THIN LIZZY — Renegade (review)

THIN LIZZY — Renegade album cover Album · 1981 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
SouthSideoftheSky
“He's a clown that we put down, he's a man that doesn't fit, he's a king but not in this town, to you and me he's a renegade”

Thin Lizzy is not one of my favourite bands but I used to like them a lot more when I was younger. Ironically, Renegade is actually an album I like a lot more now than I ever did, even back then when I was actually much more into the band! One reason for this might be that I bought a whole bunch of Thin Lizzy albums at the same time and maybe I never gave Renegade proper attention. Another reason might be that Renegade was one of the last albums I got and when I finally got it I was already beginning to tire of band and moving on to other things. Anyway, I don’t have any particular memories of this album from back when first heard it, at least not of any positive character, and in hearing it again now many years later, I was a bit surprised in a rather positively way. I was expecting a rather weak album but actually found one of my current favourite Thin Lizzy albums! Still, I cannot rate this very highly despite some strong moments. While this is hardly groundbreaking music, when judged within the vast Thin Lizzy catalogue Renegade holds up well.

The Metal-credentials of the album (and the band in general) are, however, a bit questionable. But some of the songs are properly considered Metal, like the great opener Angel Of Death for example. This song starts with a synthesiser and strongly reminds me of the intro to Rainbow’s brilliant Tarot Woman. The title track, on the other hand, is more in Dire Straits territory. But a good song! Most of the rest is pretty standard Thin Lizzy material which makes me feel that this is a rather front-loaded album with the best songs at the beginning. The Pressure Will Blow, while overall not a very interesting song, has wonderful lead guitar work of the kind that made Thin Lizzy famous. Leave This Town speeds things up and this one too has good guitar work, but ultimately it is a rather weak song with a tedious chorus. The same can be said about Hollywood (Down On Your Luck) and No One Told Him.

The funky Fats is unusual but not really my cup of tea. The line about Sigmund Freud is funny, but rather incomprehensible! The “Mexicana” of Mexican Blood, on the other hand, though probably not something that I enjoyed ten years ago, I now quite like! I think that Thin Lizzy was at their best when they mixed their Hard Rock with other influences such as Irish Folk music and Americana. Phil Lynnot drew inspiration from the traditional music of his Irish homeland and he also had a fascination for America.

Far from great, but above decent
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