>> THIN LIZZY : BAD REPUTATION

Shortly after my Air Canada flight set down, I found myself in deep trouble with several Canadian Immigration officers. As British subjects, Thin Lizzy sailed into Canada without a hitch to record the album (most of them did; I don't know whether American Scott Gorham had any problems). But I, as an American citizen, was told that I couldn't work in Canada without a work visa. I explained that I was hired by Thin Lizzy and we were spending lots of British money here on studio fees, etc. But their point was that I was "putting Canadian record producers out of work"! I said Thin Lizzy just wanted a Canadian studio, not a Canadian producer. I decided to boast a bit and told them that I was no ordinary record producer (sorry, but sometimes this works) and had produced massive hits for David Bowie and T.Rex! For all that, I could've been the backside of a moose -- it didn't faze them at all! I was then made to wait for three hours on a bench with several other people. Some of these people were from third world countries and couldn't speak English. One woman was waiting for an Armenian translator to arrive! I felt very bad for these people seeking asylum, but I felt even worse for myself. This was an echo from the time I had to blag my way into England ten years earlier. ("Why do you take four guitars on vacation?" "I have to practice.")

Finally I was beckoned to the chief Immigration officer. He said they'd looked in their official book of occupations and couldn't find a listing for record producers at all. Therefore -- he sounded almost too embarrassed to admit this -- no record producers existed in Canada! So I could come in and produce my Thin Lizzy record.

I arrived frazzled at the Royal II hotel in Toronto. As happy as I was to get through Canadian Immigration, I just wanted to sleep for a long time and then go straight home to my wife and kids! (In the months since I'd agreed to record this album my daughter Jessica had been born and we had moved to a seven-bedroom Georgian house in the countryside.) Unfortunately they put me next door to Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson. Brian had a new boombox and he wanted everyone in the hotel to know about it! I couldn't sleep. I didn't know it was Brian in that room, so I banged on the wall and phoned the front desk and finally the noise stopped.

The next day, at the studio, I met Brian Robertson and drummer Brian Downey for the first time. Downey didn't say much but was very polite. Robertson looked every inch a rock lead guitarist and didn't walk anywhere without a bottle of Remy Martin in one hand. He was very, very angry, too. Phil Lynott took me aside and explained that they were having problems with Brian. I never knew what the problems were but Brian wasn't talking to the others and only managed to muster a curt "hello" to me.

We spent the initial two days getting sounds from the instruments. Listening to the CD today, I am floored by the quality of the various sounds of the instruments and overall mix. Maybe the drum kit sounds a little too thin by today's standards, but the guitars and vocals are "in-your-face", a much-sought-after characteristic of today's recordings. This album has hardly dated in 20 years! Then we started to record and the tracks went down smoothly. Downey has got to be one of the best drummers I've worked with. He was ballsy and precise -- a rare combination. Scott was the quintessential second guitarist. He got off on playing just riffs and power chords, with very little lead that I recall on this album. Phil's bass playing was funky and totally in the pocket. The energy was always high when we were tracking. But Robertson never really climbed out of his blue funk. When it was time for his solo overdubs I asked him to play a bit for me to get a sound. Then we cut him loose. He would play brilliantly every time and if there was some suggestion I threw at him, he would oblige me and play it without resisting. But his bad mood prevailed even when we were all cheering in the control room after he played something brilliantly. Once we asked him to come in and hear his solo (a really great one), and he shouted "No!" and put his guitar down and walked out of the studio.

Despite this acrimony, the album went at a fast pace. Producing T.Rex and Bowie records hadn't prepared me for the way these lads lived and worked! T.Rex grew from the humble beginnings of an acoustic duo and Bowie was a solo artist. Lizzy was a band with an entourage. Every musician had a personal roadie and there were assistants and managers in abundance at all times. This album was a breakthrough for me, in terms of a new form of music and group dynamics. When I lost control on several occasions, I had to phone the managers in London and ask them to sort their wild boys out!

Sonically this was a fairly sophisticated album. In addition to the normal two-guitar, bass and drum setup we used the latest synthesizer keyboards. The keyboard chores were shared between Phil and Robertson. Phil loved to play the string parts. On "Soldiers Of Fortune" you can hear the strange synth parts and phased cymbals in the intro, plus a real gong played by Downey. Immediately you can tell that this is Irish rock music from the use of Celtic modal scales and subtle rhythms which remotely echo Irish folk dancing. I even got to play a little recorder tucked away in the instrumental on this track.

Phil was the only vocalist on the entire album. The others didn't even sing backing vocals. I thought this was strange at first but then I realized that Phil had an enormous range. He was a baritone but could sing really high parts -- listen to him on the "turn yourself around" sections. Those backing vocals are all Phil.

"Opium Trail" is one of several songs about drug addiction. Drugs were a staple for Lizzy. I believe they really killed Phil in the end. I can't help but think that Phil was sending out a cry for help with this song. I once questioned his ability to play stoned. He replied that he'd been smoking dope for so long he could play extremely well stoned. According to Phil, it was the others in the group who shouldn't get high, not having the experience he had! But it was the first of many times I endured Phil standing in front of a mic barely able to speak or stand, and trying for a final vocal!

"Southbound" is a lazy rocker, almost American sounding. A cool song. The signature dual lead guitar of Lizzy is apparent on this track.

"Dancing In The Moonlight" is one of the sexiest singles I've ever produced. This track came together very quickly. Scott Gorham was related to someone in Supertramp. We hooked up in Toronto when they were on tour and borrowed reed player John Helliwell to play on this track. His playing is classic! This was a big single for us!

"Killer Without A Cause" is yer killer metal rock track. This is the kind of track that goes down great live. I like this track because it has some subtle elements like acoustic guitar replacing electrics on the bridge parts. Then Robertson plays guitar through the strange voice box, the simple gizmo that Peter Frampton made famous on his successful live album. The voice box is just a plastic tube attached to a speaker feed from the guitarist's amp. The tube is taped to the mic stand and the player puts the tube partially in his mouth. He enunciates vowels whilst playing and the guitar sounds like it's talking!

"Downtown Sundown" has John Helliwell returning on clarinet. Phil's voice sounds very soulful here. The lyric content is very spiritual.

"That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart" is a galloping track. Gorham is playing a chuck-a-jung guitar in the verse that has a slow slapback echo on it. Very advanced for the times. I love the lyrics, "That deck you're using/ is stacked against romance". The guitar solos are very pretty and soulful here, with both guitarists taking turns at playing lead.

"Dear Lord" features a 16-voice women's choir sung by my then wife Mary Hopkin. Mary and the kids (Morgan, 4, and Jessica, a few months old) were visiting me. Mary has the voice of an angel. Her cumulative voices here sound divinely unreal! Phil (Mr. Rock and Roll) couldn't believe Mary Hopkin (Ms. "Those Were The Days") was singing on a Lizzy track -- and it worked!!!!! Again, another spiritual track: "Dear Lord, give me dignity, restore my sanity/My vanity is killing me". (We needed to thank the dear Lord for returning our son Morgan to us after he ran off to play with a thousand other kids at Ontario Place playground one Sunday afternoon. It took my visiting parents, Mary and myself two hours to find him in the swarming crowd.)

We had a ball in Toronto. What a great nightlife! It was hard to find at first but we found it. I can't remember the names of the clubs now, but all doors were open to Thin Lizzy and their friends. Phil's charisma was irresistible and the band was shown great respect there. One night after all the clubs were closed we went back to the hotel for a nightcap. It was around 3 AM. To our amazement, the short-haired, extremely sober bartender threw a small packet of coke on the bar and asked if we would like a line. I'm not saying any of us took him up on it but we were stunned by the offer. The only customer besides us was a belligerent drunk sitting on a bar stool. He started to make nasty comments about long hair and the "girls' clothes" that the band members were wearing. Suddenly our friendly bartender leapt over the bar, pulled the drunk off the stool and punched him out! He then called security to have him removed. We were quite impressed (gulp!).

Bad Reputation reached #4 on the British album charts.