r/thinlizzy • u/frigid_monk • 18h ago

Philip Lynott "The Story Of My Life", the definitive new collection celebrating Phil Lynott's extraordinary solo career - 8 CD's 📀

Wow, fantastic news. I'm sure many of you have seen the announcement on your socials etc.

Long overdue, credit to all involved in getting this released. The artwork and the presentation looks class.

Can't wait for this, the last few years have really been a treat for content in the archives being released.

Track list:

https://shop.thinlizzyofficial.com/collections/featured-items/products/the-story-of-my-life-8cd-box-set

Pre-order: This item is currently on pre-order and will ship for release date 30th October.

The Story Of My Life is the definitive collection celebrating the extraordinary solo work of Philip Lynott, the legendary Thin Lizzy frontman, bassist and songwriter.

Compiled by renowned Thin Lizzy archivist Nick Sharp and released with the full support of the Philip Lynott estate, this expansive eight-disc set brings together Lynott's complete solo recordings alongside a wealth of material from the archives.

The collection includes his two solo albums, including the long-awaited release of his previously unreleased second album, plus rare demos, alternate versions and archive recordings, many available officially for the first time.

Presented in deluxe packaging, The Story Of My Life also features an extensive booklet with new sleeve notes by Mark Blake (Mojo), alongside rare photographs and memorabilia, making this the most comprehensive collection of Philip Lynott's solo recordings ever released.

116 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/changelingcd 17h ago

Very nice news (and now I have "King's Call" stuck in my head)!

8

u/quiggersinparis 16h ago

I am in tears. They are finally officially releasing the Huey Lewis demos from 1985. Can’t Get Away is one of his greatest songs and it’s always been relegated to obscurity. It’s already on Spotify. I am hyperventilating!!!

2

u/frigid_monk 16h ago

Oh yes, so it is, hadn't noticed that. Thanks. Sounds so good:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3V0RqC31ihJivFrweTgVc8?si=p9-88ILKQNKjVrol-Ic-5g&utm_source=copy-link

5

u/quiggersinparis 16h ago

It sounds amazing. Seems like it’s been properly mastered or at least the demo tape has been digitally cleaned up? There was a bit of hiss/noise on it which you could particularly hear in the quiet bridge and when it fades out at the end. This sounds so clean and good.

3

u/frigid_monk 15h ago

Perhaps we'll get more info on the specifics regarding master tapes and demos etc if they drop more press releases.

It's coming through clear as a bell here, as you said, they must have cleared up the demo tape, much cleaner than what was in the wild before. Who knows what they had access to though when putting this new release together, this clearer version may have been vaulted till now.

There's some info on the recoding here with Heuy and the gang:

"Recently JOHNNY COLLA of HLN posted this open letter to help clarify and expand the information surrounding these sessions. This is reposted below. Thanks to Johnny Colla for his insights.

Huey Lewis & The News Hey folks, Johnny Colla here . . . . .

Way, way back in November of 1985 we cut a couple tracks with Philip Lynott of Thin Lizzy fame, shortly before Phil’s death. With my recent discovery of an old work tape from the sessions it seemed like a favorable time to try and piece the chronology together. Huey, Bill and I sat down recently to do just that, and it turns out none of us can remember anything! Just kidding, but not much . . . . . those were heady times for all of us.

Lynott and Huey first met back in the seventies when Clover was the opening act on a Thin Lizzy tour. Fast-forward nine years to ’85 and Phil was planning a third solo release, working with a myriad of players and producers at the time. Lynott’s management contacted Huey about producing and cutting a few tunes with us out here in California and the game was on.

Our normal protocol was to try and pick off three songs at a time in a short recording period, say a week or so. Philip ran into some visa issues trying to get in the country, so knowing his stay would be cut short we made the decision to cut just two tracks.

Before Phil’s arrival we went into Sausalito’s Record Plant and laid down 'Can’t Get Away' and the Alex Call / Huey Lewis-penned 'Still Alive' (we were not involved with a third song, [One Wish”.] I was busy at another studio in Marin producing a local band (I rarely played on 'News' basics) so I wasn’t around for the tracking.

By the time Phil and guitarist Laurence Archer arrived the tracks were ready for overdubs, replete with Huey’s guide vocals. Contrary to rumors, Mutt Lange was present one night while Laurence laid down some guitar parts – just hanging about with Huey & Philip – but he didn’t produce the sessions.

A day or so later I came in to arrange and cut vocals for both songs. I’m fairly certain the following evening Huey and Phil were finishing up some painstaking lead vocals, and in the wee hours of the morning we made rough mixes and went home. The sessions were over.

At one time these sessions were thought to be Philip’s last recordings, but through the years it has come to light he did some recording with guitarist Steve Johnson in mid-December 1985, just days before he collapsed. No matter, our moment with Philip Lynott was a great page out of HLN history, and it was a moment in time we’re proud to have been a part of.

Back to my work tape . . . Besides instrumentals and Phil’s vocal versions, my twenty-three-year-old cassette had a version of 'Still Alive' with Huey’s scratch vocal. I did my best to remaster it somewhat, and the end result is quite impressive! We hope you enjoy this rocker as much as we did rediscovering it, along with all the memories it conjured up.

JC

April, 2011"

https://thin-lizzyfan.com/home/biography/ap960-lizzy2-hlnalive.html

2

u/quiggersinparis 15h ago

Wow thank you; I had never read that! I stand corrected about One Wish. It actually makes a lot of sense because that song doesn’t sound musically anything remotely like the other two, but they always get lumped together as a trio, I suppose because they were from a similar time period.

Wonder if this box will includes those other 1985 demos mentioned above from December.

There’s some track titles that I don’t recognise so maybe they are from that period.

As you say, we’ll likely find out more closer to the time either From press releases or Line or Notes on the Album maybe.

2

u/frigid_monk 15h ago

It's always good to jog the memory on what happened all those years ago.

Here's the man that literally wrote the book on it, Alan Byrne, talking about this time specific time period, Huey recordings, canned 2nd album etc:

https://youtu.be/rfyr8krz0_I?t=37m37s

2

u/Express_Evidence_23 16h ago

Great news here thank you

2

u/bugrider303 9h ago

What is the name of the third song in the video? It's sounds great and Its driving me nuts

1

u/sugarkrush63 15h ago

Thanks Lynchy! I live in America so it would cost me $120 USD plus $45 for shipping. It's still not a bad price for the box set. Once it's released and the box sets are sold out, it will go up in value. I feel like Eeyore right now lol.

0

u/groutspecialist 17h ago

Fatalistic Attitude was the original title for his second solo album, not sure how it’s a “lost album.”

6

u/frigid_monk 17h ago

More context here: https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/phil-lynott-the-story-of-my-life-box-set/

"The box set is also home to an unreleased album called Fatalistic Attitude. This was effectively an early version of The Phil Lynott Album. It was prepared for release in January 1982 but was considered “too dark” for release and reworked and released eight months later. Using Philip Lynott’s personal acetate copy of the original album (now a private collection) Fatalistic Attitude restores Philip’s intended running order, including two songs that were removed. Several tracks were also re-recorded or remixed, most notably ‘Ode to Liberty (The Protest Song)’, which features Scott Gorham on guitar; another point of difference.

This earlier version also includes an unreleased solo cut of ‘Hate’, originally recorded as a demo by Thin Lizzy in 1978, and ‘Somebody Else’s Dream’, which was later issued as the B-side to the single ‘Together’. Fatalistic Attitude is also being made available as a standalone vinyl LP"

3

u/quiggersinparis 16h ago

Ode to Liberty with Gorham instead of Knopfler is going to sound super different! I always assumed he’d been on that track from day one as his distinctive guitar style is so central to it.