Black Rose : a rock legend --- Thin Lizzy --- 1979 (Vertigo)
Right on the very cusp of the seventies, one of Lizzy's most successful albums, and yet Black Rose is usually eclipsed by the likes of “Jailbreak” and “Renegade”, even though it charted higher than either. It also features the “classic” Lizzy lineup of Phil Lynott, Gary Moore, Brian Downey and Scott Gorham, and gave birth to some pretty big hit singles for the band. But it's on the songs that
weren't released as singles that this album really shines, as we shall see.
It kicks off right away with one of Lizzy's top hits, “Do anything you want to do”, with the utterly distinctive twin guitar sound of Gorham and Moore, one of the most tuneful guitarist pairings of that era. Lynott is in fine form as he dispenses his advice:
“People that despise you/ Will analyse and criticise you/ They'll scandalise and tell lies / Until they realise you/ Are somebody they should have apologised to/ Don't let these people compromise you.” It's a simple song, an empowerment song with a great beat, and excellent rumbling, echoey drumming from Brian Downey.
It leads into “Toughest street in town”, continuing Lizzy's typical rejoicing in their “street” roots, of being ordinary guys, as Lynott sings of the typical goings-on that could be attributed to any street in Dublin, London or indeed any other town where people are disaffected and bored. Opening with a great soaring guitar riff, the song has some great backing vocals from Moore and Gorham, and of course the obligatory guitar solo from Gary Moore, ripping right through the heart of the track. Lynott rails against street crime as he snarls
”It's just another black spot/ Where far too many people have died/ It's just another graveyard/ And there's not too many people left alive!”
“S&M” is much funkier, with a lowdown bass opening, but in fairness it's a little hard to take seriously, especially the faked cries of “Ouch!” which even betray a grin behind them. Decent guitar solo, but overall I think a weak track. Nothing of the sort about the next one, another big hit for Lizzy, “Waiting for an alibi” has everything a hit single could want: melody, hook, great vocals and a blistering solo, with a chorus that sticks in your head like Superglue. From the opening growling bass to the soaraway guitar lead it's a winner, kind of revisited years later on the “Thunder and lightning” album, another song of gambling and losing. Great backing vocals again, very important.
Everything goes all pop then for the ballad on the album, Lynott's sugary-sweet tribute to his newborn daughter, Sarah. Helped along by Moore, Lynott crafted a song which although it's by far the most lightweight thing Thin Lizzy have ever done, still retains the classic trademarks, the guitar sound, Lynott's distinctive singing, even a Gary Moore solo. But there's no doubt "Sarah" is commercial fodder, and indeed when released as a single, did very well. Hey, at least it's not “Kathleen”!
“Got to give it up” is one of only two tracks on which Scott Gorham contributes, which begins with an almost acapella vocal by Lynott, sweet blues guitar by Moore leading the track in before it becomes another hard-edged rocker with the story of another addiction, this time that of dependence on alcohol. It retains something of the basic melody of “Jailbreak”, and one would have to wonder whether it was autobiographical, considering Lynott's problems with drink.
Although Lynott writes, or co-writes every song on the album, “Get out of here” is the only one on which he pulls in an outside influence, this being Ultravox's Midge Ure, who would of course go on to be a successful artist in his own right, and one of the leading lights of the Live Aid movement in the mid-eighties. It's a good rocker, though it is hard to see Ure's influence on it, as it doesn't sound that much different to any of the other Lizzy tracks. “With love” is a Lynott solo effort, not as might be expected a ballad, but another rockin' tune with a hard guitar edge delivered by Gorham, its melody very closely approximating at times his big solo hit “Dear Miss Lonely Hearts”, which he would not pen for another year, though perhaps he already had the basic tune in his head.
The album closes on the title track, suffixed with the Irish translation, so that the complete title becomes “Roisin Dubh (Black Rose): A rock legend” --- the Irish part is pronounced “Row-sheen duv” – and is split into four sections, running to a total of just over seven minutes. It's quite unique, being in fact four traditional songs strung together, each forming a part of the song. Part I is “Shenendoah”, a rollicking, rocking intro to the song, where Lynott uses the tales of Irish mythology like Cuchulainn and Maeve and interweaves them into the narrative of the traditional song, before part II comes in on the familiar air of “Will ye go, lassie, go?” performed by Gary Moore with great technical expertise and an obvious respect for the original song, even throwing in an Irish reel for good measure.
Part III is “Danny boy”, churned out with mad enthusiasm by Gary Moore, with the final part being “The mason's apron”, bringing the piece to a rocking, pulsating close, and indeed finishing a fine album off in fine style.
“Black Rose” serves to show just how versatile Thin Lizzy could be at their very best, and this is as close as it gets. It's not suprising the album did so well, and is so highly regarded among Lizzy fans and critics alike. It's also bittersweet, as there would be only three more Lizzy albums before the tragic death of Phil Lynott as 1986 began. If there was a pinnacle to be reached, I believe Thin Lizzy achieved it with “Black Rose”.
TRACKLISTING
1. Do anything you want to
2. Toughest street in town
3. S&M
4. Waiting for an alibi
5. Sarah
6. Got to give it up
7. Get out of here
8. With love
9. Roisin Dubh (Black Rose): A rock legend
Suggested further listening: "Renegade”, “Jailbreak”, “Bad reputation”, “Thunder and lightning”