headlessparrot's Full Review: Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
There’s always been a fantastical element to rock and roll music. The lead singers and guitarists strut about stage, looming figures that tower above the general populace telling stories of demons, ghosts, Gods, and the stars. As a result, some of the great stars of sixties and seventies hard rocks have attained an almost comic book-like status, invincible and indestructible by the forces of time. In 1976, Thin Lizzy took this sentiment even further with the release of Jailbreak, an album that utilizes powerful storytelling to tell the heroic story of “The Warrior” sometime in the distant future. And that’s just the first track!
Formed in 1970 in Dublin, Ireland, Thin Lizzy was the brainchild of Phil Lynott, a singer and bassist who was the product of a Brazilian father and Irish mother, had strong ties to both his home country, but also his black heritage. Lynott, along with drummer Brian Downey (the only two group members that were with the group from it’s formation to its eventual disbanding), and a long line of guitarists (among them Gary Moore, Scott Gorham, and Brian Robertson) crafted an extremely unique hard rock sound that coupled Lynott’s storytelling lyrics with a twin lead guitar attack with an incredible ferocity but also surprisingly fluent melody.
Lizzy’s strength lies in both the aforementioned lyricism and guitar attack, but also in Phil Lynott himself. The man had almost limitless charisma, and bore a striking resemblance to Jimi Hendrix in both his appearance and lyrics. Both favoured a strong story-telling element, and relied on themes such as higher powers, politics, and the unknown. Even their voices are comparable, a deep and thick voice with very pronounced, straightforward delivery. Lynott also utilized Irish tradition in his songs an ode to his heritage, often making references to old Irish legends, and even developing a reworking of the traditional Irish drinking song Whiskey In The Jar.
He developed a writing style not unlike many of his contemporaries, romanticizing the life of the working class and giving them a voice all their own, much like Bob Dylan had done in the past and Bruce Springsteen would be doing in the near future. It was these themes that helped Lynott develop into one of the best rock writers of the seventies. He had a scope, a vision of what he wanted to say, and a vocabulary and literary knowledge that far surpassed his formal education. He was a master of metaphor, and a person who could see the beauty in everything. He looked at the world through innocent eyes, and was intrigued by many aspects of American popular culture - particularly cowboys, rodeos, and the “Wild West” - that also became the subject of his writing. More seriously, Lynott was also one of the first musicians to give a voice to the political and terrorist problems in the band’s homeland of Ireland.
Musically speaking, the group was also quite talented. Despite a revolving door at the two guitar positions, the group consistently sounded very tight and well rehearsed. Lynott’s bass parts are very funky and have an undeniable groove to them. The longest serving guitarist duo in the group‘s history, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson (the latter only 18 years old when he joined the group), play a hard rocking style, with the two most commonly sharing leads and playing the same melodies in tandem, creating a dual lead guitar attack that would be duplicated by many bands since (most notably Judas Priest). They utilize a wall-of-sound and overdrive their amps just enough to give the single notes a small amount of fuzz while creating significant “chunk” during power chord passages. Gorham and Robertson play fluidly and beautifully, whether chugging through a series of hard numbers or slowing down a little for a ballad. The backbone of the group, however, is drummer Brian Downey, who has an obvious talent for rhythm. While he’s left to keeping time for a significant portion of the band’s catalogue, he also gets his fair share of fills and opportunities to add more complicated drum parts.
As a whole, Thin Lizzy was one of the most underrated and under-appreciated hard rock groups of the seventies. While Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were responsible for raising an entire generation of music fans, Lizzy largely toiled in obscurity, developing their fan base through their notoriously excellent live shows and a series of records that could best be described as “album rock.” The group toured rigorously, and would have stayed an underground sensation were it not for Whiskey In The Jar, an updated arrangement of a traditional Irish song, that managed to just barely crack the rock charts in the U.S. and Britain.
However, it wasn’t until several albums later that Thin Lizzy reached what is generally regarded as their best record, in both a critical sense, as well as that of a serious fan. Released in 1976 by the Mercury label, Jailbreak is a critically acclaimed album that represents a band near their musical peak. They hired producer John Alcock (best known for his work with The Who), and concentrated on writing an album filled with excellent songs from start to finish. Lizzy concentrated on song structure and creating a sound that took advantage of the double lead guitar sound. Alcock even encouraged the group to go out and hone the songs further before putting them to tape. The result is an album that is not only well written, but concise, precise, and beautifully arranged. This is simply, a set of nine excellent songs - an affirmation as Lizzy’s status as a group that was preoccupied with the vision of creating album rock. Singles build status, but it’s genuinely great albums from start to finish that build legends. And Phil Lynott is truly a rock legend.
Jailbreak, as an album, has a sort of vaguely futuristic, science-fiction theme to it, a result of Lynott’s recent interest in authors such as H.G. Wells, as well as many comic book heroes from that time period. It’s no coincidence then, that the album cover is a sprawling piece of comic-style artwork, a science fiction scene that depicts a figure looming over a screen that pictures Thin Lizzy members, in cartoon form, running from an explosion. The cover in and of itself (drawn by and featuring Jim Fitzpatrick as the looming figure) is a piece of artwork, with brilliant shading and accurate human details. It’s an even more impressive sight on a 12”x12” vinyl album cover. Inside, Lynott expands on the cover by developing a story of a Universe known as Dimension 5, ruled by the Overmaster who lusts for ultimate power. A group of four, represented by the group, fights for their freedom in what Lynott describes as The Final War. The Warrior watches this scene from afar, and the narrative is the basis for the album’s title track.
This track, Jailbreak, is the album opener, built upon a heavy and percussive guitar part and swirling wah-drenched leads. The song itself details an escape from a prison ruled by the Overmaster, a warning about the havoc that is to come. This is the only track on the album that relates directly to the chosen album cover and detailed liner notes, which strikes me as interesting. Perhaps a concept album had been in the works at some point but had been scratched. Regardless, Lynott’s is strong here lyrically, articulately pronouncing each line of the song in a firm manner.
Angel From The Coast is a jazzy, fast, and melodic number that details a mafia hit. The lyrics here are some of Lynott’s best, as he shrouds the work in a series of metaphors and comparisons.
The sacred heart is bleeding
Go tell the Holy Ghost
That the junkie is still cheating
To get the thing he needs the most
Lady Luck has me covered
Keeping her watchful eyes over me
The lovers are discovered
The charge is first degree
Angel, she's a killer
Just flown in from the coast
Makes the hit, it's a winner
Leaves you dead as the post
Running Back is a touching love song, with a beautiful solo and a very sombre Lynott. Romeo And The Lonely Girl follows in a similar vein, except this time Lynott is singing about another person’s love rather than his own. Warriors is another hard-rocker that builds up from a strummed intro into a hard, intricate, and swirling accompaniment. The song itself sounds structurally similar to early Jimi Hendrix, but the lyrics themselves are based on the history of rock and roll excess. Unfortunately, the song would end up all-too biographical when Lynott fell deep into heroin addiction that would end his own life.
The Boys Are Back In Town is Thin Lizzy’s most famous composition and their biggest hit, reaching number twelve on the Billboard singles chart. The track is another chugging hard rocker that details a group of soldiers, a gang, or the band themselves (depending on whose interpretation you listen to) arriving home after being away. Since then, the song has earned status as a masterpiece and a great party anthem.
Cowboy Song deals with Lynott’s aforementioned fascination with cowboys and old westerns. The song beautifully parallels the life of a cowboy with that of a rock star, whether the likeness was intended or not.
Emerald closes the album, a thumping and aggressive song with harsh guitar parts and thunderous drumming. The track is emotionally charged, detailing the violent history and political unrest in Lizzy’s home country of Ireland. The song itself is intricate, with guitar passages changing rhythm and tempo wildly.
Down from the glen came the marching men
With their shields and their swords
To fight the fight they believed to be right
Overthrow the overlords
To the town where there was plenty
They brought plunder, swords and flame
When they left the town was empty
Children would never play again
From their graves I heard the fallen
Above the battle cry
By that bridge near the border
There were many more to die
Then onward over the mountain
And outward towards the sea
They had come to claim the Emerald
Without it they could not leave
Jailbreak is an absolutely beautiful album, an underrated record that establishes Phil Lynott’s place in the pantheon of rock songwriters. The lyrics are intelligent and thoughtful, the guitar parts are fluid and powerful, and the band as a whole is a cohesive unit. Jailbreak, frankly, is the most underrated album of the 1970s hard rock movement. Phil Lynott died tragically, a victim of the same excess he chronicled in many of his songs; it’s important that they live on to show him as a true artistic genius in the same vein as Hendrix, Lennon, Dylan and Young.
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