Nuggets

One of my favorite bands from the 1970s is Thin Lizzy. To be honest, I've not listened to them much in recent years.

But about a month ago, my kid's art teacher made some mixed CDs for the family and on one of the discs was Cowboy Song (Thin Lizzy). I hadn't peaked at the song list and had no idea it was on there. But the first notes of the song took me back 30 years and I cranked it way up. I love that song.

Since then, I read Mike Doughty's post where he expressed his love of Thin Lizzy and have been led into the depths of YouTube by Jackson in search of old Thin Lizzy videos. It's been fun going back to an old favorite.

For those of you who are not in the know about Thin Lizzy, they were a unique kind of hard rock band. Led by an Irish lead singer/bass player named Phil Lynott who had an amazing soulful voice. He died young at age 35 but he made his mark.

They played soul, hard funk, and boogie in addition to classic 70s hard rock.

They've got a bunch of good studio records, but my favorite is the live record, Live and Dangerous. Here's one of my favorite songs from it.

Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed - Thin Lizzy

I have heard that there are Wilco bootlegs out there with a cover of Cowboy Song on them. If anyone knows where to find them, I'd love to hear it.

Comments

[Rob Hyndman]

Lynott fuelled a lot of my teenage and undergrad energy. What a blast from the past. I had no idea he died young. What a shame.

I put him up there with Robert Plant and Paul Rodgers of Bad Company for best rock and roll voice ever.

[scotty]

"Jailbreak!"

I love me some Thin Lizzy!

Have you ever checked out Swervedriver? They remind me of Thin Lizzy in a certain way. They were lumped in with "shoegazer" rock back in the 90s, but their songs were about Ford Mustangs, driving fast and they generally rocked pretty damned hard. "Raise" and "Mezcal Head" are essential albums, IMO. "Ejector Seat Reservation" is very hard to find, but worth it.

[Ric]

Thin Lizzy = good times. And from a black Irishman - how wierd was that!

[jackson]

http://thiskids.blogspot.com/2004/08/belated-birthday-wishes-my-brother.html

http://thiskids.blogspot.com/2004/09/thin-lizzy-known-to-most-by-their-1976.html

Two Lizzy posts from my archives.

You might as well list 'Live and Dangerous' among your favorite studio albums, as Tony Visconti (producer) is on record as saying the only live tracks on that record are the drums. I think he's exagerating a bit, but much of the record was re-recorded in the studio.

Great record though, "Still In LOve With You" is chilling.

[Conor O'Neill]

We Irish still love our Phillo.

My 7-year old already knows the chorus from Whiskey in The Jar.

[TomBomb]

The Boys are Back in Town! Today's reveleation: Gordon Moore had a Second Law. Check it out today.

[DWittSF]

I love it! to add some tidbits, Metallica's version of 'Whiskey in the Jar' is taken from Thin Lizzy's (there are many versions of this traditional song--I put together a playlist of about 7-8 of them, which gets heavy rotation around St. Paddy's Day). TL's version remains the best, imo...

also, i'm not sure about Wilco, but Golden Smog (Tweedy's side collab project) did a cover of 'Cowboy Song' on their first EP.

[fred]

jackson,

you are right, still in love with you is fantastic on that record. the guitar solo is fantastic.

fred

[Dan]

You know, I have never (knowingly) listening to Thin Lizzy before. Pretty good stuff! But really, can you explain the video for this song (sarah):

There is something incredibly campy about it (puppies anyone), and something disturbing about it too. Why is he serenading a child?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vp1IC9F6YLQ

Thanks for the links, it is always great to discover old music that is new to me.

I could have missed this in your posts, but would be curious if you like the new Midlake album, the trials of van occupanther. Not as catchy as some of the others you link to, but, to me, one of the best of the year.

Thanks!

[Lewis Green]

Fred,

Thank you for returning me to my youth. Thin Lizzy likely would not make it in today's world of one-hit wonders and style over substance. I, for one, remain committed to musicians, like those who made up Thin Lizzy.

Lewis