Bass Nation

I thought I’d focus on an Irish band with it being the day after St. Patrick’s Day and all. The most obvious would be U2, and it’s not them. It’s not the Pogues. It’s not Van Morrison. It’s not even the folks who made the film Once, even though it’s the best indie rock low budget musical this side of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Nope, I’m talking about Thin Lizzy . While their most notable musical sound is that of dual lead guitar riffs, they’re also a band fronted by their bassist, Phil Lynott. They were both multi-racial and also featured members who were both Catholic and Protestant. The race thing certainly isn’t a big deal these days, but at the time they were the first hard rock band fronted by a black guy (I can’t say African American since he was Irish, so I’m not sure what the correct term is) to get big. The mixed religion thing was definitely a big deal at the time, and probably still would be to some people today as those wounds run incredibly deep.

So for your listening and playing pleasure, here’s their biggest song, The Boys Are Back in Town. It’s one of those great rock and roll party anthems, and that dual guitar riff still gives me tingles. Here’s the tab , and below is a YouTube to play along to. While you’re having a drink to celebrate all things Irish today, be sure to hoist a pint in the memory of Phil Lynot, who died in ‘86 from years of hard living.

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