Erin Digs It: Thin Lizzy - For Those Who Love To Live
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Thin Lizzy is one of the greatest rock and roll bands the world has seen, and I make that claim with confidence and conviction. Phil Lynott was the ultimate classic rock star who burned himself out on drugs after leading a life of few restraints. He died in 1986 of "heart failure and pneumonia" after being admitted to the hospital from an infected liver and kidney. At the age of 36, his organs were already shot. But before the legendary bassist/vocalist left this world for the next, he had already established himself as a rock and roll hero with a catalogue of recordings that are, in many respects, still unmatched.
Fighting was one of the very first records--yes, vinyl, LP, 12", the real deal--that I ever bought. I paid $1 for it at a yard sale somewhere in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio before I had yet entered high school. Phil Lynott had been gone for nearly ten years, and I didn't know much about Thin Lizzy other than I had heard their name mentioned by some of my favorite artists current to the time (which, by the way, is one of the best ways to discover music history--to travel back down that inspirational branch).
Song #3 in the Erin Digs It series: Thin Lizzy - For Those Who Love To Live
It wasn't until later on that I discovered much more of Thin Lizzy & Lynott's recordings. After a visit to Ireland, I found in some little record store in Dublin what looked like an old bootleg, but ended up being the famous Live and Dangerous album--which did not leave my stereo for months.
It also wasn't until later that I was able to really appreciate those completely unreal Les Paul riff duets. Every other rock band up until then did the formulaic intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, guitar solo, chorus, fade out/ending. Or something like that. But Thin Lizzy did things twice as hard. Literally! They didn't just do a guitar solo, but they had two guys play the same guitar solo at the same time! Primarily with Scott Gorham being one of those, and either Brian Robertson or Gary Moore being the other--depending on the recording.
So, from that very $1 Fighting record, here is "For Those Who Love To Live."
Comments (16)
"Thin Lizzy is one of the greatest rock and roll bands the world has seen, and I make that claim with confidence and conviction."
You should be convicted. LOL Or commited.
Oh, how terribly, terribly sad. No appreciation for Thin Lizzy. You'll have to find commitment from another girl.
All my hopes have been dashed. I saw Thin Lizzy at an outdoor festival in Germany way back when. Steve Miller & Rory Gallagher were on the bill also. A girl approached with a jug of wine (laced with LSD, but I did't know it). From what I'm told it was a good concert.
Yikes...there's an anti-drug campaign. I think the lesson there is: bring your own shit to outdoor concerts.
Aaaand, I'm jealous that you even got to be there. Sorry it didn't turn out better for you.
Maybe in the hallucinatory pandemonium, you confused Thin Lizzy with Steve Miller--that could explain the distaste.
LOL you're right.
even though deadman says the opposite, i am in agreement with the first sentence, bravo! thin lizzy doesn't get enough representation on MOG at all. this kicked my morning into high gear
Yes, Lynott was a poet of good balls to the wall rock n' roll. A bar Bard? I love Jailbreak (especially the classic cover, whose cover ), and have always meant to buy more albums. Thanks for this.
Thank you, gentlemen. You know, karaoke usually tops my list of "torturous things friends sometimes think are good ideas," but I have been known to rock a bar or two with "Jailbreak"--with the proper persuasion, of course. And lots of Guinness.
"Jailbreak" does feature one of the most awful lines in the whole of rock, though
#Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak
Somewhere in this town#
Err....at the JAIL, perhaps?
Ha!
Man, if I had t-shirts to give out, you totally just would've won one.
Maybe the town has more than one jail. Things can get pretty lawless in certain places.
So, more correctly then
#Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak
Somewhere in this town where people are incarcerated#
or
#Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak
At one or other of the jails in this town#
Neither of them *really* works, no.
Mind you, let us not forget
#Hey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me#
BASH-RATTLE BASH-RATTLE BASH-RATTLE BASH-RATTLE
"Will that do, Bob?"
Sorry you were on the recieving end of some bad comments from the ill informed. I have had Thin Lizzy on my listening shelf since their Nightlife release, thanks again for posting this great band
The wonderful guitar riff during the verse is unusual, adding to the odds that they actually are one of the greatest. It's clear that confining my exposure, until now, to "The Boys Are Back in Town" has slowly twisted my withered life.
Hi Erin, Found this site after looking for Lizzy album art. Nice to see the younger generation into Lizzy and their music. I'm lucky enough to have seen the band 7 times with all the different lead guitarists except Eric Bell. I actually met Phil Lynott outside a gig they did in Birmingham, England. He was wearing a 'battle tunic' style jacket with a row of Lizzy badges where the medals should be. I asked him for one of them, but the one I pointed out he said he wanted to keep so he gave me a 'Renegrade' badge instead!! I doubt there is a day gone by over the past 30 years that I haven't listened to a Lizzy track of some sort. Hope you enjoy the music for many years to come. Take care.
"Thin Lizzy is one of the greatest rock and roll bands the world has seen, and I make that claim with confidence and conviction."
I can't imagine any one making a strong case that they weren't.
Such an underrated band, rock really doesn't get much better.