6/22/2023 0 Comments Thin lizzy album coversOn Thin Lizzy, the bright and snappy “Look What The Wind Blew In” accounts for the only adumbration of that classic and forthcoming sound, with cool restraint otherwise defining most songs this is an album of meandering ballads whose early iterations of recognizable trademarks are ephemeral and strange. His gossamer-smooth solos are impressive, but Phil Lynott and Brian Downey match his virtuosic aspirations with eagerness and chops that would fade into the background as the band became more comfortable performing in a harder rock mode and focus shifted. Soft-serve romance and poetic blues jams predominate, and in these extended exchanges of musical technicality the clearest distinction is drawn between early and classic Thin Lizzy: the band was a trio at this stage, with Eric Bell as the sole guitarist. Thin Lizzy marks a heady but humble start to the band’s career largely devoid of the gutsy and stylish hard rock that would become their forte, this album instead revels in warm, round tones and a lackadaisical swing. Pictured below are two ticket stubs from Thin Lizzy shows he attended: one headlining in 1977, and one in 1978 with Gary Moore opening for Queen. Before we start, I (SSUS) would also like to thank my father for his input, as he is a longtime Thin Lizzy fan and provided context for and opinions of the band’s career. ![]() In this article, we’re going to explore the good and the bad of Thin Lizzy, as well as some of the associated projects that preceded, succeeded, and coexisted with the band. Over the years, numerous combinations of former members and new collaborators would tour under the name Thin Lizzy – not without controversy – but in truth the band died forever with Lynott, who had always been its driving force. After a farewell tour in support of their final album, Thin Lizzy officially broke up in 1983, and in 1986, under the strain of years of alcohol and drug abuse, Lynott succumbed to pneumonia. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, success brought discord: crippling drug addictions, internal tension, and focus on outside projects caused Thin Lizzy to splinter in its final years. With a charismatic frontman in Phil Lynott, whose dusky, emotive voice could spin sensitive lullabies and inane antics alike, and the locomotive strength of two adventurous guitarists always on hand, Thin Lizzy’s golden era yielded numerous classic singles and several foundational albums. ![]() Upgrading from a three-piece to a four-piece to double their guitar strength (on more than one occasion with assistance from renowned virtuoso Gary Moore), Thin Lizzy evolved into a versatile hard rock quartet, proudly Irish and increasingly heavy. The band’s early years as a trio were marked by a sense of aimlessness and a rather timorous mode of composition lukewarm reception and uninspiring sales stalked them for several years, but the band ultimately grew more comfortable taking a heavier approach. Just as the band brought together members both black and white, Catholic and Protestant, and republican and royal at the height of Ireland’s Troubles and amidst a changing social landscape, so, too, did they combine the influences of Ireland’s rich musical and poetic traditions with the modernizing sounds of hard rock and heavy metal. Those things are factually correct, but what an anemic assessment of a rich, ground-breaking, and all-too-short career: Thin Lizzy was one of Ireland’s first and most eternal contributions to the rock world and to the nascent heavy metal genre, growing out of an idiosyncratic blues trio into an electric ensemble with an instantly recognizable style. ![]() Music fans who keep one foot in the metal sphere may also know this Irish rock outfit as the inspiration for the lead guitar harmonies that have become a trademark of dedicated followers Iron Maiden, and music fans who keep two feet in the metal sphere may also know that it was, in fact, Wishbone Ash who were the more direct inspiration, though Thin Lizzy certainly had their part to play. ![]() SSUS: Thin Lizzy is known around the world as the band that wrote the song “The Boys Are Back In Town.” More precisely, the song “The Boys Are Back In Town” is known around the world and Thin Lizzy is the band that recorded it.
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