Thursday, October 1, 2020

The 1980 Listening Post - Thin Lizzy - Chinatown

 Thin Lizzy - Chinatown


#471

by Jim Shanman

October 10 1980

Thin Lizzy

Chinatown

Genre: Rock

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Jim’s Rating 4.5 out of 5




Other than the "Boys are Back in Town", how many of us really know Thin Lizzy? OK, maybe I'm the only one in the dark here. Shows you what happens when you spend too much time on the radio and not enough time exploring genres or digging deeper in the record racks at Moby Disc or Tower. 


This album totally surprised me on many levels: 


1) I had no idea they were Irish 


2) I had no idea that the leader singer, founder and bassist Phil Lynott was black 


3) This was their TENTH album. 


4) Every track opens with a killer riff. The music is solid and lyrics perfect for the time. But here's the best part. There isn't a bad track on the album. Some like "Sweetheart" are plain vanilla, but not bad. 


While others - "We will be Strong", "Didn't I", "Genocide" and my favorite "Sugar Blues" - are solid tracks and should have been hits. I suspect by this time Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath were owning the genre and Springsteen was king. 


Still, this band can kick it, even when they riff on Springsteen w/ "Having a Good Time" or aim for a political statement w/ "Genocide". If nothing else, now you'll know where Molly Hatchett and 38 Special got their inspiration from. Put on some headphone, plug in and enjoy.




https://open.spotify.com/album/1TipM77UGPdOcZSaQyz4cz?si=mgmtEembTPGxYcE9mrd_5g



No comments: