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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"You see, kids were so much wiser after the wars.", May 16, 2004
Thin Lizzy is remembered today for their tough talking lyrics, loud guitar chords, hard drums and general macho reputation. So, it may come as a bit of a shock to place their first album into the player and to be greeted by a spoken word poem played over a light, mellow soundtrack. Even more surprising are the pictures in the liner notes. Not yet the brash, macho, rubber-clad warrior, Phillip Lynott looks like quite the shy, bashful young poet. (And the insane masses of hair piling on the heads of all three band-members threaten to overwhelm the photographs.)Thin Lizzy started life as a more folksy-sounding band than the larger-than-life rockers they would eventually become by the late 70s. But this isn't your regular, throwaway hippie music. There's a real, almost dark, edge here, and also includes more than a few echoes of the harder path their music would follow in later years. Eric Bell's lead guitar is subtle but strong, pushing the songs in harsher places than Phil Lynott's lyrics were ready to go. Lynott's songwriting itself shows more maturity than one would expect from a debut album. Nice poetry here. A few of the songs have some great catchy riffs to them, which I'm sure made them real crowd pleasers during live Thin Lizzy shows in those early days. If you turned up the distortion on the guitars in "Look What The Wind Blew In", then it would sound right at home on their later albums. But the way the songs are recorded here gives them more of a laid-back, relaxed texture. It works as music to really appreciate, rather than songs to dance to. The CD labeled just "Thin Lizzy" is actually an amalgamation of their first album and a four-track EP entitled "New Day" they released the same year. Those four songs have been added to the end of this release, and they blend in with the original album quite well. If you didn't realize they were separate records, I'm sure you could have no difficulty believing that the album always sounded like this. Although it took me quite a while to really get into this album, I'm always impressed (and a little surprised) on the occasions that I do place it in my CD player. This album didn't get a lot of attention at the time (though a DJ on the famed Radio Luxembourg made this his album of the year), and is often overlooked these days in favor of Lizzy's later, louder selections. But I'd certainly recommend this quiet, understated little work. Give it a try if you want to see a different side of Thin Lizzy.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent and different for Thin Lizzy, August 21, 1998
By A Customer
This is an incredible album. For those of you expecting a heavy tone to the album, you will be disappointed. The thing I love about Thin Lizzy is how their music changed over the years and as various band members came and went. The is electric-folk pure and simple. From "Honesty is no Excuse" to "Remembering" (parts 1 & 2) each song brings its own identity and distinguishes itself from the others. Anyone who was a fan of the work Slash did with Lenny Kravitz should check out the song "Ray Gun". If you buy this album without any expectations of style, you will enjoy it. It stands on its own separate from their other albums.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetry and Musical Precision, January 19, 2004
Thin Lizzy never wanted to be a world famous band. Somewhere along the path of their musical journey, it just happened. They were never afraid to play fast, hard-hitting music, but before the hit singles and worldwide fame, Thin Lizzy was just an Irish rock band; a very good one, as it turned out. This debut album sounds nothing like Thin Lizzy at the peak of their popularity. Before the twin lead guitars and rock n roll mentality, Thin Lizzy played a brand of electric folk that was second to none. The band has a more laid back feel here; Songs are given the time to tell stories and create images that have a certain resonance, the aural equivalent of old photographs that stir fond, forgotten memories for the listener. The lyrics are some of Phil Lynott's best,moving beyond simple song lyrics to actual poetry and storytelling put to music. We as listeners are treated to viginettes of characters' lives, given glimpses of intriguing locales, invited to share in a lot of the emotions being conveyed. I would compare the simple, bittersweet lyrics of "Dublin" to some of the best poetry I've ever read. All of this conveyed by the voice of Phil Lynott; at turns passionate, longing, and more vulnerable than perhaps he has ever sounded since. This album is not a rocker; many fans will be turned off by its electric folk, prog sound. However, this could be Lizzy's deepest, most layered work. Repeated listens will yield new favorites, new appreciation of certain lyrics' phrasing. As is the case with good wine and good women, I find this album gets better with age.
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