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Phil Lynott, where's the praise?

#44
Phil is one of my absolute heros! Great player, writer, singer and performer. Even at their worst, Lizzy is godly. Steve Harris LOVES Lizzy. Maiden covered "Massacre" on a B side. "Jailbreak" has bad production??? You sir should become a producer...wait, no you are deaf. FANTASTIC production is more like it. God there's so much to say about Phil and Lizzy. Their harmony style influenced many many bands, especially metal and southern rock (they got it from Wishbone Ash btw). Recommendations??? "Emerald", "Angel of Death", "Opium Trail", "Got to Give It Up", "Johnny", "Spirit Slips Away", "Cowboy Song", "Holy War", "The Hero and the Madman", "Genocide", etc. Phil wrote rock, jazz, blues, country, you name it. My first bass was an Ibanez Blazer that Phil endorsed waaaay back. I cried the day he died. RIP PHIL!
 
#47
I'm of the opinion that the studio albums didnt capture the lizzy sound at all. the production sounded thin on a lot of albums. Live and dangerous was the only one that nailed it. the irony is that live and dangerous wasnt that live. Tony Visconti has gone on record in his autobiography saying that robertson/gorham touched up some leads and when phil heard how improved it sounded went back in and re did his bass and vocals, setting up his live rig in the studio and just bashing them out. Visconti even flew in some crowd noise from a bowie live album! its been known for years that L&D is about 50-70% live.....but it sounds killer!
 
#48
I have to disagree about the production of Lizzy in the studio. There records (yes, vinyl) had great presence and punch, great tones, and great performances. I just don't get where you guys are coming from. I prefer the '70s style production to all the pro tools/digitized recordings today. Guitars sound so much more harsh now for this reason. They just got that great woody guitar sound and nice tube amp warmth that people still want today. I know I'm old, but it reminds me of people saying the "new" Star Wars are better. Wrong. I wish my band could sound like "Jailbreak" or "Bad Reputation". Thin Lizzy was just never given their due in the States. Phil's voice is so smooth and unique. His playing is minimalistic like say Roger Waters, etc, but SO effective. And yes, Brian Downey is one of the greatest and coolest rock drummers. Once again HAIL THIN LIZZY.
 
#49
I was not comparing Lizzys studio sound to modern recordings though, i compared them to live and dangerous. it was only after L&D that their studio sound started to improve. bad rep and black rose are the best sounding studio albums. parts of chinatown are good, as is thunder and lightning. But the L&D versions of the songs are far better than the versions on the albums that preceded it, in my opinion. I mean studio version of cowboy song?? weak!! L&D version: its got BALLS!!!
 
#50
jaywa said:
Speaking of the mirror guard, I've always wondered if the mirror guards on Steve Harris' basses were an homage to Phil. There is some serious overlap between Lizzy and Iron Maiden, example 1-A being the Lizzy song "Emerald". I'm pretty sure Phil was a big influence on Steve Harris though I'm not sure I've ever seen Steve say that publicly.
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Steve Harris have always said that he's a Lizzy fan, says so in most bio's. And guess what, when 'Arry started with mirror pickguards, The P bass was black. ;)
 
#58
Honk'n_down-low said:
What is he playing in that Video - Custom P?
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That Bass my fellow TB'ers is a Roland Midi Bass painted black with a Mirror Telecaster Bass Pickguard. I heard somewhere that Phil loved the neck on the thing but hated the weight so the Synth innards were removed. Those neck thru basses were made at the Ibanez factory I believe.

Philip loved that MXR Flanger/Doubler and there are some bootleg live shows from Japan in the early eighties that you can really hear him digging in and spanking it out! The commercial "Live" albums were actually created in a studio so the essence of a true Lizzy show had to be seen and heard in person. I saw every tour from 1976-1981 and read about Phils passing while living in Los Angeles in 1986.
 
#59
You can count me in on the love for Phil. My, oh my! He was absolutely incredible. I heard him in high school and was floored, and still am. L and D is one of the greatest live rock albums of all time. people should actually listen to his albums various bass lines he does and they would freak. so tasty, so full, so awesome. the music was full of soul and such feeling.
What a terrible end and a tragic waste of a life and talent. I love him still...
 
#60
Much love for Phil! Recently went to Ireland on holiday and luckily found his statue while walking around Dublin. I'd never really heard much of their music before but after listening to at least 5 albums in one afternoon, I am astounded! His playing is amazing due the understated way he plays and he is now my bass idol. By the way, has the black rose on the statue always been there?
 

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