the song was written by Gorham, but regardless of who is playing (and it did sound more like the slightly more hard-edged Robertson) it is a brilliant end to a brilliant record.

Best tracks: Rosalie, For Those Who Love to Live, Fighting My Way Back, Spirit Slips Away, Freedom Song, Ballad of a Hard Man

CD Odyssey Disc 1281: Thin Lizzy

It feels like once a week someone wants to recommend a podcast to me. I’m sure there are plenty that I’d like but the truth is when I have a free half an hour to plug in and forget the world, I want that time for music. And this singularity of focus allows me to find the time I need to fuel this little Odyssey I’m on. Shall we…?

Disc 1281 is… Nightlife

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1974

What’s up with the Cover? A black panther stalks the city. This cover would make a bitchin’ painting for the side of a seventies panel fan.

How I Came to Know It: My friend Spence put my on to Thin Lizzy. Spence has a great ear and while we don’t agree on all music, if he vouches for a band, more often than not they are worth a listen. Thanks, Spence for bringing so much good music into my life!

“Nightlife” was an album I liked from the beginning but proved hard to find. I finally got this double album re-issue (with a bunch of bonus content I could have lived without) within the last couple of years.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 10 Thin Lizzy albums and “Nightlife” is one of the best. I’ll rank it 3rd.

Ratings: 4 stars

If you are looking for the window of time when Thin Lizzy were at their greatest, that window opens with “Nightlife”. It isn’t that previous albums like “Vagabonds of the Western World” don’t have their charm, but “Nightlife” is the beginning of something magical.

Not coincidentally, “Nightlife” is also the first album to feature the twin guitar talents of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Whatever particular alchemy these two brought to the band’s music, it clearly works. Together, they bring a soaring, anthemic quality to the album, with solos that take you on whimsical emotional journey but never fail to serve the melodic structure of the song. I was favourably reminded of Blue Oyster Cult’s Buck Dharma.

Underpinning all that tasteful guitar is Phil Lynott’s bass, which is arguably his best work on any Thin Lizzy record. The groove is amazing and the bass is forward in the mix but manages to avoid being intrusive. Settle in and let it move you with classic riffs like on “It’s Only Money” and “Showdown”. If you want a break, switch your focus back to the Gorham/Robertson guitar or Lynott’s silky smooth vocals. Even drummer Brian Downey gets love on this record, including a furious solo that adds to the adrenaline thumping intensity of “Sha-La-La”.

While there are other may slightly edge out “Nightlife” in overall song quality, I am hard pressed to think of one where the sheer quality of the playing is as superb.

Lyrically, these songs tell simple stories of love and desire, as lived by street hustlers and the down-and-out. “She Knows” is ostensibly about a woman’s love, but my read of this song is Lynott’s prayer to Mother Mary to save him from his frailties and addictions. “It’s Only Money” is about old fashioned penury, and how it strips you of opportunity and faith in God alike and “Showdown” features two rival gangs, driven to violence over the allure of a woman.

Despite their subject matter, these songs all have a triumphant groove to them that makes you want to drive fast and stand tall. They are proud songs for characters that often have little else but pride at the end of the day. Despite all this, Lynott challenges you not to look down on these folks, but just to appreciate them for who they are, and maybe even admire their fortitude.

Above all else, “Nightlife” is a slice of musical genius that inexplicably never achieved commercial success. Fortunately, here on the CD Odyssey I don’t give a whit about how many records you sell – I’m just looking for the best music there is. “Nightlife” is a sublime combination of songwriting and musical excellence as good as anything from the golden age of rock and roll that was the mid-seventies.

Best tracks: She Knows, Night Life, It’s Only Money, Showdown, Sha-La-La, Dear Heart

CD Odyssey Disc 1251: Thin Lizzy

Today as I was heading into a 7-11 a homeless man stopped me and complimented me on my style. “Hey, man – are you a DJ?” I assured him I was just a dude. He replied by saying “You look like…you know who you look like? Like that guy…that guy…” he almost faded away completely before his mind fired the memory, “You look like Ted Nugent!”

He actually looked more like Ted Nugent than I did, but what the hell. The weirdest part was that earlier in the day I had been listening to a killer live version of “Hibernation.” Listen to that here. I told him this and the synchronicity of it all blew his mind.

I’ll talk about my Ted Nugent album when I roll it. For now, let’s talk about what I did roll.

Disc 1251 is… Self-Titled

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1971

What’s up with the Cover? I think this is some chrome on a car, reflecting another car. Neither car is what collectors would call “cherry”. Also featured on this cover…an annoying graphic advertising all the exciting content you’ll get in lieu of having a proper cover photo.

How I Came to Know It: This was one of my first Thin Lizzy purchases, and I bought it in the glow and excitement of realizing how much I liked them.  My friend Spence had also sang its praises.

How It Stacks Up:  I have ten Thin Lizzy albums. Thin Lizzy is a great band, but someone had to finish last, and their eponymous debut is it, landing in 10^th spot.

Ratings:  2 stars but almost 3

Thin Lizzy’s first album is a bit weird. It isn’t annoyingly weird, or obsessed with its own cleverness, it’s just all over the map and hard to get a handle on.

This is an album by a band with enormous talent and no fear. All the things that make Thin Lizzy great –rich guitar riffs, funky basslines and Phil Lynott’s smooth flowing vocals – but it is all organized a bit haphazardly. The band has all the elements it is going to need for success, but it hasn’t learned how to get out of its own way. The result is a complicated brilliance that I could always appreciate but couldn’t always groove to.

There are great moments on the record. “Honesty is No Excuse” is like a seventies FM radio hit (I say ‘like’ with purpose – this album yielded no hits). It is heartfelt and honest, the kind of song you play for your girl on your car radio as you feel her thigh through the thin jean of her bell-bottoms.

The album also has great Lynott ramblings. “Diddy Levine” is a rambling tale of love, regret, class warfare, and I don’t know what. Frankly, it was hard to follow, but fun to try. Interspersed with this rambling tale of various star-crossed lovers we get some killer guitar work from Eric Bell. It is a great song even if I was never sure exactly what it is trying to tell me.

“Diddy Levine” is representative of the feel of the whole album. Bell’s guitar draws you in with its groove, but the song as a whole is a complex meander that requires a lot of attention to appreciate.

At times, it feels like Thin Lizzy is trying to play sixties psychedelia, and at other times seventies rock but what is really happening is that they are exploring a plethora of sound and seeing what fits them best.

My biggest gripe with this record are the 9 bonus tracks aggressively advertised on the cover. This includes a bunch of A Side singles, the “New Day” EP and four 1977 remixes. The best thing in there is a kitschy song called “Old Moon Madness” but it didn’t make up for a lot of extras that just detracted from the original album.

The musicianship on this record is stellar whatever the band is doing. Listening to Lynott sing and Bell play guitar is a joy regardless of how many times they decide to change the plot or musical style. That brilliance is what decided me on keeping this record, even though when I started writing this review I had consigned it to banishment. Sure, it is unfocused and wild, but when you play this good, you get allowances.

Best tracks: Honesty is No Excuse, Diddy Levine, Remembering (Part One)

CD Odyssey Disc 928: Thin Lizzy

This album was a bit too long. Not the original record, mind you. I mean the gratuitous amount of bonus content some Soulless Record Exec thought I would want to buy.

As a result my review has a gratuitous content section to go with it – keep reading past the “best tracks” entry for said content!

Disc 928 is….Vagabonds of the Western World

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1973

What’s up with the Cover? Cartoon space opera meets Mount Rockmore. 1970s, we miss you.

How I Came To Know It: I’ve been buying Thin Lizzy albums for a while, but my friend Spence (who also put me onto the band in the first place) has been quietly insistent for some time to get “Vagabonds of the Western World.” I have resisted only because the only copy that ever seems available is a giant special edition version with a ton of extra tracks at a price well north of $30.

That remains the case, but I managed to find that giant special edition used for only $16 so I bought it. I didn’t want all the extra content, but I despaired at ever finding the regular record on its own. It’s so rare now it actually cost more on Amazon.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 7 albums by Thin Lizzy. Of those albums, I put “Vagabonds…” 5^th. I still like it, but there are better.

Ratings: 3 stars

This isn’t my favourite Thin Lizzy album, but it has a few great moments. I like Thin Lizzy best in the middle of their career, and in many ways “Vagabonds…” is the beginning of that sound.

While this record is the last with original guitar player Eric Bell, in many ways it feels like the band is starting to move away from the influences of sixties psychadelia and into that groove-driven rock that so perfectly suits Phil Lynott’s smooth and powerful vocal style.

That said, this record starts off on the wrong foot, with the bar-rock sound of “Mama Nature Said”. Kudos to Thin Lizzy for singing an environmentally conscious song way back in 1973, but this song has an uninteresting boogie woogie beat, and hackneyed lyrics that come across as overwrought. Lynott’s vocals almost win the day, but the song is just not set up to make him shine.

“The Hero and the Madman” has a ridiculous over-the-top story told in ultra-corny style. On later records this affectation works (such as three years later on the song “Emerald” from “Jailbreak”) but here it is just an unnecessary nerd-fest, and not in a good way. This song is followed by a very bluesy appropriately titled “Slow Blues” which is OK, but also didn’t inspire me.

By this point I was feeling let down by Phil and the boys, but luckily they won me back and then some with “The Rocker.” “The Rocker” is one of rock and roll’s great anthems. It is balls-to-the-wall bombast; a song that both shows and tells why rock stars get all the girls. It’s because they are just that cool, and Lynotte is the coolest of ‘em all.

Another standout is “Little Girl in Bloom” a song about teen pregnancy where Thin Lizzy replaces all of the usual shame of that story with compassion and good advice. “Go tell your dad and see how it goes” this song urges, and somehow manages to be ultra groovy doing so. The tune is soft and relaxed and feels more like a lullaby than a tragedy.

Then, just to add the edge back in, the next track, “Gonna Creep Up On You” which is sexuality at its most sinister and predatory. The juxtaposition of the gentle and kind-hearted “Little Girl In Bloom” with this nasty but brilliant bit of back-alley groove is awesome.

The album ends in a tasteful eight tracks, and while the final song, “A Song For While I’m Away” meanders a bit too aimlessly, it isn’t enough to wreck a record that has a lot of great moments, and shows all the promise of what Thin Lizzy is growing into on the albums to come.

Best tracks: The Rocker, Vagabonds of the Western World, Little Girl in Bloom, Gonna Creep Up On You

Gratuitous “bonus content” review:

There is more bonus content on Disc One than there are original tracks. It is all a bit exhausting, but let’s say something about the anyway, shall we?

First of all, Soulless Record Execs, if you are going to add ‘bonus tracks’ to the same disc as the record, try to limit yourself to two or three. The original “Vagabonds..”  is only eight tracks, but the bonus material adds another 10 songs.

They aren’t terrible (except maybe “Randolph’s Tango” which appears twice and doesn’t much resemble a tango either time). What they are is excessive.

The best of them is the fun-lovin’ and snappy “Cruising in the Lizzymobile” which is just as much fun as you’d expect from the title. Also the bonus tracks gave me a sweet radio edit of the band’s famous cover of “Whiskey In the Jar.” So I am slightly mollified, even if I think all this stuff belonged on a separate CD.

Best tracks (gratuitous bonus content edition): Here I Go Again, Cruising in the Lizzymobile, Little Darling, Whiskey in the Jar

Eve more gratuitous “second full CD of content” review:

Nope. I refused to listen to Disc Two, which is a bunch (13) of BBC live recordings I never wanted in the first place. I’m sure they’re great, but they belong on a live album not here. Besides, you have to draw a line in the sand at some point and say, “just give me the damned record.” ‘But Logan!’ you will opine, ‘what of the vaunted Odyssey rule #3?’ There is always the exception that proves the rule, my friends. This is it. If we don’t start saying no to bloated re-issues then the Soulless Record Execs will never stop reissuing them.

CD Odyssey Disc 834: Thin Lizzy

It’s been a pleasant Saturday so far. It started with lunch with Sheila at our favourite diner (which has all new menu items!), followed by a nap with the cat, and a solid writing session working on my latest book. I’m feeling fulfilled, and I can’t think of a better way to round out the day than with a music review.

Disc 834 is….Bad Reputation

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1977

What’s up with the Cover? This cover makes me imagine a conversation like this. Studio: “do you have any good photos for the next album cover?” Thin Lizzy: “How about these?” Studio: “Do you have any other pictures?” Thin Lizzy “No, that’s it.” Studio: “OK, I guess we can convert it to black and white and make the best of it.”

How I Came To Know It: I came to know Thin Lizzy’s larger catalogue through my buddy Spence, but this particular album was introduced to me by the awesome local record store “The Turntable” who put it on one day on vinyl. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to have it – although I ended up buying it on CD.

How It Stacks Up:  I have five Thin Lizzy albums, with plans to get a couple more before I am through. All the albums are good and competition is tough. Despite how much I like “Bad Reputation” I can’t put it above 4^th.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Bad Reputation” shows the softer side of Thin Lizzy, and when I first listened to it I wanted it to rock a little harder. After listened to it a few times over the last few days the album has won me over just as it is.

As ever, Thin Lizzy begins and ends with vocalist Phil Lynott, whose smooth vocals and uncanny ability with phrasing infuses every song with a coolness factor few bands can match.  Lynott is one of rock’s great vocalists, and his like will not be seen again.

The record’s opening track, “Soldier of Fortune” was the one that instantly won me over at Turntable Records years ago. This is a classic rock song that hits on every note. It has one of rock and roll’s greatest (and most unappreciated) guitar hooks, it has Lynott’s voice infusing the story of the soldier with all the import of a modern day Homer. The song even starts with a frickin’ gong.

The title track has a funky groove that almost feels like it is going to incorporate early disco, but when the chunky guitar chords launch that notion is quickly dispelled. “Bad Reputation” combines creative drum breaks and restrained guitar solos to really showcase how tight the band plays.

The album has a lot of range, such as “Dancing in the Moonlight” which feels like it was lifted from a Broadway musical. The inclusion of saxophone licks adds a playful quality. If only eighties songs had learned how to use a saxophone like this. The song also features a lot of walking home after the last bus has gone. Given it was 1977 it always makes me think that could be relatively early. Maybe eleven? Midnight? Whenever it was I bet it was early enough to be damned inconvenient after a night on the town. Then again, it just gives you an excuse to dance in the moonlight on the walk home.

But I digress…

Back to the album, which has a few songs with religious overtones, including “Downtown Sundown” and “Dear Lord.” These songs have a lounge feel around the edges which works beautifully with Phil’s voice, and the band feels relaxed and easy playing them. “Downtown Sundown” is particularly pretty, with a hopeful message that lets a lover go without acrimony, knowing that love will come again:

“If you want to fly

Then fly away

All the cloudy skies

Belong to yesterday

“Please believe in love

I believe there is a God above

For love

And He's coming.”

The song also features a sweet guitar solo from new guitarist Scott Gorham. The whimsical clarinet in “Downtown Sundown” strays close to saccharine a.m. radio pop, but stays respectfully on the right side of that line.

My main complaint with “Bad Reputation” is the production volume, which feels a little low and overly compressed. I’m not sure if this is just the remastering of the album or an original fault, but I had to turn it up a lot louder to get the full range of sound, even on headphones.

If you want Thin Lizzy to rock out, and only rock out, then “Bad Reputation” might feel a bit too smooth and polished for you. I admire this band’s ability to straddle the worlds of soul, rock, blues and jazz, and “Bad Reputation” is a good example of all the ways they use these forms.

Best tracks:  Soldier of Fortune, Bad Reputation, Opium Trail, Downtown Sundown

CD Odyssey Disc 512: Thin Lizzy

Back from my guitar lesson which interrupted the Boston/Toronto overtime.  I taped it, which means at this very moment I do not know who won the game, but will be watching it when I’m done this review.  It’s a little distracting, but I’ll do my best to focus on the music.

Disc 512 is…. Johnny the Fox

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1977

What’s up with the Cover?  This is one of those covers from an era where you could do a lot more with album art, because vinyl was so much bigger.  Reduced down to compact disc size it gets a little hard to sort out.  Near as I can tell this is some sort of ancient alien artifact, no doubt unearthed by ancient Celts (who subsequently decorated it with some of their fancy knot-work) and then used it as a wildlife viewer.  Currently, they’re looking at a very mangy fox who – we must assume – is named Johnny.  What, you have a better theory?

How I Came To Know It:  As I noted when I reviewed “Jailbreak” back at Disc 360, my friend Spence is heavily into Thin Lizzy.  When I really loved “Jailbreak” I asked him for his next Thin Lizzy recommendation, and he suggested “Johnny the Fox.”

How It Stacks Up:  When I wrote my last Thin Lizzy review it was January 2012 and since that time I’ve bought four more of their albums, bringing my total to five.  Of those five I’d put “Johnny the Fox” second, close behind “Jailbreak.”

Rating:  4 stars

While my journey through Thin Lizzy’s music is far from complete, my favourite albums so far (“Fighting”, “Jailbreak and “Johnny the Fox’) are all in a glorious row in the middle of the seventies.

The subject matter of Johnny the Fox covers the usual Thin Lizzy range from the basic struggles of the working class man through to the fantastical.  It doesn’t really matter what these guys sing about, because Phil makes it all sound good.  Believe me when you can make “Cocky Rocky, the rock and roll star” resonate as a lyric, you’ve fully committed to a song.

Of course, it is helped by Phil Lynott’s  talent.  Lynott’s voice is smooth, smoky and instantly recognizable.  It is a voice made to sing rock and roll. Grounding Lynott’s bluesy, hard rock/lounge lizard voice in something edgier is guitarist Brian Robertson, who plays a lick with the best of them, doing so in an era where the best of them were all still hard at work.

All that, and that song (“Rocky”) isn’t even one of my favourite tracks on the album.  For a true masterpiece of Lynott’s rap-rock stylings and Robertson’s guitar, I recommend track five, “Fool’s Gold.”  This song has everything guitar riffs, Lynott telling a tale of the hard done by working class Irish, including a weird spoken-word intro about the terrible famine in that nation’s history.

When I first heard “Fool’s Gold” it sounded oddly familiar, and after a while I realized how much the initial riff sounds like the hook for Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”  This didn’t really bother me because a) imitation is the highest form of flattery and b) I’ve got a soft spot for Pat Benatar.  In fact, I am missing the album with “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” – I’ll have to get that…but I digress.

Back to the awesomeness that is “Johnny the Fox,” which builds on “Fool’s Gold” with the gratuitously yet gloriously titled, “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed.”  This song infuses proto-rap, and R&B-inspired grooves with the guitar licks, showing yet another side of the always versatile, but ever-rocking Thin Lizzy.  This is a song about the urban underworld of drug dealers and dangerous neighbourhoods.

It connects nicely with the album’s final track, “Boogie Woogie Dance” which has a frenetic flower-power feel to it.  Here we have the end customer for Johnny the Fox’s illicit activities, dancing with wild abandon under the influence of God-knows-what.  The production on this song has a deliberate fuzziness and lack of focus, as Lynott sings about popping pills and freaking out.

The album also has a softer side, with ballads like “Borderline,” “Old Flame” and “Sweet Marie.”  Remember AM radio?  All those sappy and saccharine ballads about love?  Those were songs that made you think about long days in the summer, cruising around town, meeting girls and hanging out at the beach with your radio on the hood of your muscle car.

Well – imagine if those AM radio songs didn’t suck.  Imagine instead they had some substance beyond just their melodies, with some tasteful guitar licks and a guy singing who actually sounded like he knew something about heartache that he hadn’t learned about from a Harlequin romance.  If AM radio had love songs as good as the ones on “Johnny the Fox” I might never have turned my back on the radio.

I’m glad I did though, because turning my back on the radio is what encouraged me to get into buying complete albums, and that in turn one day helped lead me to delve into Thin Lizzy when given the suggestion by a good friend.  It led me to great records like “Johnny the Fox” that North America has sadly forgotten; records that desperately need to be remembered.  But how will people ever hear about an album like this, so they’ll go and better their music collections by buying it for themselves?

Well, if you’ve read this far, I think you’ve just answered that question.  Now get out there and do yourself that favour.

Best tracks:  Johnny, Borderline, Fool’s Gold, Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed, Old Flame

CD Odyssey Disc 360: Thin Lizzy

Last weekend, we had friends of ours over (Ross and Catherine) to play some games, and since there were four of us, we decided to each pick a CD to listen to.

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 Lizzy

Year 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,