10 Underrated Hard Rock Bands Of The 70's
2. Thin Lizzy
As the 70's were firing on all cylinders, the riff always seemed to be the top priority amongst hard rock musicians. If you hit upon a good riff to start the song, you're about halfway there to nabbing a rock hit. Coming out of Ireland, Thin Lizzy brought real songwriting back into the rock consciousness.
Frontman Phil Lynott approached each song as if they were pieces of poetry, taking everything from stories of debauchery to Celtic tales and melding them into a rock tune. Lizzy's tracks took the rock cliches of sex and drugs out of the picture and began to write tunes that had more depth. Along with innovating the rock lyric, the band also featured the twin guitar assault of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, whose harmony guitar work can be heard everywhere from Alice in Chains to Metallica.
Suddenly, the typical hard rock song from Lizzy went from mindless instrument bashing to pocket-sized musical dramas playing out across your speakers. While most hard rock bands were able to get by with mediocre songwriting sensibilities, Thin Lizzy raised the bar for anyone who wanted their music to mean something more than just loud guitars and screeching vocals.