With Lynott leading the writing, being involved as a composer on every track of the album, there was more input coming from the other three members of the band, each being a co-composer on one track each with Lynott, and the closing track “Emerald” being credited to all four members. It offered a more rounded feeling to the album as a result. Though, even here, not everyone was happy in retrospect. Though Lynott was happy with the choice of John Alcock as producer for the album, both Gorham and Robertson ended up being less than impressed. Both felt that the speed that the album was completed at adversely affected its quality, and that they were unable to explore their own styles on their guitar parts due to the rigidity of the recording process, and that neither was overly happy with their guitar sounds on the finished product.
Despite this, the band moved forward and released the album and single that are arguably the ones that Thin Lizzy is most remembered for, the hard rocking moments of “Jailbreak”.
Aside from the album’s two big hits, the ones that open each side of the album, there is a lot to like about the songs on “Jailbreak”. It offers a diverse range of style of songs that all add to the flavour of the opus, offering each member of the band the opportunity to showcase their wares (though obviously Gorham and Robertson don’t necessarily agree with that). “Angel from the Coast”, which follows the opening title track, is Brian Robertson’s co-write on the album, and it does incorporate the driving guitar riff as the main attraction which is masterfully filled with the deep bass sound to mirror it, giving the song the musical depth it needs. It is a brisk and breezy track dictated through the verses, and the combination of guitars in the middle of the track from Gorham and Robertson is fantastic. It flows along in a constant motion that follows up the opening excellently. This is followed by “Running Back”, with added keys and a very soul filled melody that gives it a unique sound on the album. Robertson was particularly infuriated by what was done with this track, where Lynott and Alcock brought in session musician Tim Hinkley to add more commercial elements to some tracks to produce a hit single. Those elements are very highly noticeable on this track. The original version of the song was in a blues format, with his own additions on guitar and piano, but they were scrubbed. Robertson later said that he was offended at the changes, and quoted: “I couldn't understand why they'd pay this guy a fortune just for playing what he did. Listen to it and tell me it's not bollocks.”. He refused to play on the completed version of the song, and while Lynott himself really liked the song, suggesting it was influenced by Van Morrison, Hinkley was later quoted as saying: “Robbo and Scott were not keen on it at all, but they were overruled”. Initially considered as the possible first single to be released off the album, saner heads prevailed. It does appear out of place here.
“Romeo and the Lonely Girl” follows with a similar composition though devoid of the additional features. It moves in its melodic form, again motivated by the fast strumming clear based guitar riff through the tempo of the song, that meld into twin guitar harmonies through the middle of the track. Downey’s drumming on this track is deceptively superb, often going unnoticed but easily tracks the fast paced rhythm required without taking away from the other three members and their pieces. This was apparently another song considered for single release, though Gorham was quoted afterwards as saying “nobody was overexcited about it”, perhaps due to the feeling that it does feel as though it overstays its welcome, a tricky thing for a song that is under four minutes in length.
The closing track on Side A is “Warriors”, the song co-written by the other guitarist in Scott Gorham. The difference in style comes through immediately. This SOUNDS like a guitar players song. A harder guitar riff (slightly reminiscent it must be said of ‘Massacre’) and tougher vocal from Lynott combine to get the head and feet moving again. Downey’s drumming picks up again; his kit being hit harder and driving the song forward. He leads the rhythm with Lynott to plant the base of the song early on, and leaves Gorham and Robertson to charge through with rhythm riff and duelled solos that bring the back half of the song to life, along with Downey’s superb drum rolls to complement it all. It’s a great way to close out the first half of the album, the bookended tracks here doing their job.
After the opening monster of the B side, we have “Fight or Fall”, a song that breaks that momentum and drags everything back to the reflective, slow tempo pace, giving Lynott the opportunity to fall back to his dulcet tones that he is wonderfully brilliant at highlighting in his vocals. It pulls on all of its mid-1970's imagery and musical disposition, bring a soul element back to the album that survives here without the addition of other instrumenst as was utilised on the failed single hope of “Running Back”. “Cowboy Song”, with help from Brian Downey as co-composer, does offer similar features to “Romeo” from Side A of the album, even to the point that the lyric here of “Roll me over” almost sounds like Lynott is again saying “Oh sweet Romeo” from that track. Here though, both Scott and Robbo are giving their head when it comes to their solo spots and harmony between them as well. It lifts this song above the average, and really showcases that when this foursome come together in a real hard rock scenario, utilising their talents to create the true hard rock tones of songs, that they are one of the best examples of this from this time period. The album then closes with “Emerald”, a great hard rock infusing of their Irish Celtic rock tones and the best of their hard rock entreaties. The verses and the music underneath them are some of the best of the album, with driving riffs and drum beat throughout. This song actually highlights everything great about this band, and certainly this line up of the band. As the closing number, it does complete the deliberation that this foursome, by the completion of their third album together, has unlocked what makes them Thin Lizzy, and what draws the best out of themselves and as a band.
There is, of course, the little matter of discussing the band’s two biggest and well known tracks, and having left this until the end of this review perhaps makes it seem that I am doing so deliberately so that I can fawn over their greatness and brilliance. But in truth, it was to be able to highlight the rest of the album, rather than make them the major part of this album review. Because you all KNOW “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back in Town”. I shouldn’t HAVE to tell you all about them, and their place in the Thin Lizzy pantheon. Rather than rave about them, I wanted to show that this album isn’t just about those two tracks, there is more hear to discover.
And if you DON’T know those two songs... what the hell have you been doing with your life?
Thin Lizzy came to me, inevitably, through the song that propelled this album’s sales and became the band’s most recognisable song. Years of hearing it turn up on radio stations all over, whether they be the local Wollongong pop-based stations or Sydney rock-based stations, brought me a love of the track. Furthering my eventual desire to track down the band came from my exposure to Gary Moore, as his friendship and camaraderie with Phil Lynott brought us the tracks “Parisienne Walkways” and “Out in the Fields”. There were other tendrils that came to me that drew me to the band itself, but these were my strongest lures. Despite this, the closest I got to buying or hearing a Thin Lizzy studio album came from my purchase of the “Lizzy Killers” CD in 1991, which was a greatest hits compilation. It wasn’t until 2000, while watching a comedy movie that had nothing to do with Thin Lizzy, that I was finally motivated to move to getting this particular album. It was “Detroit Rock City”, a movie that talks about four kids trying to get o see a Kiss concert that night. It’s a fun film if you haven’t already seen it. But what tipped me to this album was the insertion of the song “Jailbreak” into a scene from the movie, and I thought to myself ‘wow, I’d forgotten how good that song is! I really should track it down!’ And, as it turns out, “Jailbreak” also had the one song everyone knows from the band on it, so that was a noteworthy element of finally finding the album.
OK. No doubt you have already guessed that not all of the album is awesome for me. I could pretty much side with Scott and Robbo on thoughts in regard to parts of the album. “Running Back” doesn’t work for me at all. “Fight or Fall” doesn’t work for me either. Those tracks are so far away from the rest of the album in particular, but also my own enjoyment of music, that it makes it a difficult sell. As it turns out, this is a typical thought process when it comes to almost every Thin Lizzy album for me. There are pretty much always two songs that don’t work for me on a song-by-song basis. And that does not stop me from listening to the album from pillar to post, but it becomes more obvious in this setting. On “jailbreak” in this instance, for this review, by going through track by track and describing the songs and my loves – or not - of them, these differences in opinion will come to the surface. And I say that especially here. Because I have had this album out again this week, playing it well over a dozen times, and I have enjoyed it as much as I always have. Those two songs that I mentioned as being ‘less good’ here do come up and are noticed, but as a part of the album as a whole as I am listening to it, they blend in and don’t raise any problems for me. Only when turning on the blowtorch to crack open each track individually do you get the responses I have offered.
So yes. I still love this album. I love this line up of the band. The guitars of Gorham and Robertson here are superb, they fit together so nicely. Downey’s drumming is fabulous again. And the smooth amazing vocals of Phil Lynott along with his incredible sounding bass guitaring tops off the whole experience. Is it their best album? Honestly, I don’t think it matters if you believe it is or not. There are several that could fight for that award. What matters is that, for me at least, this is where the band found their magic, and brought together a number of tracks that must be considered as their very best. Led by this one.
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