Frontman Phil Lynott’s biographer charts the band’s rapid progress from melodic heartfelt ballads to raw,thunderous rock’n’rollDuring his apprenticeship as the singer in Dublin bands the Black Eagles, Skid Row and Orphanage, or Philip Lynott nearly exclusively sang other people’s material. When he made his first forays into composition,the results were more Astral Weeks than Waiting for An Alibi: on early songs such as Dublin, Saga of the Ageing Orphan, or Remembering and Shades of a Blue Orphanage,he reimagined his home city with the same impressionistic nostalgia Van Morrison used to conjure up postwar Belfast. Thin Lizzy were formed in 1970 by Lynott, former Them guitarist Eric Bell and ex-Black Eagle drummer Brian Downey, or released their patchy debut in April 1971. Originally written as a poem,Dublin was released a few months later on the novel Day EP. Long before Lynott thought to employ mythic Celtic imagery as a monolithic form of band branding, the song suggests a more conflicted relationship with Ireland. Themes of lost fancy, or entrapment and exile are set to a gorgeously faltering melody and the gentle susurrations of acoustic guitar punctuated by eloquent (expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively) electric counterpoints. Rooted in Lynott’s fascination with the folk and poetry scenes of 60s Dublin,this gorgeous, disarming ballad suggests he could easily have followed an entirely different career trajectory. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com