Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 7, 2022

Wikipedia, not always the model of decorum, elides a potentially touchy subject the following way in its article on Irish people:

The term "Black Irish" is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to Irish people with black hair and dark eyes. One theory is that they are descendants of Spanish traders or of the few sailors of the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked on Ireland's west coast, but there is little evidence for this.

This same article states that in 2016 some 10,100 Irish nationals of African descent described themselves (probably considerably more accurately) as "Black Irish", though as Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away makes clear, there may have been around 10,099 fewer black people living in Dublin at least when Lynott was being raised there. This sweet if kind of heartbreaking documentary takes a look at a really weirdly underappreciated titan of rock who had a somewhat traumatic childhood that many in this documentary assert later paid dividends of a sort when Lynott was able to transform those experiences into some of the most viscerally compelling songs of his generation.

Lynott was evidently the result of something like a one night stand, and as a mixed race "illegitimate" child in England, his mother Philomena (herself a rather fascinating character who may deserve a documentary of her own) knew that he might be better off with her parents in Dublin. That decision may have initially made Phil even more of an outcast, as is repeatedly stated throughout this piece, his mere arrival at various places could cause all action to stop and eyes turn toward him, since very few people in Dublin at that time had even seen someone black. One of Phil's boyhood friends documents a series of fist fights that ensued at school when taunting kids called Phil "blackie", but ultimately things calmed down.

One of the kind of funny if unexpected things about Lynott that becomes apparent throughout this piece is just how sensitive he was, and in that regard, it may be salient to note that when he was tooling about forming his first bands, an early collaborator asked him who he was into and he replied "Paul Simon", while this potential bandmate suggested Lynott might want to get more into folks like Jimi Hendrix. And in fact one of the things that repeatedly struck me in watching Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away is how rather Hendrix-like Lynott could be in both his flamboyant stage persona but also his musicality.

Unfortunately that assumed "brotherhood" with Hendrix extended to Lynott's increasing dependence on drugs, and while Lynott managed to live considerably longer that Jimi, the ultimate writing was probably on the wall as to how Lynott's life would end. His wife and his two daughters are on hand here hoping that people will remember that life rather than the circumstances of his death, and in that regard Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away should prove to be useful. The documentary is unabashedly "arty", filled with lots of near Impressionistic imagery that probably supports the "poetic" side of Lynott's writing, but it also delivers a wealth of informative and often really touching interviews with friends, family and collaborators (including Huey Lewis, who states that Lynott was the most amazing rock performer he personally ever saw).

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Mercury Studios and Eagle Rock Films with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer (often) in 2.39:1 (as can be seen in a couple of screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, there's some archival video in narrower aspect ratios). This is a hugely appealing looking presentation for the most part, aided and abetted by a really distinctive style that director Emer Reynolds brings to the project. The typical talking head sequences tend to be fairly standard issue, but the interstitial material is often filled with near abstract imagery that can then resolve (no musical pun intended) to reveal it's things like an old stereo stylus or reel to reel tape. The palette is often gorgeously suffused and detail levels are consistently very good to excellent. There is pretty noticeable and recurrent banding (see screenshot 19 for one flagrant example) that is probably exacerbated by Reynolds' repeated use of frames basically filled with colors where lighting suddenly changes intensity. Otherwise, I noticed no issues other than a few stray combing artifacts.

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away defaults to a perfectly acceptable LPCM 2.0 track, but the disc also features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option that frankly may not open things up hugely but at least provides a bit more "oomph" in the lower frequencies during some of the (admittedly brief) uses of music. This is another biographical documentary of an iconic musician which is understandably probably at least somewhat more interested in providing information rather than nonstop tunes, and as such once again the performance elements are used mostly as interstitials, and often with people talking over them. Fidelity is fine throughout, even in some of the older archival stuff. Optional English subtitles are available.

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray disc containing the main documentary feature offers no supplemental material. A Bonus DVD has the following items:

• Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back in Town Live at the Sydney Opera House October 1978

  Sydney - Original Cut (SD; 41:08)

  1. Jailbreak
  2. Bad Reputation
  3. Waiting for an Alibi
  4. Cowboy Song
  5. The Boys Are Back in Town
  6. Are You Ready
  7. Me and the Boys
  8. Baby Drives Me Crazy
  9. Credits

  
  

  Lost Sydney Performances (SD; 24:21)

  1. Warriors
  2. Don't Believe a Word
  3. Still in Love With You
  4. Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed
  5. Suicide

  
  

  Full Sydney Show (SD; 1:05:27)

  1. Jailbreak
  2. Bad Reputation
  3. Warriors
  4. Don't Believe a Word
  5. Waiting for an Alibi
  6. Still in Love With You
  7. Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed
  8. Cowboy Song
  9. The Boys Are Back in Town
  10. Suicide
  11. Are You Ready
  12. Baby Drives Me Crazy
  13. Me and the Boys

Note: All of the above feature Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio options.

Additionally, the Digipack includes a CD of the Sydney Opera House performance.

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's an iconic statue of Phil Lynott in Dublin that fans of Once may recall, and his reputation in his adopted homeland seems to be relatively secure. The same probably can't be said globally, and as time continues to march on, fewer and fewer people may remember what a fascinating and innovative soul Lynott was. This documentary is hugely enjoyable, filled with a lot of biographical detail but also graced with a really interesting style. Technical merits are generally solid, and fans will no doubt enjoy the included DVD with a vintage Thin Lizzy performance in Sydney. Recommended.