Kicking of with the regal and visionary “Soldier Of Fortune,” it become clear Lizzy were so far ahead of their metallic time it would take everybody else years to catch up with them. Hear, hear, and I must stress that in 1977, Thin Lizzy was a similar proposition. I once heard somebody say that they felt Prince was so talented that he could do whatever he wanted to musically. Phil Lynott had honed his song craft skills so sharp they can cut without even being unsheathed, while the band’s performing skills are simply second to none. Seriously, for me this is where the Thin Lizzy story really hits it’s stride in every sense. If I had a buck for every time the songs herein have made my life better I’d be in a permanent blissful stupor. Your collection isn't complete without it, just don't strain yourself in obtaining it. Yes, I'll admit the lyric "if you give your soul to heaven, you won't get it back" is yet yet yet another (not a typo) fine piece of wordplay from the man, but he also had plenty of those during The Holy War too.īad Reputation is disappointing in consistency and a step down from the amazing Johnny The Fox, but it still deserves to be a part of the legendary string of releases Thin Lizzy put out during this time period. You expect it to explode into this brilliant midpaced Holy Diver/Heaven & Hell type of rhythm you can break your neck to, but instead.we get another Fight Or Fall tempo. The most disappointing song on here, not to mention the most disappointing song of Thin Lizzy's whole catalogue has got to be "Dear Lord." The intro- Holy fuck that's got to be one of the best pieces of music the band has ever written. If the entire thing was like this, it would be the best album Thin Lizzy had made up to this point. These two songs peak out the album a little too early. I usually don't like to put internet memes in reviews, but WHY U DO DIS has never applied so well. Right after that comes the fantastic Opium Trail, with an intro riff so good I was personally offended when it was downtuned on Live & Dangerous. The title track is easily a highlight of the album and the bands career, with some fine instrumental work from all members (yes all, note the bass licks underneath the verses when the guitar drops out) but of course its drummer Brian Downey who takes the shine with his killer fills. The decision to place the guitar solo over marching drum break as opposed to the main tempo was also an inspired choice, both musically and lyrically.
Nothing too crazy in terms of riff quantity, but they do well serving as the glue of the song. Maybe its the fact that my "Fight or Fall" syndrome reaches an obnoxious peak here, or it could be the fact that the album is depressingly top heavy.Įverything does start out promisingly enough, with Soldier of Fortune being a minimalist epic of sorts.
Perhaps it's the fact that the title track is one of the best Thin Lizzy songs ever and the rest doesn't quite reach that level. This is consistently called the second best album (strike one) after Jailbreak (strike two), especially after the disappointing Johnny The Fox (strike three, fuck you). Maybe my lower ranking of this can be the result of salt and schadenfreude.