thin lizzy

REVIEW: Thin Lizzy – Vagabonds of the Western World (deluxe edition)

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THIN LIZZY – Vagabonds of the Western World (2011 deluxe edition)

Thin Lizzy’s history is much like Deep Purple’s in certain respects. Both bands had an early period (three albums for both bands) with an earlier lineup, and a sleepier 1960’s-oriented sound. This is before both bands galvanized their sounds and boiled it down to rock and roll.

Vagabonds is the third of these three Lizzy albums, and the closest in sound to what they would later become. This is also the best of these three Lizzy albums. This deluxe edition of Vagabonds is also the best Lizzy deluxe edition that I have heard thus far. Both the remastering and bonus material is fantastic. Just listen to that bass intro on “Gonna Creep Up On You”. The original CD release did not reveal this much detail, the bass has so much depth now.

The album itself gets off to a slow start, with “Mama Nature Said”, “The Hero and the Madman” and “Slow Blues” which you will hear on this package no less than four times! None of these songs are personal favourites. However track four, “The Rocker”, is a pure Lizzy classic. It could have fit in easily on an album like Fighting, Jailbreak or Johnny The Fox. It is simply awesome with an extra dose of rocket sauce.

From there it’s pretty much non-stop. The title track is up next, a personal favourite with loads of atmosphere. The moody “Little Girl In Bloom” is a tale of a girl who finds herself with child, and must tell her father. Phil Lynott offers his advice on how to do this. Is this based on someone Phil knew? We now know that Phil had at least one son that didn’t know who his father was. Could his mother have been the little girl in bloom?

“Gonna Creep Up On You” and “A Song While I’m Away” end the album in style, a couple of great numbers.

That ends the orginal LP, but disc one is still filled with bonus material from singles and B-sides. One B-side from the original CD is missing, which was “Black Boys On The Corner”. This song however is available on the Thin Lizzy box set, so it can still be had. The other singles and B-sides include the raging classic “Sitamoia”, a song by Brian Downey with its chorus in Gaelic. “Randolph’s Tango” is another highlight, a song which vaguely reminds me of “El Paso” by Johnny Horton in terms of story. It is, not surprisingly, a tango with a fantastic flamenco solo by Eric Bell. You will also hear the funky “Cruising In The Lizzymobile” and the powerful horn-laden “Little Darling” on this disc. “Broken Dreams” and “Here I Go Again” round out the singles. Throw in a couple single edits (for “The Rocker”, “Randolph’s Tango”, and “Whiskey In The Jar”) and you have a near-perfect first disc. But there’s still more. The 1977 remix of “Slow Blues” featuring Gary Moore and Midge Ure is included, its first CD appearance. This track was lifted from a rare remix LP that Lizzy did to bring the sound of their early material in line with what they were doing later. It is vastly different and perhaps superior to the original “Slow Blues”, with Moore re-recording the guitars himself.

The second disc is entirely made up of live BBC recordings, and do they ever cook!  Extra rocket sauce!  They sound incredible and the band was playing great. Live material with the Eric Bell lineup is scarce and this is some of the first live stuff I’ve heard by them. Taken from multiple sessions, you will hear most of the original album performed live as well as earlier tunes such as a sleepy “Things Ain’t Working Out Down At The Farm”. Interestingly, there are also live versions of two later Lizzy tunes: “Showdown”, from Nightlife, and “Suicide”, from Fighting. I had no idea that they were written earlier with the Eric Bell lineup, until now.

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Liner notes are great and there are a handful of pictures included. (There’s even a photo of the very, very rare Funky Junction album, which was basically Lizzy playing Deep Purple covers. Oh, my left nut for a re-release!)

This package is, for a lot of people, probably the only Eric Bell era album that they need. I am happy to report that it is simply a fantastic reissue.

5/5 stars

Part 21: “The Book” / REVIEW: Martin Popoff – Riff Kills Man!
I keep my copy in my desk

I keep my copy in my desk

 

RECORD STORE TALES Part 21:  The Book

Way back in the day, Tom had this book; a book of reviews of metal albums.  I don’t know where he got it.  He had recently acquired it and was perusing album reviews daily.  Hanging out one evening, he said to me, “Have you ever heard Gillan?”

I said, “Gillan, as in Ian Gillan’s band?”

“Yeah,” responded Tom.

“No,”  I said.

“You’re going to have to find some.  This book gives him consistent 10 star ratings.  There are some pretty cool song titles man, like ‘I’ll Rip Your Spine Out’.”

Cool!  So “The Book“ (as it came to be known) made the rounds.  T-Rev borrowed it for a couple weeks and explored the Max Webster and Kim Mitchell ratings.  Trevor enjoy the reviews of the writer, one Martin Popoff.  He commented to me, “This guy is pretty bang-on for most of them, but you have to read the Def Leppard and Rik Emmett reviews…hilarious, man.”

Trevor was right!  Ipso Facto by Rik Emmett was rated a 0/10, with a single sentence review:  “Man, don’t get me started.”  The book was hilarious and informative at the same time.  We all found it entertaining as well as useful.

When the book came around to me, I was really curious about this band called Budgie.  New fave band!  Eventually, I returned the book to Tom who passed it on to someone else, probably Uncle Meat.   Certain things always stuck in my head.  According to Popoff, I clearly needed more Thin Lizzy, so I began rectifying that with a box set.  He didn’t think much of Kiss, but I could understand this given his criteria, even if I disagreed.

I wished I owned a copy, and a year later I found one downtown at Encore Records, second hand.  Then a weird coincidence happened.  Just as I was craving another read, and was preparing to go downtown and buy a copy of Riff Kills Man, a regular customer of mine gave me his copy.  I don’t remember too much about this guy, except that he sold more than he bought.  He sold a lot of hard-to-find goth and punk stuff, and he always wore a jean jacket, and he strangely always smelled like fried eggs.  Since I can’t remember his name, I’ll call him Fried Eggs Man.

So Fried Eggs Man had been talking to me about the book, and passed it onto me free of charge.  I thought that was really cool of him.  The book too smells of fried eggs, and was coming apart.  I used Bounce dryer sheets to help out with the smell, and I painstakingly glued the pages back in with Elmer’s white glue.  I had to do some cover repair work as well, but the book is solid as a rock and has served me well for probably a decade and a half by now.

MARTIN POPOFF – Riff Kills Man! (1993 Power Chord Press, Toronto Ontario)

Martin Popoff, a writer for BW&BK magazine, is simply one of the  most knowledgeable metal fans out there. His record collection sounds like it’s to die for.  Riff Kills Man! is his first book, but today, he has an extensive bibliography of books that I consider among the best sources of rock information out there.  In fact, LeBrain himself relies heavily on Popoff’s teachings, and I will admit to consciously emulating him in my earlier reviews.

Riff Kills Man!, later supplanted by his more up to date and complete Collector’s Guides, is an album-by-album review of virtually every major metal record from its inception to 1992, all stuff which belonged to Popoff’s personal collection. He covers subgenres such as punk metal and grunge, and bands so obscure that you may never be able to find their albums. Rated from 1 to 10, with strict rules for rating, Riff Kills Man! gives you a great place to start when looking for something “new” to listen to. If it wasn’t for all the 9 and 10 star reviews in this book, I may never have started listening to Budgie, or Thin Lizzy, or Diamond Head.

His rating system is fairly complex, but for the most part, as objective as possible.  I don’t necessarily agree with all of the author’s opinions. For example, Popoff really dislikes a lot of pop rock and gives both Adrenalize and Hysteria by Def Leppard a big fat 0.  “An offensive kick in the head from the rock n’ roll bored room,” writes Popoff.   You may agree, but for me Hysteria is a classic record.  Regardless, he makes valid points that even the most staunch fan such as myself have to grudgingly agree with.

Popoff also tends to dislike live albums with meandering jams like many old Deep Purple recordings. He generally focuses on studio albums, avoiding most EPs and complitions.  So if you’re looking for complete reviews of, say, the numerous Thin Lizzy EPs, live releases and compilations, look elsewhere.

Martin ends the book with several lists and indexes:  Top desert island albums, top guitar players, vocalists, producers, you name it.  He also has a lot of unique categories all his own, such as best showman, best comeback, most consistent band, etc.  AC/DC are ranked as his #1 band in the category of worst album covers!

That aside, Riff Kills Man! was, for me, an essential and often hilarious piece of reading. Pick it up, and then move forward for some of Popoff’s more complete and more specialized books.  I keep mine in my desk at work at all times!

DISCLAIMER – Although it can be found used, this book is out of print.  I spoke to Martin Popoff once about this book, and he told me he finds it a bit embarrassing today.  I still think it’s awesome.

5/5 stars

Also recommended by Popoff:  His books on Sabbath, Rush, Rainbow, and Priest are definitive.  The best books on the market for those bands.