A new Thin Lizzy album with original vocals by Phil Lynott?
Yes, that’s a real thing.
After four decades, Thin Lizzy are returning with a new album, Acoustic Sessions, featuring fresh takes on their iconic early tracks, including “Whisky in the Jar.” The new album re-imagines songs from their first three albums for Decca Records — Thin Lizzy, Shades of a Blue Orphanage and Vagabonds of the Western World — in stripped-back acoustic guitar arrangements that reveal the songwriting at the core of the group’s music.
Acoustic Sessions features original unheard vocals from Lynott paired with brand-new guitar parts from founding member Eric Bell. The album arrives January 24, 2025.
In discussing the project, Bell explains that many of these songs began as acoustic tunes.
"I remember recording 'Eire' from our debut album, Thin Lizzy, in 1971,” he says. “I wrote the main guitar part first on acoustic and then we built it up from there. I played the 12-string acoustic throughout the track and introduced the electric guitar on top.
“This was useful in the studio in Belfast recently where we recorded fresh guitar parts to allow us to create new Thin Lizzy acoustic versions of some of our favorite songs, by recreating those original acoustic parts and adding the vocals which Philip laid down on the day and those original drum parts which Brian [Downey] came up with in the original recording sessions.”
This album marks the first time since Bell’s exit that he has recorded under the Thin Lizzy name.
The Acoustic Sessions project began with producer and mixer Richard Whittaker, who remixed the group’s album 1973 album Vagabonds of the Western World for its 50th anniversary super-deluxe release last year. While sifting through those recordings, he came up with the idea of re-creating some of them in an acoustic format.
“Traditionally, songwriters and bands have used acoustic ‘polyrhythmic’ instruments such as piano or guitar to demo or sketch out their ideas," he says. "In most cases these parts are replaced as the production process develops, but occasionally, these core elements survive and remain intact. I encountered this during the Vagabonds project.
“After sifting through all the Decca recordings, I presented a list of ideas. However, in most cases additional development and material was required. So the guys at the label approached Eric, who was happy to get involved with the project, and between us, I think we’ve made something really quite unique and special.”
Acoustic Sessions contains of newly created versions of songs from the 50th anniversary super-deluxe editions of Vagabonds of the Western World, considered Thin Lizzy’s breakthrough. The new album also includes acoustic renditions of songs from their self-titled debut and Shades of a Blue Orphanage.
The D2C (direct-to-consumer) edition of Acoustic Sessions includes an exclusive bonus track, “Slow Blues G.M,” a tribute to Irish rocker Gary Moore.
The full Acoustic Sessions track list includes:
• Mama Nature Said (Acoustic Version)
• A Song for While I’m Away (Acoustic Version)
• Eire (Acoustic Version)
• Slow Blues (Acoustic Version)
• Dublin (Acoustic Version)
• Whiskey in the Jar (Acoustic Version)
• Here I Go Again (Acoustic Version)
• Shades of a Blue Orphanage (Acoustic Version)
• Remembering Pt. 2 (Acoustic Version)
• Slow Blues G.M (Gary Moore) (Acoustic Version)
Acoustic Sessions will be available in both CD and limited-edition marble vinyl formats, along with an ultra-limited vinyl edition featuring an exclusive bonus track.
To order, visit ThinLizzy.lnk.to
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