Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox
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Free Music Notes for Johnny the Fox
Free Music Review: Little Johnny Goes.......
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnny The Fox is the second album in what most fans call the "classic four" Thin Lizzy albums: Jailbreak, Johnny, Bad Reputation and Black Rose.If you like Jailbreak, and if you can find it, Johnny The Fox won't disappoint, not at all. It's every bit as good as Jailbreak, and according to some, even better. This is one band that does not do half-assed albums. Listening to the classic four you'll hear that Phil and Co. put everything they possibly could into these albums. They wrote and recorded anything they felt like with the attitude of "screw you if you don't like it". According to the liner notes in the remastered edition, during this period Lizzy were upstaging the bands they were opening for. That's no surprise coz they should have been headliners anyway. There's even an incident mentioned about Phil taunting Richie Blackmore in a bar about how Lizzy were gonna upstage Rainbow while John Bonham looked on. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Richie Blackmore and Rainbow, but it's awesome to hear about an underdog like Phil knocking Blackmore off his high horse. Sadly this tour never happened coz this is when Phil came down with hepatitis. But Johnny The Fox was recorded for you to enjoy and dance around your house to and bug your neighbors with when they decide to crank Counting Crows(or The Black Crows, or Sheryl Crow for that matter). So, what's stopping you?Free Music Review: The most overlooked album of all (Christgau be damned!)
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnny the Fox is by far the most overlooked and under appreciated album by the band. The guitar tandem of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson really hit their stride on this effort, and Phil wrote some of his best lyrics to date. The second of the four great consecutive STUDIO albums the band put out in the 70's. (Jailbreak (1976), Johnny the Fox (1976), Bad Reputation (1977), and Black Rose), many attribute the failure (in sales) of this album to it's early release after "Jailbreak". I think it's lack of sales had more to do with the diverse nature of the songs alienating those listeners who wanted more hard rock fare. Thin Lizzy's diversity (and singularity), hindered it's success. The audience wanted hard rock, because that's what they thought the band was (even though it wasn't).
I look back these days and appreciate this album, and the band, even more. I find myself appreciating the balls it took to do all those songs on side 2, knowing full well people might not like it. And the guitar work is fantastic. Brian and Scott were playing brilliant stuff on this album.
And as a sidenote, I really think that the album versions sound better. Not trying to be cool or anything like that, but scratches and all, I think albums are the way to go for some of the older stuff. Buy a turntable and purchase the vinyl at GEMM.
Free Music Review: Excellent mainstream Lizzy.
Hit: 5 Stars
One of my fondest memories of this album was when my grandmother, a church organist and music lover, remarked on how good the drummer was, never missing a beat even during his rolling and inventive fills. While this could be said of many top-notch rock drummers, it says something that even my grandmother appreciated at least the drumming on this album. However, this is my review, not my grandmother's, so...This is Thin Lizzy doing mainstream. And doing it exceptionally well. I love every track on this album. The dual guitar solos are perfect, right in line with those found on "Jailbreak", which is saying a lot. The whole album feels like an extension of "Jailbreak", which is a good thing. The songwriting is great, Lynott's vocals are great; everything is tight, polished, and professional. If you like Lizzy, you'll love this. And if you've never experienced them before, you'll still love this. It's one of '70's rock's classics. A must-have for any music lover. All the tracks are strong, with the possible exception of "Boogie Woogie Dance", which seemed sort of silly to me, although still quite listenable. My personal favorite Lizzy album though will always be "Night Life", which came out a few years earlier and has a much softer and jazz-influenced sound.
Free Music Review: Excellent album that would sadly prove prophetic
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnny the Fox is nearly as impressive as its predecessor, the outstanding Jailbreak. Here, Phil Lynott writes a loosely constructed concept album about a rock star that struggles with the hard lifestyle and the addictions that often come with it. Sadly, this would prove prophetic for Phil as he would become a victim of said lifestyle a decade later. All of the songs are very good, and as with all of their best work, there's a good mix of emotions. The upbeat rockers ("Rocky", "Fools Gold", "Johnny") complement their trademark wicked heavy metal ("Massacre", "Boogie Woogie Dance", "Don't Believe A Word") and a dose of funk in "Johnny the Fox meets Jimmy the Weed." However, it's the ballads that truly shine here as the Johnny character deals with both depression on "Borderline" and lost love on the joyous "Old Flame" and the beautiful "Sweet Marie." Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson's guitar work is impressive throughout, particularly on "Old Flame" and Brian Downey's drumming is spot on, especially on "Johnny" and "Boogie Woogie Dance." Phil's vocals on the ballads are true tearjerkers. Nobody in hard rock could ever sing like him. While not quite on the level of Jailbreak (few hard rock albums are), Johnny the Fox is an excellent album from the underrated Irish hard rock band.Free Music Review: FOOL'S GOLD
Hit: 5 Stars
To start with, this album was graced with an attractive Jim Fitzpatrick cover, which I still like today. Secondly, the band continued right on from where JAILBREAK left off. The twin guitars of Gorham and Robertson came to new life on this album, which would be the next to the last for Brian. His contributions here, as well as the rest of the band shine.The rock portion of the album starts right off with "Johnny" and then "Johnny the Fox...". There are excellent ballads, "Borderline" and "Fool's Gold", as well as the biggest hit here "Don't Believe a Word", which is a bluesy type number. If you can find it at all, try the version from Gary Moore's BACK ON THE STREETS, where he and Lynott pound it out as a definite blues song. Other good songs on this very affordable CD are: "Rocky", "Old Flame", and "Massacre".
The poetry of Lynott is very good indeed on tracks like "Don't Believe a Word" and "Fool's Gold". Some of the lyrics are quite "tongue-in-cheek", but this entire disc is an escape from the doldrums of life, as the band tells story after story accented with astounding music. A must buy just because of the price and the songs.