Album Review- Eric Bell- Exile

He might have departed the Thin Lizzy camp 43 years ago, just when they were about to break into the big time, but Eric Bell never lost his status as a true original. A brilliantly versatile guitar player, with his heart very much rooted in the blues, the Belfast axeman is an often-overlooked songwriter and a decent singer too. He’s been playing away in a variety of guises – both solo and with various outfits – and regularly appearing at Thin Lizzy/Phil Lynott tribute events.

This long-awaited collection finds him doing what he does best, with his distinctive Fender Strat to the fore. There are echoes of Lizzy in the chugging ‘Deep In Your Heart’, which also recalls early Dire Straits, while ‘Don’t Love Me No More’ has a funkier edge, with clipped rhythm guitar and a vocal harmony eerily reminiscent of the great Philo himself.

Bell turns to smouldering soul-jazz on ‘Gotta Say Bye Bye’, channelling greats like Bobby Bland and BB King, while a version of Little Richard’s classic ‘Rip It Up’ finds him and the band at full throttle. There are autobiographical songs, like the nostalgia-steeped ‘Little Boy Running’, and a title-track that finds him defiantly proclaiming a life of no regrets: “I made my bed but I couldn’t lie in it.”

Elsewhere, on the Stones-like country blues of ‘Thank God’, Bell muses on what might have been had he stayed aboard the Lizzy rollercoaster. The album closes with ‘Song For Gary’, an affectionate tribute to his old Belfast pal, the late great Gary Moore. Essential listening for Lizzy fans and blues aficionados.

7/10
Key Track- 'Deep In Your Heart'