Thin Lizzy - Renegade
On November 15, 1981, "Renegade", the eleventh studio album by the band "Thin Lizzy", was released.
The year 1981 found "Thin Lizzy" and its charismatic leader Phil Lynott at a turbulent and complex crossroads. A full decade after releasing its debut album, the Irish band that had defined the sound of classic rock's double guitars with masterpieces like "Jailbreak" and "Black Rose" had to deal with a rapidly changing musical reality. As the new wave of British heavy metal took hold with young, fast-paced bands that proudly bore the influence of "Thin Lizzy", Lynott and his bandmates sought a way to refresh their sound without losing the poetic, narrative soul that had always distinguished them. At the same time, Lynott divided his time and creative energy between the band and his solo career, which at the time was yielding material for his second album, "The Philip Lynott Album," while his and guitarist Scott Gorham's serious addictions began to cast a heavy shadow over the band's internal stability.
Another significant change took place in the band's musical fabric. Young British keyboardist Darren Wharton, recruited a year earlier as an eighteen-year-old backup for the studio album "Chinatown", was now promoted to the status of a permanent band member and full co-writer, although the album's back cover still featured photographs of only the four veteran members. The prominent presence of Wharton's keyboards and synthesizers gave the songs a much more dramatic, cinematic and modern envelope. On the other hand, for guitarist Snowy White, who came from the world of refined blues and from working together with Peter Green and the band "Pink Floyd", this period marked the beginning of the end. White felt that his quiet and reserved nature clashed with the chaotic lifestyle of the band and the heavier direction it was gravitating towards, and this album became his last chapter in its ranks.
The recording process, which took place from January to September 1981 at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Odyssey and Morgan Studios in London with the young and talented producer Chris Tsangarides, was accompanied by considerable internal friction. In July of that year, Lynott insisted on recording and releasing as a single a cover version of the rockabilly song "Trouble Boys" by Billy Bremner of the band "Rockpile", alongside a bluesy B-side suggested by White called "Memory Pain" by Percy Mayfield. Gorham, White, Wharton and drummer Brian Downey strongly opposed the release of the single, claiming that it was outdated and did not represent the band, and when it stopped at only number 53 in the British charts, the original plan to name the album after it was shelved, and both songs were left off the final record. Out of this crisis, the band gathered its strength and created "Renegade", an eclectic, bold, and dark album that accurately reflected Lynott's sense of persecution and rebellion.
The album opens with one of the band's most monumental and chilling compositions, "Angel of Death", Whartonco-written by Lynott and Wharton. The song opens with Wharton's dark, ominous synthesizer sounds and Downey's precise drumming, before Gorham and White's guitars erupt with a heavy, dramatic riff. Lynott draws inspiration from the prophecies of Nostradamus and combines them with apocalyptic visions of a Cold War, nuclear holocaust, and existential fear. At the center of the six-minute track, the band builds a mesmerizing instrumental transition in which Wharton leads the cinematic tension towards a piercing and emotional guitar solo, in what immediately became one of the highlights of the band's live performances in its final years.
Immediately following comes the masterful title track "Renegade", the result of a close collaboration between Lynott and White, who also contributed the song's central riff and chord structure. The track moves with brilliant dynamics between quiet, melancholic and reflective verses in which Lynott's voice sounds ever more vulnerable and exposed, and powerful rock outbursts in the chorus. The text paints the image of a rebellious boy who has lost his way in an alienated world, a semi-autobiographical figure in which Lynott examines the image of the outsider that has accompanied him throughout his life, while White and Gorham weave melodic solos that correspond with each other with delicacy and power.
The raw rock energy returns in full force on the third track, "The Pressure Will Blow," written by Gorham and Lynott. It's a sharp, driving hard rock song driven by a classic double guitar riff and energetic drumming by Downey, in which Lynott describes a relationship and a sense of personal suffocation about to explode under pressure. The first side of the record closes with "Leave This Town," another fast-paced rocker from Gorham and Lynott, which combines a tight boogie groove, rough slide guitars, and a loose energy reminiscent of the band's mid-1970s heyday.
The second side of the album opens with the album's most recognizable and catchy hit, "Hollywood", also known by its subtitle "Down on Your Luck". The song, written by Gorham and Lynott, reveals the dark and brutal side behind the bright neon lights of America's film capital, with the story of young dreamers who arrive in the City of Angels and discover that the promises of fame have become the reality of loneliness and survival on the streets. Over a sweeping beat and triumphant guitar harmonies reminiscent of the band's classic sound, Lynott delivers one of the most sweeping vocal performances on the album, and the song became the lead single from the record and an integral part of the band's stage repertoire.
From there, the album continues on a fascinating stylistic journey that demonstrates Lynott's breadth as a songwriter. "No One Told Him" is a short, melodic, and warm song with a tight pop-rock flavor in which Lynott looks with compassion at a man who belatedly discovers the price of his choices. Immediately after, the band surprises with "Fats", a brilliant, humorous, and stylish tribute to jazz legend Fats Waller, written by Lynott and White. The song combines a swing rhythm and light funk, bouncy piano, Lynott's groovy bass, and White's clean jazz guitar playing, along with an amusing lyrical jab at psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
The musical diversity continues with "Mexican Blood", an acoustic and cinematic ballad written by Lynott inspired by westerns and old frontier tales. Downey leads the beat with delicate percussion, the acoustic guitars paint a dusty desert landscape, and Lynott's deep vocals are accompanied by rich vocal harmonies that give the song a mysterious and magical atmosphere. The album closes with the dark and tense epic "It's Getting Dangerous", written by Gorham and Lynott. The song gradually builds from a hypnotic bass line and wailing guitars into a powerful and melodic chorus, leaving the listener with a chilling sense of impending danger, a kind of prophecy of what is to come in Lynott's personal life.
The album cover, designed and shot by photographer and designer Graham Hughes, featured a dramatic illustration of an arm waving a red flag with a yellow star, against a dark and stormy mountain landscape, while the back of the record featured portraits of Lynott, Gorham, Downey and White in four different colours. Upon its release in November 1981, the album suffered from a lack of promotion from the record company and mixed reviews from the British music press, who found the combination of synthesizers, metal, jazz and folk difficult to digest, and it reached number 38 in the UK charts and number 157 in the US. Following the album's tour, White left the band by mutual consent and embarked on a successful solo career, being replaced by John Sykes for the thunderous farewell album "Thunder and Lightning". Over time, "Renegade" has been rightfully re-evaluated as one of the most hidden, courageous and moving gems in the "Thin Lizzy" catalog, a testament to Phil Lynott's boundless creativity even in his most complex hours.
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