Thin Lizzy Songs Ranked
Thin Lizzy is a hard rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist and lead vocalist Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott led the group throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums, writing most of the material. The singles “Whiskey in the Jar” (a traditional Irish ballad), “The Boys Are Back in Town” and “Waiting for an Alibi” were international hits. After Lynott’s death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, though Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey. Here are all of Thin Lizzy’s songs ranked.
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20. Hollywood (Renegade, 1981)
“Hollywood” is Philip Lynott’s shot at the plastic world of Los Angeles, where most of those with stars in their eyes are fortunate if they manage to enjoy a mere fifteen-minutes of fame.”
19. Sarah (Black Rose: A Rock Legend, 1972)
“Where again Phil Lynott shows his softer side in a delightful, jangly epistle to his baby daughter. He’s in good company penning a song to his newly-born, off hand I can think of songs by John Lennon, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Robbie Robertson and I’m sure there are many more.”
18. The Rocker (Vagabonds of the Western World, 1973)
“At last the real Lizzy makes her bow. Ditching the folk-Irish sound of their earlier efforts this by dramatic contrast is a down and dirty rocker and marks the first main outing of Lynott’s tough-guy persona as he lays down the gospel according to macho man, over a great gut-wrenching riff that just won’t quit. Not the massive chart hit it should have been, nevertheless, it became their live show encore for years to come.”
17. Got to Give It Up (Black Rose: A Rock Legend, 1979)
“The personal pain of “Got To Give It Up” is in very stark contrast to the personal passion of “Sarah” and it has been though that it was written for recently departed Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson who seemed intent on self destructing with his booze habit and constant brawling, but for me the song is definitely more auto biographical with its two co-composers (Lynott/Gorham) being recently addicted to the opium trail and the demon that would kill off Thin Lizzy for good-heroin. But it’s easier to hide the truth or at least try to mask it, but the message is clear enough for all to see “…_I think I’ve lost control_… is sang with more than enough conviction and sincerity to be about any one else than its writer.”
16. Wild One (The Very Best of Thin Lizzy, 1996)
“Wild One” is one of the songs that should really have made Lizzy, again it has Lynott harking back to the history of Ireland with a sense of poignancy and as such it also works on a very personal level with Lynott being away from home himself and struggling to make a success with his band. “
See more: Thin Lizzy Albums Ranked
15. Thunder and Lightning (Thunder and Lightning, 1983)
“This is the best way to go out. It’s over 200 bpm, and you can picture the show ending with instruments being destroyed. The shred is real, the best solo I have ever heard in my life. deserves to be top”
14. Roisin Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend (Black Rose: A Rock Legend, 1979)
“It’s not just a song; it’s a celebration of Irish music and literature. This is to rock as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is to classical music. Easily the best song written by Thin Lizzy, a beautiful song.”
13. Angel of Death (Renegade, 1981)
“This is one of the metal songs this band recorded and I like it very much. One of the best live song I ever heard the band perform.. just an awesome rock song”
12. Bad Reputation (Bad Reputation, 1977)
“This is one of the band’s best albums. I remember it as a real treasure back in the day. Bad Reputation and Opium Trail were stuck in my head for months! And I ripped uncounted calluses trying to figure out riffs-if you play guitar you know what I mean.”
11. The Sun Goes Down (Thunder and Lightning, 1983)
“A sad song about the struggles of drug addiction written by a gifted and talented musician who died from his own addictions. Absolutely lovely song; my most favorite from Thin Lizzy, closely followed by Emerald.”
10. Still in Love with You (Nightlife, 1974)
“Listen to the Live and Dangerous version of that song. It’s beautiful from the beginning to the end. “This sadness that never ceases. I’m still in love with you.” The guitar solo at the end is the highlight”
9. Cold Sweat (Thunder and Lightning, 1983)
“The kick off cut from Thin Lizzy’s farewell album, _Thunder and Lightning_, the raging “Cold Sweat”, signaled that Lizzy was back in a major way and ready to storm the hard rock scene. “Cold Sweat” burns from the very beginning as Lizzy rips proudly throughout the cookin’, go-for-broke cut with full-on confidence and precision.”
8. Waiting for an Alibi (Black Rose: A Rock Legend, 1979)
“Philip Lynott is at his rhyming best throughout “Waiting for an Alibi”, as the Thin Lizzy ring-leader tells the tale of high stakes gambling. Pulled from Lizzy’s epic, end-of-the-’70s _Black Rose_ LP, “Waiting for an Alibi” may have done little as a single, but that is no reflection at all on the cool-factor baked into the cookin’ bookie inspired cut from 1979.”
7. Dancing in the Moonlight (Bad Reputation, 1977)
“The bass and snapping at the beginning of this song almost made me skip it the first time I heard it, and I’m so glad I didn’t. Beautiful lyrics here, really thick production (especially for such a token hard rock band), and the saxophone just works perfectly. Every time it steps over it’s line into gaudy territory it steps back and it just works.”
6. Cowboy Song (Jailbreak, 1976)
“This was always a great live track and coming of that classic “Jailbreak” album. Thin Lizzy rocks harder than any other band in this song! To all dirty boys of the city…”
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5. Don’t Believe a Word (Johnny the Fox, 1976)
“Great rhythm and a poetic lyric. A song that touch your heart with the words but keeps you rocking with the music. God that riff owns. The lyrics are brilliant as usual. This should be as well known as Boys are Back In Town.”
4. Emerald (Jailbreak, 1976)
“Emerald” is the real find, though, the gem of Jailbreak, and as awesome as that pun was lame. The song is basically the vehicle for an epic guitar jam, and it delivers in spades. The absolute highlight is the monster cataclysmic buzz-saw guitar riff that breaks out of the song’s brief quiet section and divides the track into two epochs. Seriously, that’s one of my favorite guitar moments ever, and it’s just brilliant the rest of the way. As they say, if you’re going to do a guitarist, do a GUITAR FEST.”
3. Whisky in the Jar (Shades of a Blue Orphanage, 1972)
“Whiskey In The Jar” is a traditional Irish folks song that’s been recorded since the early 1950’s, involving a Highwayman who’s been betrayed by his lover, and his passion for nothing but the courage he takes from whiskey in the jar, and his ever embolden road crimes. For me, it’s a traditional song from Vietnam, and a kid who used to sit on an empty 50 gallon oil drum, fingering the strings for anyone willing to listen, with a bottle of rye at his feet. I never knew his last name, but I used to stand at the door of my hootch and listen, and from time to time, wandering over and asking him to “Please, play Whiskey.” I do remember the night I realized he hadn’t played in several days, I’ve no idea what became of that young jungle highwayman, I can only hope that he found his way home, and found some peace, because the passion he laid out as he sang was numbing.”
2. Jailbreak (Jailbreak, 1976)
“Lizzy were one of the best rock bands in the UK in the late 70’s and early 80’s and never lost the knack of producing album tracks good enough to be hit singles. This is a case in point, the title track to their 1976 album, with tough riffing, a tough lyric and tough no-nonsense production highlighting the band’s twin guitar attack and of course Lynott’s distinctive brogue-ish vocals.”
1. The Boys are Back in Town (Jailbreak, 1976)
“The Boys Are Back in Town” is pretty much the epitome of RYM-genre dad rock. And what’s wrong with that? My dad’s awesome! He’s my number one for music recommendations. He talked about Jailbreak being a great album enough that eventually, I had to investigate what it has to offer besides this universally-known Thin Lizzy cut, wherein Phil Lynott gives an ace lesson in frontmanship. He delivers lines like “Man when I say she was cool, I mean she was red-hot—I mean she was steaming” with aplomb and keeps the energy and engagement high even when whispering “The boys are back, creating hooks within hooks in a song laced with them. Anthemic and overplayed, fortunately, this is one case where the former triumphs over the latter.”
