As soon as you see the words ‘played with Thin Lizzy’ alongside anybody’s name, you can be fairly certain that you’ll be in for an aural treat. This, my friends, is no exception.
There’s a very, very slight hint of the Lizzy influence here, but not as much as I expected. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting every song to sound like some sort of “Whiskey in the Jar” / “Boys Are Back In Town” weird-ass mash-up, but still.
This is a pretty good album. It’s pretty easy to listen to, but I get the feeling it’s an album that, if you were to actually listen to the lyrics, each song would tell a story. This, for me, is something that’s been missing from the music world for a while – well, the mainstream music world anyway. Y’know, all that pop muck (which I listen to in that place known as “gym”).
“Days of Summer” is probably the standout track on here for me. It’s one of those songs that perfectly melds together great lyrics with cracking guitar work to create something special. It’s not an overpowering song by any means, but it’s one that you could easily listen to over and over again, and pick out something slightly different each time.
I said earlier that there were slight Lizzy influences here, but the album reminds me more of the late, great Jeff Healey. There’s also a bit of early Bon Jovi here. You can almost hear the slight hint of Irish traditional music in here too, if only in the storytelling of the lyrics.
I think this is the sort of album you really do need to listen to twice – the first time just to enjoy the incredible song; the second to actually listen to what’s being sung in each song. Until is a good example of this – even on the first listen, it’s clear that there’s a real story going on, and it would take at least two listens to find it out.
Basically, it’s just a good excuse to listen to this album over and over again. Some of the songs wouldn’t sound out of place in some sort of fantasy, LOTR-esque film as part of the soundtrack.
[8/10]
