THIN LIZZY – Fighting [Rock Candy remastered / Japan Edition 2xSHM-CD] *EXCLUSIVE*

Continuing with THIN LIZZY‘s discography – requested by many of you regarding which we consider the best sound quality CD pressings – here’s the kickin’ n’ punchy “Fighting“, the fifth studio album by the Irish legends.
Many of the recent THIN LIZZY reissue / remasters were handled by Rock Candy Records headquarters, and ”Fighting” is one of them, a deluxe edition including an extra disc of worthwhile bonuses. The remaster by resident Andy Pearce (assisted by Matt Wortham for the 24-bit cut) is excellent, and on this Japanese edition on SHM-CD feels even better.

After the newly reformed THIN LIZZY with a brash Glaswegian and a rocking hippie Californian taking up guitar duties debuted their 1974 album ‘Nightlife’ which did nothing to improve their standing with Phonogram, they booked studio time at the euthanized Olympic Studios and spent the latter part of the spring cutting this follower ”Fighting”.

Now ‘Nightlife’ was an eclectic bag of bluesy-jazzy-pop-rock, for ”Fighting” Lizzy knew they wanted to go headlong in the hard rock arena. After discrepances with the album’s producer, Phil decided to produce the thing himself. The problem; he’d never produced an album before.
Enter engineer, the late Keith Harwood.

On Martin Popoff’s book ‘Fighting My Way Back’, Brian Robertson referred to Harwood as “an absolute gem. Sadly missed, I have to say. I loved the guy to death. He was just a real gentleman, and he had all the ideas. Phil hadn’t produced an album in his life before. You know, when it says, ‘Produced by Phil Lynott,’ no it wasn’t. It was really produced by Keith Harwood, with a few ideas from Phil. That’s all it was.”

”Fighting” was ultimately the album that set the stage for ‘Jailbreak’, and while the band was in frame the picture was out of focus. But Thin Lizzy always managed to find speedbumps along the way when it came to the corporate side of things. And their troubles seemingly began with a picture.
Jim Fitzpatrick’s brilliant artwork is woefully missing for ”Fighting”, and ironically it would be the only album to sport their official logo he designed. So to save time, the label went with photography. Rock photographers Paul Anthony and Mick Rock were given the job to capture Thin Lizzy’s sex appeal and make them look commercially available.

Disc 1 contains the same tracks as the original LP release. ”Rosalie” is best known because of Thin Lizzy’s cover, and Phil being a fan of Bob Seger (and The Allman Brothers) was surprised that he didn’t include it in his set. So he decided to give it a proper treatment and added it to the Lizzy catalog.
‘For Those Who Love to Live’ was unabashed hero worship of Phil’s Man U football hero and drinking buddy, George Best. It’s cool jazzy-pop with an addictive hook demonstrating Phil’s burgeoning abilities as a modern Irish bard. Who else could word paint young, ambitious men on the rough streets of Troubled Belfast dreaming of endless green pitches and glittering gold medals, wanting you to swing your hips and strike cool poses?

‘Suicide’ remained a staple in the Thin Lizzy set up until the bitter end. It’s hard and heavy blues rock, and I think it helped Phil sublimate his obsession with death, openly criticizing society’s apathy in the face of tragedy.
An interesting note on ‘King’s Vengeance’, it was covered by 21 GUNS and Tommy La Verdi did a pretty good job. It was penned by Phil and Scott, and the music is your typical 70s feel-good sound (almost folksy) tune.

Morbidity and drugs come to mind for ‘Spirit Slips Away’. The track opens with this ominous guitar overture mixed over howling wind on a dust-swept steppe. I believe this demonstrated Phil’s philosophy as to why musicians use was to take creativity to the edge -and over- hence the verse; “And when the music that makes you blue/Unfolds its secrets, the mysteries are told to you””.
Jerome Rimson said Phil never wanted to grow old, he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, and Gary Moore said that right before the end Phil admitted he had difficulty accepting adulthood which supersedes his addiction to the celebrity lifestyle. You can argue whether or not this was a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the vibes here are eerie and uncomfortable.

My favorite track is the Irish history lesson wonderfully disguised as a love ballad, ‘Wild One’. This song should be played at every Irish wake, and should be highly appreciated for the twin guitar lead. It’s sentimental, not soppy, and neatly fits in with the youthfulness of the album.
Now ‘Fighting My Way Back’ can’t be called a title track exactly, but it successfully gets Phil’s anarchic message across. He wrote “by hook or by crook”, and by God was he going to get to the top that way as well. Nothing is worth starting if you can’t finish it, and Whiskey wasn’t going to have Thin Lizzy tossed into the one-hit wonder bin, but reinvention is never easy. So if a song can scream “I’m pissed to fuck, mad as hell, and if ya won’t get outta my way I’ll kick your ass” any louder to the Phonogram execs, I don’t know what could.

On a promotional session, a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. flashes on the screen behind drummer Brian Downey. Phil said of growing up black in Ireland was as easy as “having cauliflower ears,” but by the time Thin Lizzy were bonafide rock stars the Irish social landscape was changing.
Nevertheless, ‘Freedom Song’ was the universal theme for racial equality and support for Sinn Fein. Political commentary, nothing new here.
Sounds like someone was pretty pissed when writing ‘Ballad Of A Hard Man’, and in this case it was Scott Gorham. Scott was the pretty face with the gorgeous hair that kept up a supposed flawless image, and while he wasn’t a badass, he has a lot of attitude. Maybe his time in the clink and being crazy stoned in LA influenced this. It’s interesting enough, and could have a place on a 70s blaxploitation flick’s soundtrack.

Now disc 2 has a very interesting tracks. ‘Half Caste’ (Rosalie single’s B-side) Phil’s foray into reggae/funk. There’s ‘Rosalie US mix’ a little more melodic, and ‘Ballad of a Hard Man’ and ‘Song For Jesse’ in instrumental format, but Ballad had a couple of false starts giving it a grittier feel.
Another instrumental is ‘Wild One’, and should have been on the B-side of the single! Yeah, it’s that good.
‘Leaving Town’ extended take is nearly six minutes long, while ‘Brian’s Funky Fazer’ (Robbo’s first name was misspelled as “Bryan” on the sleeve and booklet) must’ve been the working title for Silver Dollar (and I’m glad they changed it). This is yet another instrumental longer than the vocal.

Far too many dismiss all pre-Jailbreak THIN LIZZY albums. “Fighting” is on par in quality, in fact it’s the genesis of Jailbreak’s sound.
This is a great ”Fighting” reissue, an album that would be right at home next to ‘Jailbreak’ on your CD shelf.
Highly Recommended

Disc 1 – Fighting remastered
01 – Rosalie
02 – For Those Who Love to Live
03 – Suicide
04 – Wild One
05 – Fighting My Way Back
06 – King’s Vengeance
07 – Spirit Slips Away
08 – Silver Dollar
09 – Freedom Song
10 – Ballad of a Hard Man

Disc 2 – Bonus / Unreleased
01 – Half Caste (B-Side Rosalie)
02 – Rosalie (US Album Mix)
03 – Half Caste (BBC Session)
04 – Rosalie (BBC Session)
05 – Suicide (BBC Session)
06 – Ballad of a Hard Man (No Vocal)
07 – Try a Little Harder (Alternate Vocal)
08 – Fighting My Way Back (Alternate Mix)
09 – Song for Jesse (No Vocal)
10 – Leaving Town (No Vocal)
11 – Blues Boy
12 – Leaving Town (Extended Take)
13 – Spirit Slips Away (Extended Version)
14 – Wild One (No Vocal)
15 – Bryan’s Funky Fazer (Silver Dollar)

Phil Lynott – bass, vocals, acoustic guitar
Scott Gorham – guitar
Brian Robertson – guitar, backing vocals, piano on “Song for Jesse”
Brian Downey – drums, percussion

Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UICY-75156