You are Scott Gorham, sometimes you wish you were Jerry Cantrell. Why doesn’t he get the same shit I’m getting for bringing out new music. Phil’s been dead since ’86, much longer then Layne and those bastards keep releasing new music and keep the same bloody band name. No one bats an eyelid, the new Alice why isn’t it fantastic and can’t wait for the tour mate. And me? Change the bloody name and all I’m getting is Phil this Lizzy that. Well I’ve had my fuckin Phil of you lot.
You can just imagine these thoughts going through his head can’t you. Gorham has kept the Lizzy flag flying more or less since ’96. On his travels he’s brought ex-members like John Sykes, Darren Wharton and most importantly drummer Brian Downey out with him. The shows were done tastefully and lets be honest it would be hard to perform a shit gig with that catalogue. I saw the Sykes version in Dublin, a great show for sure but more of a rawk type of show, a little too metalized if you will, Tommy Aldridge pounding seven shades of shit out of his kit.
Recent years brought Downey and the ever reliable Marco Mendoza back along with Ricky Warwick, Vivian Campbell and now Damon Johnson. The Sykes version played Cold Sweat, Downey nixed all that stuff, too heavy mate. Gorham breathed a sigh of relief. The new version of the band were fantastic live, a fact I can attest to after seeing them open on the Priest Epitath tour. The press kept asking about new stuff, bit of a touchy subject there. The band finally said fuck it.
So here we have it, Black Star Riders All Hell Breaks Loose. No Downey, no Wharton. If you think what they are doing is sacrilege then it’s shit before you’ve heard it, shit as you’re listening to it and shit to anyone within earshot. Couldn’t be the same without Phil. They got rid of the Thin Lizzy monicker, a right move in my opinion. Does it sound like classic Lizzy? Of course it bloody well does but what’s wrong with that.
What we have here is one really solid rocking disc. Ricky Warwick does sound uncannily like Phil on certain tracks but that’s to be expected as he’s been singing those songs (very well) for a number of years. Great to hear twin guitar leads and harmonies. Surprisingly it’s Warwick and Johnson who dominate the songwiting, both massive Lizzy fans in their youth. Fav tracks for me are Bloodshot and Valley of the Stones but there’s not one duffer amongst the lot. Ably produced by Kevin (get in get out I’ve gotta work with Bonamassa) Shirley even the hard nosed Lizzy fan might begrudgingly give respect if you buy him a pint.
Richie.
