On his first solo album, Thin Lizzy singer, songwriter and ace bass guitarist Philip Lynott takes a busman's holiday from the hard-rock rigors of his full-time job. What Lynott does is bask in the sunshine of his own eclecticism, writing and recording ten songs of such astonishing diversity – particularly for a rock & roller of his heavy mettle–that his ambition can't help but outstrip his ability.

Solo in Soho's most successful entries are those bearing the brand that Lynott stamps on his best Lizzy labors: a wailing wall of guitars, lyrical flourishes of hopeless romanticism framed in streetwise rhymes, and a breathy black-cat moan as sinister as it is sensual. "Dear Miss Lonely Hearts," which utilizes the current Thin Lizzy lineup with new guitarist Snowy White, boasts all these traits in abundance, while Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler adds an evocative twist with his supple guitar runs in "King's Call," a eulogy to Elvis Presley. Variations include an airy exercise in Doobie-fied pop ("Girls") and the ominous reggae arrangement of the title track, cast in dark shadows by Lynott's pained vocal and an overdubbed phalanx of bass guitars.

Even the failures have their redeeming qualities. Though it's just featherweight funk, "Tattoo (Giving It All Up for Love)" nevertheless features one of the LP's most gripping hooks. "Yellow Pearl" doesn't have much to recommend it, yet guests Midge Ure and Ultravox' Billy Currie save Lynott's skimpy cake of a tune with their rich layers of synthesized icing.

Lynott's shotgun approach to Solo in Soho (a better title would have been The Ten Faces of Phil) makes it hard to assess what he might do if he ever decided to seek serious work outside Thin Lizzy. If nothing else, this record shows that he'd certainly be his own man, no matter how many of them there are. (RS 324)

DAVID FRICKE