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Fighting
Thin Lizzy
Vertigo Records, 1975
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/07/1998
Most people know only one song or album from Irish rockers ThinLizzy. If you ask them to name a song, they'll undoubtedly select"The Boys Are Back In Town"; if they say they own one of theiralbums, odds are it's Thin Lizzy's 1976 effort Jailbreak.
But Phil Lynott and crew proved time and time again that theywere capable of rocking with the big boys, even if they weren'tquite ready for superstardom. Exhibit "A": their 1975 release Fighting, which is just as entertaining an album as Jailbreak, even if it takes a few listens to really absorbeverything about it.
This album was, in some ways, still an adjusting for the band.Guitarist Scott Gorham had just joined one album prior, and hestill was fine-tuning the two-guitar attack with Brian Robertsoninto the sound that would make the band well-known. Brian Downey'sdrums were already at that next level, but Lynott, for some strangereason, decided to keep his bass work hidden in the mix. Maybe thishas been corrected with CD technology, but Lynott's bass work wouldhave been better had it been more in front of the music.
Of all the songs on Fighting, probably "Roaslie" is the one people know. A shortlove song, "Rosalie" showed the greatness the band had to offerwhile it demonstrated the need for the two-guitar attack to gel alittle more. Fortunately, this weakness is quickly corrected in thealbum, as songs like "Suicide" and "Fighting My Way Back" both showhow well Gorham and Robertson's guitars sounded when they blendedtogether.
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