THIN LIZZY – JAILBREAK LP – Nr MINT 1Y1/2Y2 UK 1976 ORIG

Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
(Vertigo Records  1976  9102008)
Matrix No’s: 1Y1/2Y2 – UK Pressing

Die Cut Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some wear to edges/corners & some small sticker tears top right (above “Lizzy”)

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition

Thin Lizzy are a hard rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist and lead vocalist Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott led the group throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums, writing most of the material. Thin Lizzy’s most successful songs, “Whiskey in the Jar” (a traditional Irish ballad), “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back in Town”, were all major international hits. After Lynott’s death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, though Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey.

Lynott, Thin Lizzy’s de facto leader, was composer or co-composer of almost all of the band’s songs, and the first black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music. Thin Lizzy featured several critically acclaimed guitarists throughout their history, with Downey and Lynott as the rhythm section, on the drums and bass guitar. As well as being multiracial, the band drew their members not only from both sides of the Irish border but also from both the Catholic and Protestant communities during The Troubles. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock, and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal. Rolling Stone magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, “far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack”.

AllMusic critic John Dougan has written that “As the band’s creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition.” Van Morrison, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix were major influences during the early days of the band, and later influences included the pioneering twin lead guitars found in Wishbone Ash and American artists Little Feat and Bob Seger.

In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy so a new band, Black Star Riders, was formed to tour and produce new releases such as their debut album All Hell Breaks Loose. Thin Lizzy plan to reunite for occasional concerts.

Jailbreak is the sixth studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1976. It proved to be the band’s commercial breakthrough in the US. The singles include “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back in Town”, the latter being Thin Lizzy’s biggest hit.

Track listing

All songs written by Phil Lynott, except where noted.

Side one

1. “Jailbreak” – 4:01
2. “Angel from the Coast” (Lynott, Brian Robertson) – 3:03
3. “Running Back” – 3:13
4. “Romeo and the Lonely Girl” – 3:55
5. “Warriors” (Lynott, Scott Gorham) – 4:09

Side two

1. “The Boys Are Back in Town” – 4:27
2. “Fight or Fall” – 3:45
3. “Cowboy Song” (Lynott, Brian Downey) – 5:16
4. “Emerald” (Gorham, Downey, Robertson, Lynott) – 4:03

Personnel

• Phil Lynott – bass guitar, lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Scott Gorham – lead guitar, guitars
• Brian Robertson – lead guitar, guitars
• Brian Downey – drums, percussion
• Tim Hinkley – keyboards on “Running Back” (uncredited)