Record Review Time Machine! Thin Lizzy - JailBreak

It's been established: I love old records. I know track numbers, album chronologies, and who played what solo where and the circumstances under which they played it. I will now focus that love into writing recommendations and reviews about albums that came out when "pitchfork" was still primarily known as a tool of satan and when, in most cases, I was yet to begin taking poops and breathing air. Yes, I'm one off those dudes who still goes to the record store and, wait for it, makes physical purchases.

Thin Lizzy is still fairly new to my worldsphere. Apart from knowing the basic beats of their massive radio hit 'The Boys Are Back in Town," they were near completely unknown to me before about a year ago. This didn't prevent me from stubbornly holding an opinion about them based almost solely on their band name which I now find quite incongruent with their actual sound...but perhaps it's just a trick of my own memory acting up here. Justin slammed me with some Liz a way's back and shortly after I purchased both a CD and vinyl copy of "Jailbreak" which it turns out is typhoid sick with the heavy rock stylings of 70s Dublin.
Thin Lizzy stuck out, soundwise, immediately. They've got Phil Lynott in the front, swaggering through the tracks and doling out the lines like they were some thick glugs of Canadian maple syrup. Then there's that other sure fire way to hook me in...the sweet twang of harmonized electric guitar, which Thin Lizzy has in spades.

The first track (also the title track) on this record really nailed me to the nuel post, and I was in love thenceforth. They come out of the box on 70s rock fire. I liked it immediately.

"Jailbreak"

You could overlook the fact that it's a concept album about a futuristic criminal element (the band members) running amok in the buzzing techtropolis, except for that cover art. Oh, and the liner notes with paragraph after paragraph of backstory.

I'm not much for the theme angle, which is loose at best. That said, the record doesn't really have any clunkers. I mean there are singles which stand out but nothing I feel the need to skip. Plus it's concise enough that I've listened to it all the way through a whole mess of times. Another highlight is "Cowboy Song" which starts quiet and gets loud like a rock song should.

"Cowboy Song"

"The Boys are Back in Town" is also on this record, situated as the Side 2 opener, and though I've always liked the tune anyway, I feel like it sounds much better in album context, after the Thin Lizzy sound and style have been established. Give it another listen as it follows "Warriors", which could easily be a Pegataur groove plus lyrics. This one is really solid and recommended for just about anybody with a heartbeat (see my official rating below)

In summary, Thin Lizzy fill that crucial gap between Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix that you didn't even know you needed filled (like a micro-cavity!). But you did, kid. You most certainly did.

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I quite like all the records I'm going to talk about here, so instead of rating these on a standard linear system, I'll instead be likening them to the career trajectories of actors who appeared in the 1986 film 'Stand By Me,' all of whom are pretty awesome in their own regard.

By that scale, I gotta rate this record a solid "Kiefer Sutherland". It was badass from the get go, and it remains ever-badass. Whether Kiefer is playing a spiky haired young ruffian like Ace or doing the old Jack Bauer, the man takes no slack. No slack! The sound and feel of Phil Lynott and the Liz say it's my way or the stinking gutters of Galway, brother. A heavy right out of the box who keeps swinging despite the inevitable not-quite-hits and/or DUI arrests.