Sold Date: September 30, 2023
Start Date: September 23, 2023
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>Archive Copy<

Thin Lizzy

'Johnny The Fox'

Vertigo, UK, 1976

9102 012

AS IF 'Jailbreak' wasn't good enough the Lizzy boys rode back into town atop another fine steed this time in the shape of the album 'Johnny The Fox'. By now, of course, they were at the top of their game fighting, brawling and rockin' their way from town to town with all guns blazing. Ring leader Phil Lynott had mutated into a superstar front man organising and pistol whippin' the boys into a crack unit of battle hardened rock gods each with a point to make and a riff to mangle.

I love this album because it rips the pants off the competiton whilst offering the listener a chance to become a member of the Lizzy gang for however long it takes for a complete spin around the grooves. The lead-off track 'Johnny' sets the scene with a killer riff whilst 'Rocky' tells the story of a hard man (said to be about Brian Robertson) making possibly the two most lethal opening tracks on any Lizzy record. Lynott was the master of tight riffing, shadow boxing his way out of tight spots whilst the band tooled up and ploughed in like an SAS unit on a mission of mercy. 'Borderline' draws breath, Lynott conjuring up tales of the wild west with the same sort of panaoramic approch as used in 'Fools Gold', complete with chilly spoken word intro and uterrly devastating twin lead guitar.  

Elsewhere the quality is superlative. 'Don't believe A Word, an unlikely hit single, rocks like the proverbial bitch as does 'Massacre' and 'Boogie Woogie Dance' (seemingly a throwaway filler but ultimately taking on allcomers with brawn and bravado) and the softer side of Lynott's imagination. 'Old Flame' and 'Sweet Marie' are so hugely incongruous that under any other circumstance they would not have worked, yet Lynott's romantic lilt and crafty smile suduces and cajoles making them gleem like diamonds in the dirt.

My favourite track is the funky hip sway of 'Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed' a cool as cucumber story of everyday drug dealing in San Francisco Bay and a name check for the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils no less. Sends you right out to heaven.

Pressing: Vertigo, UK, 1976

Vinyl: Beautiful unplayed condition. No spindle marks and no signs or use whatsoever. Grades as Mint!

Cover: Again, virtually no signs of use. Sharp corners - no dings, no bends, no ring wear, no split seams and no creases. Stunning stiff and uncrushed spine. Beautiful and impossible to find like this after 30 years. Grades as Mint!

Inserts: Cardboard printed inner sleeve with album credits

Matrix:

1st Pressing

Side One: 1012012 1 // 2

Side Two: 1012012 2 // 3