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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tip I'll Give You a Break, Pt. 47: Thin Lizzy's "Ray-Gun"

Posted by on Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 11:42 AM

[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]

Many hiphop producers have sampled Irish rockers Thin Lizzy, but usually they've gone for "Johnny the Fox," which undeniably has a killer break. But the passage at 0:12-0:22 in Thin Lizzy's "Ray-Gun" is plenty nutritious, too, and, as far as I can tell, heretofore unused. It sounds like early Funkadelic more than Thin Lizzy's best-known song, "The Boys Are Back in Town," and therefore it can really punch up your track.

"Ray-Gun" comes from Thin Lizzy's self-titled debut LP, which Light in the Attic Records recently reissued. It's a great collection of ambitious, funky rock and soulful ballads, and it's one of the best records in LITA's vast, treasure-laden catalog.

 

Comments (3) RSS

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1
comes from a planet three thousand miles away

I always loved that
Posted by the rocker fan on October 10, 2012 at 7:35 PM
2
Thin Lizzy's one of those bands that I need to learn more about--a LOT more.
Posted by anonymous-please-thanks on October 11, 2012 at 9:55 AM
3
i consider raygun to be part one in Phil Lynotts religious evolution trilogy of songs.

in Raygun phil sounds so surprised meeting an atheist that he must have been from outer space.

by 1977 phil writes the song Dead Lord, where he's a bit more, shall we say, ambiguous about religion & he states -
"If you do believe in glory Then please believe a fact
Give your soul to heaven You won't get it back"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLxo7VRck…

by the final lizzy album in 83 we get Holy War -
"And if god is in the heavens why did god let children die?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypkh_4N-p…

i find this progression interesting.
yay Thin Lizzy
Posted by BrianMyFatAss http://www.myspace.com/brianfoss on October 13, 2012 at 1:49 PM

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