SONG OF THE DAY - So due to technical difficulties beyond my control, were off one day, as I was unable to post yesterday. Were just going to pick up where we left off, though. Its now ROCKTOBER 12th, which makes it 1976 in out continuing trek of Favorite Albums Through The Years, and a pick from one of my all-time favorite bands, Thin Lizzy. Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott, and drummer, met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums. Lynott was also the composer or co-composer of almost all of the bands songs, and the first black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music, as well as being one of my musical idols. Thin Lizzy boasted some of the most critically acclaimed guitarists throughout their history - including Eric Bell, Gary Moore, Scott Gorham, Brian Robertson, Midge Ure, Snowy White and John Sykes - with Downey and Lynott as the rhythm section. As well as being multiracial, the band drew their members not only from both sides of the Irish border but also from both the Catholic and Protestant communities during The Troubles. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock, and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal. Thin Lizzys most successful songs, Whiskey In The Jar, Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back In Town, were all major international hits which are still played regularly on hard rock and classic rock radio stations. After Lynotts death in 1986 (an event even more sad for me, as the anniversary of the date falls on my birthday), various incarnations of the band have emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, though Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey. In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy so a new band, Black Star Riders, was formed to tour and produce new releases, although they do still play the occasion special event concerts as Thin Lizzy. JAILBREAK was the sixth studio album by Thin Lizzy. After a successful multi-band tour in support of Status Quo, the band recorded the album, which proved to be their breakthrough record. Released on 26 March 1976, it featured the worldwide hit The Boys Are Back In Town which reached #8 in the UK, and #12 in the US, their first charting record here, an dit remains the groups biggest hit. The twin guitar sound of Gorham and Robertson had been fully developed by this time and was in evidence throughout the album, particularly on the hit single, and other tracks such as Emerald and Warriors. The album charted well on both sides of the Atlantic, and the follow-up single, Jailbreak, also performed well. Thin Lizzy toured the US in support of various bands such as Aerosmith, Rush and REO Speedwagon, and they planned to tour there again in June 1976, this time with Rainbow. However, Lynott fell ill with hepatitis and the tour was cancelled, which set them back a few months. On the original vinyl release of the album, the back cover included a short story narrative, which was loosely inspired by the albums song titles and lyrics. This gave the record a bit of concept theme, even though it was never intended. Along with the aforementioned songs, JAILBREAK also features some of my favorite Thin Lizzy tunes in Running Back (which was the original choice for the albums first single), the wistful ballad Fight Or Fall and todays song selection Cowboy Song. The latter track features some great dual guitar soloing, and is one of my Top guitar solos of all time, as well being of of my Top faves by the band in general. youtu.be/dzwN-SHV5rA
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 15:02:39 +0000
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