Thin Lizzy - NIGHTLIFE (LP) Vinyl

These Irish rockers had been perfecting their melodic brand of hard rock long before the galloping "The Boys Are Back in Town" catapulted them onto every car radio in the U.S. Led by singer-bassist Phil Lynott's throaty delivery, the band often achieved a soulful and ringing sound (also thanks in no small part to the band's use of twin lead guitars, whose soaring lines lifted more than a few of Lynott's tunes out of the morass) that was a much-needed counterpart to the sound of the band's more lumpish pounders.
NIGHT LIFE serves as a blueprint for the band's breakthrough album, JAILBREAK, and reveals a hard-working unit poised to achieve the artistic highs that Lynott so often aspired to (but previously failed to reach). The album opener, "She Knows," offers the best of what the band offers: tightly wound dualing guitars, a chugging backbeat, and Lynott emoting as if he's singing a spiritual. Elsewhere, the ruminative "Still in Love With You" reveals a more romantic underbelly than one might suspect from Lynott and company. Clearly the work of a band in forward motion, NIGHT LIFE remains a too-often overlooked piece of the band's catalogue.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Rock