Remembering, Part 1

It’s worth it to hunt down a copy of Thin Lizzy’s Remembering Part 1 on vinyl for the awesome Jim Fitzpatrick artwork that graces the compilation’s cover. Of course, once you drop the needle on the ultra-heavy first song—“Black Boys on the Corner”—you’ll remember that’s it’s all about the music. And unless you own a boutique tube valve–driven receiver, there’s a good chance you’ll dig the fidelity here better. Whoever mastered Remembering Part 1 for digital playback did a stellar job—listen to Eric Bell’s guitar leads come screaming from your speakers, and it’s apparent from the get-go that painstaking attention was paid to equalizing these songs so they’d sound as analog as possible. The comparatively gentler love song “A Song for While I'm Away” follows, in keeping with this collection of the best Thin Lizzy tracks from its early years on Decca Records. After hearing the outstanding Brian Downey–penned “Sitamoia”—featuring uncanny chemistry between Downey and frontman Phil Lynott—you'll wonder why the two didn’t collaborate more often.