The Metal Files

I listen to Thin Lizzy a lot…A LOT! I have an mp3 CD in my truck that has all of their albums on it. usually when that disc is playing I just keep it on shuffle mode, but when I want to hear an album in its entirety I put it on the Nightlife album.

Now, I’ve only been a Thin Lizzy fan for about 10 years or so; yes, I know it’s a tragic shame. I was just never exposed to much by them until about 1997. Besides their 2 US radio hits, Renegade was the only thing I had ever owned and I loved it, but still never had the urge to delve in deeper to their back catalogue.

Anyhoo, I come back to this album a lot. It’s very dark, sultry, bluesy (and I HATE the blues btw). When I hear this album I really feel like I am sitting in a smoke filled dive bar where no one in there is under the age of 45, no one speaks to each other, the bartender is reading the paper and everyone is just seeped into their own lonliness. Depressing, eh? It’s like a scene from the movie Barfly.

There’s a few upbeat tunes on here like It’s Only Money (Concrete Blonde did a great version of this), Sha-La-La and She Knows. But even those have an air of dank depression. Still In Love With You is the biggest “hit” on this one and became a staple of Lizzy’s live set.

This album is such a weird thing for me. It makes me sad and picks me up all at once. I think the combination of Phil’s soulful and sad lyrics mixed with the great production and guitar work just put my mind in a spin. It’s tough to explain.

Back in 1991/92 I dated this wonderful girl named Alicia. She was the coolest of the cool and in hindsight I probably should have married her; instead I broke her heart. She was very much into “my” music and she really loved this record. She used to call it “a great album to tap to.” She wasn’t talking about tap dancing! haha. So, I think it’s another reason why this album sort of brings me down; it reminds me of her and how great she was and how much of a shitbag I was to break up with her. For the record, I made amends with her (for my own good) a few years ago but dropped all contact, much to her dismay. Girls are funny. Why do they want to stay in touch with their exes?

Oh wait, this is about Thin Lizzy, yes? Right. Phil’s ballads have a way of striking deep emotions with me. It’s weird. I feel like I can relate to much of it. That’s generally the mark of a great songwriter, yeah? The ability to “hit close to home.”

here’s a lyric from “Dear Heart” that I love:

“He’d give his life, give his everything
To reach that goal and take that last and final fling.
But I guess it’s just another story in the greatest story
ever told
Dear heart, I wish that you could see that
Dear heart, you mean the world to me”

Here’s a vid for Still In Love With You:

Just go buy it already.