Fighting (Thin Lizzy album)

Fighting
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released	12 September 1975
Recorded	London; May 1975
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	37:56
Label	Vertigo (UK, NA) Mercury (US - 1976 rerelease)
Producer	Phil Lynott
Thin Lizzy chronology
Nightlife (1974) Fighting (1975) Jailbreak (1976)
Alternative cover
Cover of the North American releases

Fighting is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1975. After spending four albums trying to find their niche, the band finally forged an identifiable sound featuring the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. This sound draws from hard rock, folk, pop and rhythm and blues. It set the stage for the big commercial breakthrough of the follow-up album, Jailbreak. The album was also their first album to chart in the UK, hitting #60.

The track "Suicide" was originally performed by Thin Lizzy when guitarist Eric Bell was still in the band, including on a BBC broadcast recorded in July 1973. It was first performed with different lyrics under the title "Baby's Been Messing", and lacked the middle section that appears on Fighting. The non-album track "Half-Caste" was released on the B-Side of the original "Rosalie" single. Another track recorded at the Fighting sessions was "Try a Little Harder", which was eventually released on the Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels boxed set in 2002.

Fighting is the only other Thin Lizzy album aside from their 1971 debut where band members other than Phil Lynott receive sole songwriting credits for certain tracks. Bell wrote "Ray Gun" on the debut, and Robertson and Gorham wrote "Silver Dollar" and "Ballad of a Hard Man", respectively.

Europe guitarist John Norum covered "Wild One" on his 1987 album Total Control. Europe covered "Suicide" on their 2008 live album Almost Unplugged.

A deluxe edition of Fighting was released on 12 March 2012.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described Fighting as a "tense, coiled, vicious rock & roll album", with which Thin Lizzy began their classic era. Highlighting Gorham and Robertson's twin-guitar interplay, he described this line-up of the band as "vital and visceral", and added that Lynott had made a leap forward as a songwriter, "fully flourishing as a rock & roll poet".^[1]

Track listing

1. "Rosalie" (Bob Seger) – 3:11
2. "For Those Who Love to Live" (Brian Downey, Phil Lynott) – 3:08
3. "Suicide" (Lynott) – 5:12
4. "Wild One" (Lynott) – 4:18
5. "Fighting My Way Back" (Lynott) – 3:12
6. "King's Vengeance" (Scott Gorham, Lynott) – 4:08
7. "Spirit Slips Away" (Lynott) – 4:35
8. "Silver Dollar" (Brian Robertson) – 3:26
9. "Freedom Song" (Gorham, Lynott) – 3:32
10. "Ballad of a Hard Man" (Gorham) – 3:14

Disc 2 (2012 deluxe edition CD)

1. "Half Caste" [B-side of "Rosalie"] (Lynott)
2. "Rosalie" [US album mix]
3. "Half Caste" [BBC Session 29 May 1975]
4. "Rosalie" [BBC Session 29 May 1975]
5. "Suicide" [BBC Session 29 May 1975]
6. "Ballad of a Hard Man [False starts, no vocal]
7. "Try a Little Harder" [Alternate vocal] (Lynott, Robertson)
8. "Fighting My Way Back" [Rough mix with alternate vocal]
9. "Song for Jesse" (Lynott)
10. "Leaving Town" [Acoustic, bass and drums – no vocal] (Lynott)
11. "Blues Boy" (Robertson)
12. "Leaving Town" [Extended take]
13. "Spirit Slips Away" [Extended version – take four]
14. "Wild One" [No vocal]
15. "Bryan's Funky Fazer (Silver Dollar)" (Robertson)

Singles

• "Rosalie"/"Half Caste" – 27 June 1975
• "Wild One"/"For Those Who Love to Live" – 17 October 1975

In the US and Canada, "Wild One" was released with "Freedom Song" as the B-side, and in Greece with "Rosalie" as the B-side.

Personnel

• Phil Lynott – bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on "Wild One"
• Scott Gorham – guitar
• Brian Robertson – guitar, backing vocals, piano on "Song for Jesse"
• Brian Downey – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Roger Chapman (from Family) – backing vocals on "Rosalie"
• Ian McLagan (from The Faces) – piano on "Silver Dollar"

References