Jailbreak

The great lyrics, driving bass, Lynott's crooning, the double edged guitar attack that would become a trademark, and the pounding rhythms of Brian Downey's drums create a masterpiece! I can't even begin to tell you there are any songs you'd have to wade through to get to something good. These are all Lizzy killers! My favorites are "Warriors" and "Emerald", where the group shows they can play swords and sorcery with the best of them. The variety of most Lizzy albums is present even here with the slower "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" and "Running Back". Strong rockers are the three everyone knows, "Jailbreak", "the Cowboy Song", and "the Boys Are Back In Town".

Maybe it's just reliving great times from high school or one of the hottest tours I've seen with Robin Trower, but JAILBREAK is one of those lifetime achievements few bands, no matter how good, ever accomplish. Definitely a 100 all-time best CD!


Jailbreak, what a fantastic recording!   July 13, 2005
Hellion Zephreid (Pittsburgh)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

I remember buying this in the summer of 1976 after hearing "The Boys Are back in Town" on the radio a few times. That song is one of the top 10 songs ever! When I bought it as an LP (remember those?), I was so excited and distracted that I put the wrong side on the turntable. Instead of that song, out of the speakers came the title track JAILBREAK. Another timeless classic. Needles to say, the entire record of 9 songs was fantastic and there truly isn't a dud on here. Since then I have bought these songs on cassette, CD, and now the remastered version. Great story in the liner notes too. Buy it and read it for yourself. It is almost hard to believe the recorded output Lizzy put out in the years of 1975 through 1977. Quality too. Hell, "Johnny the Fox" also came out later that year in '76 and is every bit as good as this, unfortunately overlooked because of the lack of a hit. Personal favorites on here are "Romeo and the Lonely Girl", "Emerald", and "Warriors". I love them all. If you want some great rock songs with excellent twin guitar breaks, this is for you. See where Maiden, Leppard, and The Darkness got it from in the first place! My only question on this reissue is why has Scott Gorham been eliminated on the Overlaord's video screen on the cover? He is the only member from this group performing in the current Thin Lizzy lineup and for some reason, he is missing.


Thin Lizzy's maturation   April 2, 2008
Jed (UK)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I have to admit I didn't like Thin Lizzy at first, beyond The Boys Are Back In town. When I first bought this in 1989 I was heavily into a Black Sabbath phase, and somwehow Thin Lizzy didn't sit quite right with me. I didn't like the slow songs, I disliked the funky elements (here typified by Angel From The Coast) and they seemed too down to earth for my taste.

How things have changed! Twenty years later I mainly listen to classcial but Thin Lizzy are one of only a handful or rock bands I still listen to. Now, I can really appreciate this band. They had so much; songs with melody yet attitude, great musicianship, and if I may use a quote beloved of pretentious music critics, "resonance". Incredibly though it took 6 albums in as many years for Thin Lizzy to gain widespread acclaim, although with Jailbreak it's easy to understand why the public finally realised how good this band was. The songs are all finely crafted, catchy and the famous (and influential) twin guitar style was perfected here after some experimental attempts. The main attraction to Jailbreak is of course the song The Boys Are Back In Town, very nearly the perfect all out rock and roll song, neatly combining melancholy touches in the verse to the triumphant, rousing chrous.

I might point out too that I've come to appreciate Lizzy as musicians too. Of course Scott Gorham and Brian Roberstson are the easiest to spot here, but Brian Downey is a drummer that should get wider acclaim. He's never overpowering in the way that some rock drummers are but complements the songs with an almost perfect beat and cymbal technique. He's not trying to outshine the others, he know his job is to provide a solid base for the others to build on. Listen to Angel From The Coast for an example. Above all though I've come to regard Phil Lynott's voice as one if the best in rock. He sings somewhat like Freddie Mercury, sharp, not flat, and there are vocal harmony overdubs that sound not dissimilar to some Queen.

Overall if you want hard rock that isn't ashamed to be melodic then Thin Lizzy are a band you should like. Perhaps the best analogy I can make is to Queen. They share a similar ratio of rockers to slow songs, they use melodic yet aggressive guitar and use similar vocal techniques. Thin Lizzy are much more streetwise and earthy than the (intentional) theatrics of Queen though. (As an aside Thin Lizzy toured with Queen in 1977, what a show that must have been!)

Maybe the only problem I have with Jailbreak as an album is that it seems to outshine any other Thin LIzzy release in popularity. Ask the average rock fan about Thin Lizzy and they'll name The Boys Are Back In Town. Some might be able to tell you that it's from Jailbreak and mention either the title track or maybe Emerald. For 90% of rock fans though, the rest of Thin Lizzy's catalog is a mystery. Which is a shame as they did so many good songs both previously and after their breakthrough with Jailbreak, and this album is just one aspect of their multi faceted career. Although this album, as a whole, is clearly one of Thin Lizzy's high points, it is not the bands only great moment. If you want to experience Thin Lizzy though, then Jailbreak is the ideal start point.




The breakout album from the band   June 1, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This album was the first time I had heard of the band "Thin Lizzy", (I was 13 at the time. It was our nation's bicentennial!). It was also the album that made me want to learn guitar as a kid, and I knew exactly how I wanted to sound. LIKE THESE GUYS!!!!
To me the look and sound of Thin Lizzy was the coolest. I never felt cheated with any of their STUDIO albums (even "Renegade" had some great moments on it), and I admire their courage to record songs that made Thin Lizzy a truly "singular" band.

But not everyone was so taken with this band. Critically they were often slammed. Read what Robert Christgau wrote about Thin Lizzy, and the album "Jailbreak"....... (from Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981)....

>>>The proof of how desperate people are for new Springsteen is that they'll settle for this -- even "The Boys Are Back in Town" is the sort of thing that ends up in Bruce's wastebasket. If Irish teen traumas are as boring as Phil Lynott's descriptions of them, it's no wonder they have trouble maintaining their birthrate. And if Irish teen traumas are as secondhand as Scott Gorham's guitar lines, the Irish will probably end up preferring Springsteen too. B- <<<<<

I'm glad Thin Lizzy sound didn't compare to the bombast of "everyman" and critical darling, Bruce Springsteen. And I'm glad that the band kept doing what IT wanted to musically, critics be damned. Thin Lizzy's guitar work when Scott and Brian played together was brilliant, the song styles and subject matter varied, the song writing was at times subpar (being honest here), but usually excellent. They were never boring. There sound was exciting, and at times different and very challenging, unlike Springsteen (why people tried to compare the two is beyond me).

When Thin Lizzy released these 4 studio albums consecutively....Jailbreak (1976) Johnny the Fox (1976) Bad Reputation (1977) Black Rose (1979)....it was rock nirvana for me. I can't think of another band that influenced me in my youth the way these guys did, and I thank them for it. I would have given anything to play guitar like Scott and Brian, and be as cool as Phil.


"Jailbreak" is one of the best ever.   August 10, 2004
Scott "Dr. Music" Itter (Naperville, Illinois United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Has there ever been a better twin lead guitar record ever recorded? After listening to a spine-tingling jamfest like "Emerald", it would be tough to find anything better than Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak".

Gorham and Robertson are astounding on this tremendous effort from 1976. This record has it all; legendary frontman Phil Lynott providing solid bass work along with his sly "ghetto" vocal, the incessant rhythmic rolling of drummer Brian Downey, a range of song styles that is rare for any artist from any decade, and of course.....there's Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson with guitar acrobatics throughout. A truly amazing record through and through.
Most people know the two big hits from the record, "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back In Town", as they are in constant rotation on your local Classic Rock stations; but it's the rest of the record that is really electrifying. With songs such as "Romeo And The Lonely Girl", "Warriors", and "Cowboy Song" rounding out the album, my jaw drops every time I listen. From the initial explosion of the very first note of the title track to kick things off, to the most amazing dual lead guitar solos ever recorded on "Emerald", this is a record that has so much to offer in every facet of the "classic rock formula". With the jumpy, jangling guitar work that shuffles through "Angel From The Coast" and "Romeo And The Lonely Girl", and the free and easy pop cadence of "Running Back", this is not only a record with a lot of muscle, but a record with loads of eloquence also. Check out the ultra-cool and mellow mood of "Fight Or Fall", which reminds this writer of 70's African-American cultural nuances such as the "afro" and Cooley High". This is an artful record with phenomenal musicianship. It's difficult to talk about anyone else with those two overwhelming guitarists doing the job, but let's not forget an amazing drum performance by Brian Downey. Numerous times I have listened to some records and just wind up wishing for a crash cymbal to sound at that perfect place, or a drum fill that never comes. Downey never disappoints here. With constant drum fills rolling through almost every track, and great explosiveness with precise timing, he matches the guitar intensity extremely well. Check out the six measure drum solo in "Warriors", ...great stuff.
I keep returning to it though. Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Wow.
This may be the only record that the guitars have more "lyrics" than the singer. I believe, that the sign of great guitar soloing is when the listener can almost "sing" what's been played. When I think about this record, and find it buzzing in my head at the dinner table, it is the finely crafted guitar solos that I find to be the hooks here! This is an amazing thing!! I cannot think of more than 5 records that have solos that stick anywhere near this heavy. The guitar parts of this record are songs within themselves. They take on personality and character, and they ultimately become entities. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

If you are a fan of great guitar playing, and you have not heard this entire record....PLEASE, find it - hear it - end up "singing" the greatest solos ever recorded.

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