The Blogg

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I listened only to music made by Irishmen today. First a recent concert by The Pogues, some Van Morrison and U2, and finally half of Thin Lizzy’s catalog. Have you ever had the experience in which there is a band you love so much that you know their material by heart, but having not listened to them in several months you then discover that they are even better than your memories? I had that experience today with Lizzy.

Sadly this fantastic band is known to most only through “The Boys Are Back In Town” or the Metallica cover of “Whiskey In The Jar”. In all my listening I’m not sure I’ve heard anything that rocks as hard as the sparse, powerful riffs of “Jailbreak” and “Bad Reputation”. “Black Rose: A Rock Legend” is that indeed, and the double lead guitar on songs like “Emerald” is a treat for the ears. “Sugar Blues”, “Killer On The Loose”, “Angel Of Death”, “Leave This Town”, “Thunder And Lightning”, and my favorite “Cold Sweat” were great thrash metal before the term was invented. Lynott’s lyrics are not whimsical or profound, but he nevertheless tells his stories with the soul of a poet. To be sure there are some tunes that make you wonder what they were thinking (“Renegade”, “Fats”), but there is so much good music by which to pound your fist in the air.

If you don’t know them and you have any interest in hard rock and metal, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Note: Apparently my friend Christopher had a similar idea.