Rocktober Album #5: Thin Lizzy – Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)

How Thin Lizzy is not more well-known and universally praised is beyond me. I'm a big fan of classic rock, and I only got into Thin Lizzy a few years ago. They put out some absolutely great albums in the mid to late '70s (and a couple in the early '80s as well), and I put them up against just about anyone when it comes to musicianship and lyrics.

As Henry Rollins (a huge Thin Lizzy fan) once said, "If you like big rock music with great vocals and tremendous guitar, there's at least five Thin Lizzy albums which you need to run out and get, like right now."

I'm not sure there are many lyricists in rock history as good as Phil Lynott. I think I listen to Thin Lizzy's lyrics more so than most other groups because there is always a story to be told (not unlike Springsteen or The Hold Steady). And of course the classic Thin Lizzy sound is the duel lead guitars, which few bands had really done to this extent (or as successfully) before them.

Black Rose: A Rock Legend is my favorite Thin Lizzy album. At a time when KISS was venturing into disco rock (see "I Was Made For Lovin' You") and punk and new wave were going strong, Thin Lizzy continued to stay true to straight-forward guitar rock with interesting lyrics. This is one of the CDs in my rotation that I listen to while I'm taking a shower and getting ready before going out on weekend nights (along with Iron Maiden's Killers and the Ace Frehley solo KISS album).

1. Do Anything You Want to Do
It starts off with a rumbling drum and bass line, and then about 11 seconds in, the Thin Lizzy-patented dual lead guitars kick in. From there, it's aural bliss.
2. Toughest Street in Town
This is a class example of a Thin Lizzy song. It's a straight-ahead rock song with great guitar work, telling a story of the underbelly of society and the struggles of life. I love this song. The guitars are awesome. The lyrics are fascinating. The drum breaks are right where they need to be. The pace of the song is perfectly frantic. And there are hooks around every corner.
3. S&M
I don't like this song as much as most others on the album, but that says more about how much I like the other songs than anything else. After all, any song about S&M has to be good.
4. Waiting for an Alibi
Another great song and another great example of Phil Lynott's story telling.
5. Sarah
This is a slow song that Lynott wrote about his newborn daughter. It's a little dated, but a nice gesture nonetheless.
6. Got to Give It Up
This song is about kicking an alcohol addiction, which was personal to Lynott. As you may or may not know, he struggled with various addictions, eventually succumbing to heart and kidney failure at the age of 36, brought on by years of drug and alcohol addiction. I've always liked the determination in his voice on the line, "Tell my momma I'm comin' home."
7. Get Out Of Here
I think this is a great "fuck you" song. It's also about bitterness. I love the following stanza:
"I used to be a dreamer
But I found that it's not my style at all.
In fact, it becomes clearer
That a dreamer doesn't stand a chance at all.
And I've become bitter
But I believe that this is better."
Christoff? I also love the line "Do I make myself plain / I don't ever want to see your face again." I'd say that's pretty plain.
8. With Love
This song contains the word ''fräulein," so that's pretty awesome. And the guitars wail near the end of the song.
9. Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend
Voted by me as the number one song to listen to on St. Patrick's Day, this song is one of my favorite Thin Lizzy tunes. The title comes from a Sixteenth Century Irish political song. I can only describe this song as an epic. It's seven minutes of joy, deception, intrigue, and, yes, murder – recounting Irish folklore legends and paying tribute to Irish literature and music. I think my favorite moment in the song is after the Irish-influenced guitar solo, when Lynott's vocal kick in again ("Oohhhhhhhh, tell me the legends of long ago . . .") and then the drums kick back in with authority. Good show.

Interesting tidbits:
1. Huey Lewis plays harmonica on "With Love" and "Sarah."
2. Axl Rose has the rose from the album cover tattooed on his upper right arm.

Unfortunately, Playlist.com is not as hip to Thin Lizzy as I would want, so there are only three songs on the mix. However, you can listen to samples of all of them on the Amazon page for the album.