Jailbreak, Pam

I wanted to hate Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy. "The Boys Are Back in Town" remains one of the corniest songs that also brings to my mind "the boys" from A Clockwork Orange and their Milkbars and their ultraviolence. So somehow the song is both cheesy and disturbing at the same time and, come on, the last thing on earth we all need in 2022 is a celebration of the boys being back in town, amiright? GIRL POWER. 

"The Boys are Back in Town" is a song that Michael Scott would blast as he and Dwight walk back into the Scranton office after being away on a conference. It's a song that a tech company would play as their all-male leadership team rushes to the stage to stand there awkwardly clapping in the 1980s. Hearing "The Boys Are Back in Town" thousands of times over a lifetime via classic rock radio DJs and Wildwood bar DJs and bands has numbed me to ever being able to authentically listen to the song—it's like saying a word over and over again. It's lost all meaning. I think the best possible thing that could happen to "The Boys Are Back in Town" would be for Weezer to cover it so it can finally be put to rest. 

But let us put aside my distaste for "The Boys Are Back in Town" and talk about the rest of Jailbreak. I really did want to hate it. I tried to hate it. But honestly, I couldn't. The songs are exciting. The playing is tight—never messy. And then "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" comes on and... it's also Springsteen! It's so Springsteen that if I were to hear it on the radio (which why would anyone? 102.9 would only ever play "The Boys..."), I might be fooled into thinking it was some early Bruce. "Cowboy Song" gave me those same vibes. 

The whole album is a little too male-centric most times, which makes me feel like the music wasn't intended for female ears. So that's my qualm. But other than that, I couldn't help but enjoy it. And honestly the best thing about Jailbreak is... it's theater. It's drama. It's storytelling. It's style. And it's heart. In fact, I think a much better fate for Thin Lizzy than Weezer covering them would be for a Thin Lizzy musical to be made. Of course it would have to be called "The Boys Are Back in Town,” but I can get past that if a female lead was added to the story. Give her "The Boys Are Back in Town" song with a whole different connotation and I think we've got a hit on our hands. Hey, they made a Billy Joel musical. They made an Alanis Morrisette musical. They made a Spiderman musical... so why not a Thin Lizzy musical? #TONYS