Thin Lizzy album by album thread (pt2)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MilesSmiles, Mar 29, 2014.

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  1. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK

    I have to confess that I skipped the last few albums as I'm looking out for nice vinyl copies (and STILL haven't got myself Jailbreak on LP yet- but the CD is fine for now!:D) Which explains my lack of contributions here for some time... and that so much has been said about L&D that I really didn't feel I could add much. :) So, I still have some gaps in my collection, sadly. But, there's always these wonderful threads I can refer back to when the time comes. I've been keeping up with the reading here though, so for any solo albums I might see- I'll know what to add to my collection.

    However, I did get a very nice copy of Black Rose on LP a couple of months ago and was knocked out by it on first listen! Not that I didn't know a couple of tracks already. So, this evening I shall give it another spin and go through your two-part post on this superb recording (and re-read the ones in between, of course) so I'm going to enjoy that very much.

    :edthumbs:
     
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  2. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    Alright, so we're back for the final stretch.

    chitown1.jpg

    Oh no, you don't come back
    Not from
    CHINATOWN
     
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  3. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    I suppose it's okay if we mix the discussion of Solo in Soho with Chinatown?... after all, they were released just one month apart. Otherwise I'm afraid we'll scare everybody away again (like I did with Moore's Back on the Streets, haha).
     
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  4. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member

    Black Rose is a solid album. Even the filler-ish "S&M" is good for a chuckle now and again. "Waiting For An Alibi"reached 9 in Britain and should have done just as well or even better over here.
     
  5. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    I love the little bass "fills" (for lack of a better term) that Phil does on S&M. Such an awesome idea!
     
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  6. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    People tend to knock Snowy White but Chinatown is one of my favorite Thin Lizzy albums.
     
  7. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    Mine too! In fact, I am having trouble sorting out places 2-4 behind my current fave, Black Rose. It's between Bad Rep, JtF and Chinatown. Maybe it's best I don't even try to rank them. But yeah, I absolutely love this album. Imagine if Gary had played on it though!
     
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  8. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    A classic. :righton:
     
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  9. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    or Robbo.
     
  10. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Chinatown is oftentimes unfairly ignored and even vilified, but I hear nothing on that album that is anything other than classic Lizzy! "We Will Be Strong", "Sweetheart", "Hey You", "Genocide." Anyone else notice how "Having A Good Time" sounds a bit like "Rosalita?"
     
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  11. jeffgt14

    jeffgt14 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Juliet, TN
    Agreed. Genocide is always a very underrated cut IMO.
     
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  12. Too all the good people here.

    My world has collapsed around me....I wish I could talk, but can't.

    I won't be around much for a while.

    I will try to keep a brief on this and other fav threads.

    Regards Yam.
     
  13. old school

    old school Senior Member

    Very sorry to hear this. I pray it all works out for you.
     
  14. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Sorry to hear that. Keep your head up. :tiphat:
     
  15. blackdograilroad

    blackdograilroad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Too bad. Hang in there. Holding you in the Light
     
  16. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    This is terrible to hear.

    I just want to send you my sincerest best wishes and hope that everything comes right for you as soon as possible.
     
  17. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Ugh, sucks, bro. Let me know if I can do anything for you: lend an ear; continue a thread; whatever. I'm here for ya!
     
  18. ModernDayWarrior

    ModernDayWarrior Senior Member

    I hope everything will be ok with you. Stay strong.
     
  19. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Hang in there buddy - I pray all works out well for you.
     
  20. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    Good luck with everything and our thoughts and prayers are with you.
     
  21. Leigh Burne

    Leigh Burne Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    All my best too, sorry to hear it.
     
  22. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    My initial bias has always been that both Chinatown and Renegade are the weakest records in TL's catalog post Robbo and, in truth, they probably are, but they still are good records. This would be the first record they'd do with a dedicated keyboardist -- a seventeen year old Darren Wharton.

    The song I like best from Chinatown is "Sugar Blues" (a song that sounds infinitely better than the title would lead you to believe). "Genocide (The Killing of the Buffalo)" is also a strong, moving track.

    "Hey You" seems like it's trying to be a heavy The Police song. That said, the alternating between the reggae like vibe to harder rock is kind of intriguing. It's a good closer.

    "Killer On the Loose" has never been a favorite of mine, but it's a decent track and the title track is "ok" (nothing more, nothing less).

    "Having a Good Time" is pretty terrible (listen to Wharton's solo here -- it sounds a ton like what he does on "Angel of Death"). This song sounds like it's trying too hard to convey the message. Honestly, it's sounds like a studio romp that was recorded to tape and added to the album. Seems like filler.

    "Sweetheart" is awful. I hate it.

    "Didn't I" has some nice guitar harmonies to it, but it's only alright.

    I think the biggest problem with the album, music wise, is there is no song that has a knock it out of the park riff. Every album I can think of pre-Chinatown has at least one. No song on this one has something as distinct as "Jailbreak" or "Emerald" or "Got To Give it Up" or, well, you get the idea.

    I think the album suffers a bit from the lack of Visconti's production with them using Kit Woolven instead. Woolven's knob twisting isn't egregious but there's a certain sheen to this album that seems to give the album very few dynamics. It's very glossy and nothing is very meaty. It's also easy to throw Snowy White under the bus as he's not Brian Robertson or Gary Moore, but he does a more than serviceable job in their stead. I think at this point in Thin Lizzy's career it was a band on a slow downslide. Drugs were becoming a problem within the band (not just Phil) and the lack of commercial and financial success was starting to take its toll as well. In other words, White might have been about the best the band could do at this point: a seasoned musician/sideman who probably worked for cheap. Just speculating on that part …
     
  23. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Sorry to hear. Hang in there, more to life than this msg board, but come back soon...
     
  24. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    I agree with some of the things that Godshifter said a few posts above. For instance my fave song on it is the same as his (Sugar Blues), which I love the guitar work on. And like him I think the album lacks a super duper killer riff/song on it that stands out as a knock it out of the park thing like some other Lizzy albums.

    On the other hand, thankfully for me, it doesn't have any songs that make me cringe either (no Boogie Woogie Dance or S&M, or lightweight sax driven songs like Dancing In the Moonlight that I am not that crazy about).

    I do like the album though; it's actually one that I've grown to like MORE over the years, the more times I listen to it the more I like it kind of thing.

    I dig Snowy's playing on it and think the harmony lead guitar vibe is much stronger on this record than any other non-Robbo one. Overall I think it is a very consistent record, has a heavy vibe to it that I dig. First song We Will Be Strong is a great opener and sets the tone for the whole record (twin guitar straight ahead heavy).

    At the time that it came out I didn't quite know what to make of it though, I liked it more than Black Rose, but was still missing the Robbo factor. Gave it a couple spins when it first came out then pretty much put it on the shelf & went back to playing the heck out of Fighting through JTF when I wanted a Lizzy fix.


    So I needed to get reacquainted with it for this thread. Played it a couple times over the last 2 weeks. Really liked it! So much so I am going to have to even rate it above Bad Reputation in my Lizzy report card comparison. Which is weird to me because I'm slotting it now on even ground with JTF and I never thought I'd be judging these two albums equally, but that is how it's shaking out for me. Strange to say, but take ANY song off Chinatown (especially highlights like the opener, or Sugar Blues, or title track) and put that song on JTF in place of Boogie Woogie Dance & I'd be elevating JTF to a 10.

    Thin Lizzy - 6
    Shades of a Blue Orphanage - 1
    Vagabonds of the Western World - 7
    Nightlife - 3
    Fighting - 10
    Jailbreak - 10
    Johnny the Fox - 8
    Bad Reputation - 7
    Live and Dangerous - 8
    Black Rose - 6
    Chinatown - 8
     
  25. Rapid Fire

    Rapid Fire Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Mansfield, TX, USA
    Sorry to hear about this. Hope everything will be ok soon.
     
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