Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy is the debut made by the trio of Phil Lynott, Eric Bell, and Brian Downey before the band reached the twin-guitar attack and fast-moving hard rock of its later years. What it presents is not a completed formula but music that moves freely among blues, folk, psychedelic drift, and melodies that suggest an Irish atmosphere. Lynott’s bass does more than create a low foundation; like his voice, it changes the expression of a song from within. Bell’s guitar can cut sharply or leave a soft afterglow, while Downey’s drums refuse to hurry the conversation among the three players and instead shape the breathing room of each track. The story-like opening of “The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle,” the wounded vocal of “Honesty Is No Excuse,” the long, wavering movement of “Diddy Levine,” the pointed feel of “Ray-Gun,” and the light momentum of “Look What the Wind Blew In” make clear that the album is not one-directional rock. The plain, floating character of “Eire” and “Return of the Farmer’s Son” has a different appeal from the city-bred force of later Thin Lizzy. There is roughness and uncertainty here, but they are valuable because the record does not hide its formative state. Lynott is already beginning to draw people and places in song, while the trio sets colors around those scenes. It is a document from before the breakthrough, yet its distinctive narrative warmth is already fully audible.