We the people of Amoeba Music mayn't always hear ear to ear when it comes to mutual enjoyment of preferred musical genres and styles but it would seem that roughly ten out of ten Amoeba employees agree that Thin Lizzy is the hardest, heaviest most essential band of rockers, Irish or otherwise, ever assembled. Though they are perhaps more widely appreciated for their mid-career jukebox jammers like "The Boys Are Back In Town" (c'mon, who hasn't heard this one), the Bob Seger penned rocker "Rosalie" (oft covered by Motörhead), and new takes on traditional tunes like "Whiskey in the Jar" (Metallica, schmeh-tallica), Seattle-based label Light In The Attic Records has lately seen to the proper vinyl reissue of Lizzy's 1971 self-titled debut, an album that plays like a slightly psychedelic folk tinged early dawn portrait of singing bassist Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, and guitarist Eric Bell.
Thin Lizzy - "The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle"
In an attempt to close out this post by summoning up the prose what best expresses my esteem for this record, I elect to share a little of what the LITA folks stated so succinctly concerning Thin Lizzy:
Don’t worry rock freaks; this one is for the black and blues lovers, midnight ravers, and parking lot bangers. We don’t take this mammoth responsibility lightly. Phil, Eric, and Brian and the legions of diehard Thin Lizzy supporters deserve the best and our best we’ve given. It’s funny how 1971 can sound so contemporary, a testament to the music, power, strength, feeling, and sensitivity of Thin Lizzy, three out-of-their-heads Dublin rockers who gave their heart and soul for a monster dose of rock and roll, influencing thousands upon thousands right up to the present. Thanks for the music good fellows.
Too right.
