I always felt a little uncomfortable when Thin Lizzy was reborn without Phil Lynott in the fold. Obviously, that band was about more than one man, but absent of Lynott’s aggressive bass playing and silky vocals, it always felt a vital ingredient was missing from subsequent incarnations. That quandary has been solved with Acoustic Sessions, Lizzy’s first new album in over four decades that finds a selection of classic tracks reworked, pairing Lynott’s original vocals with all-new guitar parts from founding member Eric Bell to breathe freshness into familiar tunes.

There was always a malleable nature to Thin Lizzy’s sound and you feel that had the band continued into the late ‘80s/’90s they would have been ripe for the whole MTV Unplugged aesthetic and Acoustic Sessions is an album that sounds as if it should have always been in their discography. The parred-back nature of these songs throws up numerous surprises and no more so than with Phil’s vocals. Of course, we all knew what a strong voice he had, but perhaps not how strong and without the hard rock melee that usually accompanied his words, his voice takes centre stage, and it’s something of a revelation. Devoid of all the bells and whistles that a full band provides, ‘Mama Nature Said’ is a stark and bare opener and provides plenty of room for Phil’s voice. His timbre is warm and lustrous, and even when orchestration is added on the next track ‘A Song For While I’m Away’, it doesn’t seem out of place amongst the viola and oboe.

Another often overlooked aspect of the Thin Lizzy experience is Phil’s lyricism. Several tracks on this album are co-writes, but the stripped back nature of this album brings Phil’s writing to the fore. Take the sole composition ‘Eire’, for example, there’s a storytelling here that fired a thousand imaginations and you can hear it echoing in bands such as Iron Maiden (‘Invasion’) and it’s a cinematic quality that Bon Jovi would later make a career from. The acoustic format also creates light and shade and means that when Brian Downey’s drums kick in on ‘Slow Blues – E.B.’, they kick in hard. Eric Bell has produced all new guitar parts for this album, his playing is innovative but unobtrusive, yet that magic is still at his fingertips, and no more so that on ‘Slow Blues – E.B.’ where, in conjunction with Downey’s Drums, turns an acoustic piece into a thunderous experience.

Blending tracks from Lizzy’s 1972 album Shades Of A Blue Orphanage and the following year’s Vagabonds Of The Western World, Acoustic Sessions is sequenced like a brand new album and, just like the comic strip panels that adorn the sleeve, there’s an overarching concept stitching the album together. It’s an emotional thread that weaves a tapestry, from the longing on ‘Dublin’, the defiance on ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ to the spectre haunting ‘Shades Of A Blue Orphanage’, Acoustic Sessions lifts the listener one moment, then drops them the next. However, it’s a rumbustious rocker in ‘Remembering Pt. 2’ with which Thin Lizzy kick up dust and ride off into the sunset and feels like both an ending and a beginning.

The limited vinyl version contains a bonus track in the shape of ‘Slow Blues – G.M.’, (in tribute to Gary Moore) but whatever version you choose, you’ll find Thin Lizzy at their best.

• Acoustic Sessions is released via Decca Records on 24th January 2025 (available here).
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Vinyl Track List:

Side A:

1. Mama Nature Said
2. A Song For While I’m Away
3. Eire
4. Slow Blues – E.B.
5. Dublin

Side B:

6. Whiskey In The Jar
7. Here I Go Again
8. Shades Of A Blue Orphanage
9. Remembering Pt. 2
10. Slow Blues – G.M. *

* Limited Vinyl Bonus Track

CD track List:

As vinyl version, tracks 1 through 9