Philip Paris Lynnot was born in Dublin on the 20th August 1951 of Brazilian and Irish parentage. His childhood was rough, and from the age of three he was brought up by his grandmother. Originally a member of Gary Moore's Skid Row (who would later on also be included in Lynnot's band), Lynott formed Orphanage in 1969, together with drummer Brian Downey and guitarist Eric Bell (ex-Them). A year later they changed the name to Thin Lizzy, and earned a devoted following in Dublin, due to their live concerts. London also caught on to the band early on, and after a record contract offer from Decca, the band relocated to England. 1971 saw the release of the bands self titled debut album, offering their brand of Hendrix style rocking mixed with Irish folk elements, blues and sensitive lyrics. Rock n' Roll would never be the same again....

CLASSIC THIN LIZZY - THE UNIVERSAL MASTERS SERIES (1999) UNIVERSAL/DECCA

  1. Whisky In The Jar
  2. The Rocker
  3. Look What The Wind Blew In
  4. Randolph's Tango
  5. Sarah (Version 1)
  6. Things Ain't Workin' Out Down At The Farm (Version 1)
  7. Vagabond Of The Western World
  8. Here I Go Again
  9. Buffalo Gal
  10. Honesty Is No Excuse
  11. Black Boys On The Corner
  12. Dublin
  13. Little Darling
  14. Brought Down
  15. Remembering, Pt. 1
  16. Chatting Today
  17. Broken Dreams
  18. Little Girl In Bloom

 
  1. Their 1st UK 7" single from November 1972 and originally a non-album track. (It's actually an updated cover of a 1729 Traditional Irish air). This version is the rare `Promotional Edited Version' used on UK Demos and the US issue of the single, it cuts down the standard 7" release from its full running time of 5:44 minutes to a shorter 3:40 minutes
  2. Their 3rd UK 7" single, this is the rare `Edited Single Version'. It chops down the full "Vagabonds..." album cut of 5:12 minutes to 2:41 minutes, essentially editing out Eric Bell's guitar solo
  3. From "Thin Lizzy", their 1st album
  4. Their 2nd UK 7" single from May 1973 and again a non-album track. This is credited as the `US Edited Single Version', but as the original UK version runs to 3:53 minutes and this cut is 3:49 minutes, it's hard to see 4 seconds as an edit!
  5. From "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage"
  6. 4th of 4 tracks on the ultra-rare "New Day" EP, a UK-only 7" single-only release from 21 August 1971
  7. Edited Single Version, it cuts down the "Vagabonds..." album track of 4:49 minutes to a running time of 4:06 minutes
  8. Non-album B-side to "The Rocker"
  9. From "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage"
  10. From "Thin Lizzy"
  11. Non-album B-side to both the UK/USA 7" single "Whisky In The Jar" (spelled without an 'e' in the UK and EUROPE, with an 'e' in the USA)
  12. 1st of 4 tracks on the ultra-rare "New Day" EP, a UK-only 7" single-only release from 21 August 1971
  13. A 7" single-only release from April 1974 on Decca featuring Gary Moore on guitar
  14. From "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage"
  15. From "Thin Lizzy". This is credited as the `US Edited Version', but at 6:00 minutes, it appears to be the same as the UK album version?
  16. From "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage"
  17. Non-album B-side to "Randolph's Tango"
  18. US Edited Version, it cuts down the "Vagabonds..." album cut from 5:14 minutes to 5:06 minutes and was apparently released like this on the 1973 American versions of the "Vagabonds..." album

I am a child of the 80's. And although I'm very familiar with the heavy metal legacy stretching back to the late 60's, I was never big on buying the albums release during the 70's. Now, Thin Lizzy is a household name, but besides owning 'Black Rose' on vinyl many years ago, this compilation album is the first record I own from this legendary band. And as an intro to the band, I think I could have done worse. This CD was a part of the Universal Masters series, and includes 18 tracks from the bands first years of existence. All remastered, and including a lot of rarities and non-album tracks, it concentrates on the the period from 1970 to 1974, when the band was signed to Decca. Here you get to hear a young, innocent and enthusiastic band, finding their style, sound and voice. Some songs are very laid back, while others are full on rockers. You have the obvious Irish folk inspired songs, and you even have some psychedelia going on. I've added a run-through of the album tracks that I found on Amazon.com, written by one Mark Berry from Revival Records. This compilation was eventually reissued, using a different cover (picture right), and with the name 'Colour Collection', in 2006.

Thin Lizzy also appear on:  

V/A - 'Pondus - Flat Fuzzpedal'

 

Marco Mendoza guest appearances:

V/A - 'Metallic Assault - A Tribute To Metallica'

 

Tommy Aldridge guest appearances:

V/A - 'Hear 'n Aid: Stars'

V/A - 'Metallic Assault - A Tribute To Metallica'

 

RELATED ARTISTS:

Blue Murder, Ozzy Osbourne, Yngwie Malmsteen, Hear 'n Aid, SMF