Thin Lizzy started life as a more of a progressive folksy-sounding band with hardrock overtones than the larger-than-life rockers they would eventually become by the late 70s. Ideal turn of the 70's hippie music -- [but] there's a real, almost dark, edge here, and also includes more than a few echoes of the harder path their music would follow in later years. Eric Bell's lead guitar is subtle but strong, pushing the songs in harsher places than Phil Lynott's lyrics were ready to go. Lynott's songwriting itself shows more maturity than one would expect from a first album. Nice poetry here. If you turned up the distortion on the guitars in "Look What The Wind Blew In", then it would sound right at home on their later albums. But the way the songs are recorded here gives them more of a laid-back, relaxed texture. It works as music to really appreciate. Songs are given the time to tell stories and create images that have a certain resonance, the aural equivalent of old photographs that stir fond, forgotten memories for the listener.

The lyrics are some of Phil Lynott's best, moving beyond simple song lyrics to actual poetry and storytelling put to music. We as listeners are treated to viginettes of characters' lives, given glimpses of intriguing locales, invited to share in a lot of the emotions being conveyed. One might compare the simple, bittersweet lyrics of "Dublin" to some of the best poetry heard. All of this conveyed by the voice of Phil Lynott; at turns passionate, longing, and more vulnerable than perhaps he has ever sounded since. Strong Lp that grows with each spin of a listen...