Izvajalec: Thin Lizzy
Založba: Vertigo Records
Izid: 1983
Thin Lizzy have always been known first and foremost as a killer live band, studio triumphs be damned. The guys simply had it all: great music, spiked with a heaping dose of venomous guitar dialogues. But Thin Lizzy kept their biggest trump card hidden in the one-of-a-kind personality of Phil Lynott, who, with the seductive simplicity of his blue-collar lyrics, always managed to reach deep into the listener’s heart. On this last “live” Lizzy record, that might indeed be a bit lacking, but “Life” is still a brilliant document of the raw energy of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Life rounds things off with a kind of best-of Thin Lizzy showcase, given a harder, more heavy treatment, which the gentlemen tackled so boldly at the start of the eighties. Besides the usual standards, this time they also serve up a bunch of “new” songs, recorded during the slowly fading era of the last three albums. And that’s not all: considering that 1983 was a farewell year for Lizzy, absolutely all the important Lynott warriors who ever had the honor of sharing a stage with him sweat it out for us on Life. There’s loyal comrade Scott Gorham, good old Eric Bell, ever-present Brian Downey, moody Gary Moore, uncompromising youngster John Sykes, and even the lost child of rock & roll, Brian ” Robbo” Robertson. A killer crew, though one that can hardly keep the balance of power on the album in even equilibrium. From the opening thunder of Thunder And Lightning onward, the whole thing is mostly John Sykes’s show. Looks like the Thin Lizzy folks, all-star lineup notwithstanding, went for the safer option this time, which, if nothing else, fits nicely with the look of the freshly released Thunder And Lightning.
The harder approach mostly benefits songs like Waiting For And Alibi, Cold Sweat, Killer On The Loose and so on. The latter in particular comes out surprisingly well, or, if you like, much better than the pale Chinatown original. Then there’s the brilliant Hollywood (Down On Your Luck), the apocalyptically tinted Angel Of Death, where Lynott’s voice sounds truly creepy, and a phenomenal version of Renegade. The song brims with Phil’s emotional delivery. Understandably so, since it’s one of Lynott’s last autobiographical testimonies, which, like a whole string of his creations, cuts deep into the heart.
Besides the thrilling heavy metal of Are You Ready, among the younger songs we also run into Baby Please Don’t Go, another personal confession in the form of Got To Give It Up, and a very convincing Sun Goes Down, which, like all the Thunder And Lightning material, sounds a lot fresher and more interesting live. It also raises the question of what Lynott and Sykes could have gone on to achieve in Thin Lizzy had they once gotten properly used to each other.
While the harder approach shows these songs in their strongest form yet, the older material isn’t exactly pampered with any special favors. For all fans of classic Lizzy sounds, the first moment of sobering up comes very early, with the legendary Jaibreak, which in its too-direct form soon gets completely watered down. The same goes for two more indispensable Thin Lizzy anthems, Boys Are Back In Town and Emerald. Don’t Believe A Word turns out to be the most impressive, performed in a slower and consequently more intimate way, which comes closest to the original. Not far behind is the ode to Irish mythology Black Rose, which is a bit surprising given the originally intended sharpness of the whole album. If only one could say something similar about the closing The Rocker, but one simply can’t! This fiery song, which in the old days used to close Thin Lizzy shows in grand style, suffers from a lack of real energy, as expected, mostly on Phil Lynott’s account. Good thing Still In Love With You is here, whose gorgeous John Sykes rendition comes very close to Robbo’s famous interpretations of this unforgettable masterpiece.
Like its more famous predecessor Live And Dangerous, Life closes a chapter for Thin Lizzy. With one important difference. While the latter mostly marks a radical shift in the way of musical expression, Life sadly closes the Thin Lizzy story for good. Still, in this final episode of the Phil Lynott saga there’s a ton of astonishing musical magic to be found, which will forever tie Thin Lizzy to the greatest heroes of the hard rock world.
Zasedba
Philip Lynott: vokal/bas
Brian Downey: bobni
Scott Gorham: kitara
John Sykes: kitara
Darren Wharton: klaviature
Snowy White: kitara *
Brian Robertson: kitara +
Gary Moore: kitara^
Eric Bell: kitara ”
Produkcija
Philip Lynott & Thin Lizzy
Seznam skladb
Disk 1.
1.Thunder & Lightning
2.Waiting For An Alibi
3.Jailbreak
4.Baby Please Don’t Go
5.Holy War
6.Renegade*
7.Hollywood*
8.Got To Give It Up
9.Angel Of Death
10.Are You Ready
Disk 2.
1.Boys Are Back In Town
2.Cold Sweat
3.Don’t Believe A Word
4.Killer On The Loose*
5.Sun Goes Down
6.Emerald+
7.Black Rose^
8.Still In Love With You
9.The Rocker+^”
