Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar - 1998 - Spectrum

Phil Lynott, the main man of the ferociously talented Thin Lizzy , was the quintessential Irish rock star. He came from humble beginnings, and became a giant of rock music. He had a sparkling personality, was extremely intelligent, and was a great bass player, singer, songwriter and poet.. He was also a true Irish working class hero. Most of Lizzys great songs like "The Boys Are Back in Town", "Dancing in the Moonlight", and "Killer on the Loose", were written by Phil. Sadly, he eventually was sold out by his "great" friend, "Judas", and Ireland lost another of her favourite sons. Thankfully, Phill left a great musical legacy to the world. Thin Lizzy albums like "Jailbreak", "Bad Reputation", and "Live And Dangerous" are important recordings in the history of rock music. Thin Lizzy went through many different band formations, and included killer guitarists like Gary Moore, Snowy White, and Eric Bell. This "Whiskey In The Jar" album is a compilation album of tracks taken from Thin Lizzy's first three studio albums, "Thin Lizzy", "Shades of a Blue Orphanage • , and "Vagabonds of the Western World", released between 1971-1974. Track 02 Sarah - Version 2 was released in 1979. All these albums should be heard in their entirety. They all include the fundamental line-up of drummer, Brian Downey, Eric Bell on guitar, and of course, Phil Lynott on vocals, and acoustic and bass guitars. Listen to the band's classic "Jailbreak" and "Bad Reputation" albums. There is info on The Eric Bell Band's "A Blues Night In Dublin" album @ EBEL/ABNID and Funky Junction's "Tribute to Deep Purple" @ THINLIZZY/FUNKYJUNCTION/ATTDP

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

01 Whiskey In The Jar (5:44) - Traditional
02 Sarah - Version 2 (2:48) - Lynott, Moore
03 The Rocker (5:12) - Downey, Bell
04 Look What The Wind Blew In (3:25) - Lynott
05 Return Of The Farmer's Son (4:15) - Downey, Lynott
06 Old Moon Madness (3:54) - Lynott
07 Buffalo Girl (5:31) - Lynott
08 Broken Dreams (4:26) - Bell, Lynott
09 Vagabonds Of The Western World (4:43) - Bell, Lynott
10 Black Boys On The Corner (3:24) - Lynott
11 Mama Nature Said (4:51) - Lynott
12 Here I Go Again (3:54) - Lynott
13 Little Darling (2:56) - Lynott
14 Dublin (2:28) - Lynott
15 Shades Of A Blue Orphanage (7:06) - Lynott
16 Remembering - Part 2 (5:05) - Lynott

BAND

Phil Lynott (R.I.P) - bass, vocals, acoustic guitar
Eric Bell - guitars
Brian Downey - drums, percussion

BIO

The roots of Thin Lizzy can be traced to late 1969 when two former members of Van Morrison's band Them, keyboardist Eric Wrixon and guitarist Eric Bell, approached bassist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey about forming a band. While playing local venues around Dublin, Ireland, they began to include some original material into their act and under the name Thin Lizzie released an Lynott penned number called "The Farmer" in 1970, which failed to gain much interest. Shortly after, Wrixon left the group. Now working as a trio they signed with Decca Records and recorded two modestly selling albums, "Thin Lizzy" in 1971 and "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage" in 1972. It would take a rock version of a traditional Irish tune called "Whiskey In A Jar" to bring the band into the limelight as they single topped the charts in Ireland and reached number six in England. By the time Thin Lizzy recorded a third album, 1973's "Vagabonds Of The Western World", Phil Lynott had begun to dominate the band and in 1974, Eric Bell also decided to leave. His replacement was former Skid Row guitarist, Gary Moore, who only lasted a few months before also packing it in. During May and June of 1974, guitarists Andy Gee and John Cann, aka Johnny Du Cann, teamed up with Lynott and Brian Downey. Cann had been with Atomic Rooster and Gee had previously been with Steve Ellis' band, Ellis. The stage was now set for Thin Lizzy to establish their now-famous twin lead guitar sound, with the addition of Scott Gorham and Brian "Robbo" Robertson. Two new albums were released, "Night Life" in 1974 and "Fighting" in 1975, but the twin lead sound was still evolving. Thin Lizzy perfected their use of it on their first USA tour in 1975 with Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Bob Seger. Touring with these two well seasoned bands was an important step in the maturing of Thin Lizzy and prepared them for what was to follow. The band's big break came in 1976 with the L.P. "Jailbreak" and what would become their most popular single "The Boys Are Back In Town". The tune sold well on both sides of the Atlantic and the album is considered by most fans as one of their very best. 1976 brought the album, "Johnny The Fox", which was also was very successful on the UK charts. Unfortunately the supporting tour which was to follow its release had to be cut short when Brian Robertson suffered a serious hand injury in a bar room brawl and was told that he would never play again (something which later proved untrue). Guitarist Gary Moore was brought back into the fold and in early 1977 the band toured the United States with Queen. As the tour drew to a close, Phil, Scott and Brian began preparing their next album, 1977's "Bad Reputation". It was the first of three albums that would be produced by Tony Visconti and was highlighted by some session work by Brian Robertson, who also made guest appearances on the following European tour and appeared once again as a member of the band during a tour of the US in the Fall of '77. The following year brought a double album, "Live And Dangerous", which was released from their '77 London and Toronto recordings after significant re-mixing in the studio. The effort became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic as the album captured more of the Thin Lizzy excitement than their previous studio albums. The track, "Still In Love With You" is thought of by many to be the ultimate Thin Lizzy recording. As with many bands of the day, alcohol, drugs and personality conflicts took their toll and Brian Robertson left the group after the 1978 Summer tour. Gary Moore was once again recruited for the '78 Fall tour, which would include Australia. Tired of all the touring, Brian Downey thought Australia was just too much for him and drummer Mark Nauseef was brought in to take his place and can be seen in the video of the Australian TV broadcast from that tour. At the end of the 1978 tour, Gary, Phil and Scott, along with a now well rested Brian Downey re-united in London and Paris to work on the next L.P. "Black Rose, A Rock Legend". Released in 1979, this disc featured a tune about one man's battle with drugs and alcohol, "Got To Give It Up". During the 1979 concert season, Gary Moore missed a flight to one of the band's shows and was subsequently fired and replaced by Midge Ure for the rest of the tour. As they were opening for Journey and Eddie Money, Thin Lizzy was only on stage for a fifty minute set each show. Although Ure quickly learned enough of the group's material to play the set, there was not enough time to rehearse a two hour show for their scheduled performance at the Reading Festival. Ure had made a previous commitment to join a band called Ultravox that September, but they agreed to wait until he had completed his tour dates with Thin Lizzy, which were slated wrap up on November 1st, but ended up stretching into late April of the following year. For a tour of Japan and Australia that followed, Dave Flett was brought in to play guitar, which allowed Midge Ure to switch to keyboards on some songs. Thin Lizzy now had the ability to feature three lead guitars. Flett had been a member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band at the time of their hit single "Blinded By The Light". When the last show of the Japanese tour had finished, Dave Flett left the group and was replaced by Snowy White for the tour of Ireland that followed. Phil Lynott had seen White play with Pink Floyd's road band at Madison Square Gardens while auditioning potential replacements. Snowy signed on in November of 1979 and began touring with the band the following Spring. When the Irish tour had wrapped up around the end of April 1980, Midge Ure left the band. 1980 brought many changes for Thin Lizzy. On Valentines Day, Phil Lynott married Caroline Crowther, the mother of his baby daughter Sarah and they had a second child, Cathleen. Lynott also released his first solo album, "Solo In Soho". The L.P. contained the song "Yellow Pearl", which was later selected as the theme song for the TV show, Top Of The Pops. Although the album was released as a solo Phil Lynott project, it included Thin Lizzy members Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Snowy White as well as Midge Ure, Mark Knopfler, Huey Lewis and several others. The latest edition of Thin Lizzy toured in support of their 1981 album, "Chinatown" and joining Phil, Scott, Brian and Snowy was keyboardist Darren Wharton. Although Snowy White was a highly regarded guitarist, he received heavy criticism for his lack of showmanship and the tour failed to generate much excitement. Lynott's drug dependency only added to the problem. A greatest hits compilation called "The Adventures Of Thin Lizzy" was released in 1981 and although it sold modestly in North America, went gold in the UK. An album of new material called "Renegade" was a disappointing seller and was poorly received by fans or critics alike. The supporting tour in late 1981 was better attended than the previous outing, although it suffered from Lynott's unreliability due to his ever increasing personal problems. When the tour ended, Snowy White had had enough and quit the band. In 1982, Lynott released his second solo album, a forgettable effort called "The Philip Lynott Album", which was supported by a solo tour. During parts of 1982 and 1983, he also spent some time producing and performing in the studio with the band AUTO DA FE. Several singles and one compilation album resulted. With slow sales of both "Renegade" and Lynott's latest solo album, along with the apparent excesses rampant in the organization, Thin Lizzy found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. In an effort to get back on track, guitarist John Sykes was hired to replace Snowy White and a 1982 album called "Thunder and Lightning" and a farewell tour were planned, primarily to raise enough money to close things out. Somewhat surprisingly, the tour and the album proved to be extremely successful and featured what many fans consider to be some of the band's best work in years. Thin Lizzy was going out in a blaze of glory. The tour lasted nearly a year and wrapped up at the Hammersmith Odeon with some special guest guitarists joining Scott Gorham and John Sykes. The Farewell Concert featured Brian Robertson, Eric Bell and Gary Moore performing with Phil Lynott and the band. The 1983 double live album called "Life" included this highlight from the tour, but the excitement of the moment was lost by its delayed release. Thin Lizzy played their final show in the UK at the Reading Festival on August 28th, 1983 and their farewell concert came on September 4th, 1983 in Nuremberg. After Thin Lizzy ceased to exist, Phil Lynott's heroin use continued even more openly. His wife Caroline eventually had enough and left him, taking the children with her. Lynott went on to form a band called Grand Slam and took on several solo projects. His battle with drugs continued until he was found unconscious in his home on Christmas Day, 1985. He died on January 4th, 1986 with his mother Philomena Lynott at his side. Thin Lizzy' returned to the record charts five years after Lynott's death when Brian Downey and Scott Gorham went back into the studio and used modern techniques to replace the guitar and drum tracks on a studio recording of a song called "Dedication" that Phil Lynott had recorded but never released. The result was the title track of a greatest hits album called "Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy" in 1991 as well as a companion video. In 1993, Bobby Tench sang lead vocals for a concert series called "An Evening With The Thin Lizzy Band" which featured Brian Downey, Brian Robertson, Doish Nagle and Dough Brookie. The band played a short tour in Ireland only. In 1994, a new version of Thin Lizzy went on tour as "A Tribute To Phil Lynott", which featured John Sykes, Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, with Marco Mendoza on bass. Still another album called "Wild One" was released in 1996. It was supposed to include a new version of the title track, recorded in much the same way as "Dedication" had been, but the master tapes were apparently stolen and as a result, the title track does not appear on the album. The CD was issued in Japan only as a two disc set which included previously released but rare live recordings, B-sides and promo items. In 1998, Thin Lizzy again went on tour and included nearly the same line-up as in 1994: John Sykes, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton, with Marco Mendoza on bass and Brian Downey on drums. The band hit the road again with Tony Aldridge on drums in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Fan reaction was again enthusiastic. In December 2000, another greatest hits album called "The Boys Are Back In Town - Swedish Collection" was issued. This effort was extremely well done and included a bonus second disc with more rare tracks and B-sides and liner notes from Phil Lynott himself. Initially released in Sweden only and printed in Swedish, it may eventually be released without the bonus disc in other countries. In early 2002, a four CD boxed set was released in the UK only. Having shared the stage with Deep Purple for shows in the United States in 2004, Thin Lizzy then toured across the UK and Ireland in 2006. They were slated to support Deep Purple again in April and May of 2007 for their UK tour. The band also announced a major 17-date UK tour in November and December 2007 that featured original guitarist Scott Gorham (lead guitars), John Sykes (lead vocals, guitar), Marco Mendosa (bass) and Michael Lee (drums. © www.classicbands.com



MORE ABOUT THIN LIZZY

Despite a huge hit single in the mid-'70s ("The Boys Are Back in Town") and becoming a popular act with hard rock/heavy metal fans, Thin Lizzy are still, in the pantheon of '70s rock bands, underappreciated. Formed in the late '60s by Irish singer/songwriter/bassist Phil Lynott, Lizzy, though not the first band to do so, combined romanticized working-class sentiments with their ferocious, twin-lead guitar attack. As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition. Also, as a black man, Lynott was an anomaly in the nearly all-white world of hard rock, and as such imbued much of his work with a sense of alienation; he was the outsider, the romantic guy from the other side of the tracks, a self-styled poet of the lovelorn and downtrodden. His sweeping vision and writerly impulses at times gave way to pretentious songs aspiring to clichéd notions of literary significance, but Lynott's limitless charisma made even the most misguided moments worth hearing. After a few early records that hinted at the band's potential, Lizzy released Fighting in 1975, and the band (Lynott, guitarists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, and drummer Brian Downey) had molded itself into a pretty tight recording and performing unit. Lynott's thick, soulful vocals were the perfect vehicle for his tightly written melodic lines. Gorham and Robertson generally played lead lines in harmonic tandem, while Downey (a great drummer who had equal amounts of power and style) drove the engine. Lizzy's big break came with their next album, Jailbreak, and the record's first single, "The Boys Are Back in Town." A paean to the joys of working-class guys letting loose, the song resembled similar odes by Bruce Springsteen, with the exception of the Who-like power chords in the chorus. With the support of radio and every frat boy in America, "Boys" became a huge hit, enough of a hit as to ensure record contracts and media attention for the next decade ("Boys" is now used in beer advertising). Never the toast of critics (the majority writing in the '70s hated hard rock and heavy metal), Lizzy toured relentlessly, building an unassailable reputation as a terrific live band, despite the lead guitar spot becoming a revolving door (Eric Bell, Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, Snowy White, and John Sykes all stood next to Scott Gorham). The records came fast and furious, and despite attempts to repeat the formula that worked like a charm with "Boys," Lynott began writing more ambitious songs and wrapping them up in vaguely articulated concept albums. The large fan base the band had built as a result of "Boys" turned into a smaller, yet still enthusiastic bunch of hard rockers. Adding insult to injury was the rise of punk rock, which Lynott vigorously supported, but made Lizzy look too traditional and too much like tired old rock stars. By the mid-'80s, resembling the dinosaur that punk rock wanted to annihilate, Thin Lizzy called it a career. Lynott recorded solo records that more explicitly examined issues of class and race, published a now-out-of-print book of poetry, and sadly, became a victim of his longtime abuse of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol, dying in 1986 at age 35. Since the mega-popular alternative rock bands of the mid-'90s appropriated numerous musical messages from their '70s forebears, the work of Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy will hopefully continue to be seen for the influential rock & roll it is. In 1999, Thin Lizzy reunited with a lineup featuring guitarists Scott Gorman and John Sykes, and keyboardist Darren Wharton, which was rounded out by a journeyman rhythm section of bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy Aldridge. The quintet's ensuing European tour produced the live album One Night Only, which was released in the summer of 2000 to set the stage for a subsequent American concert tour. © John Dougan, allmusic.com