Johnny the Fox in Bloomington, MN

Jailbreak
was such a peak that it was inevitable that its follow-up would fall short in some fashion and
Johnny the Fox
, delivered the same year as its predecessor, did indeed pale in comparison. What's interesting about
is that it's interesting, hardly a rote repetition of
but instead an odd, fitfully successful evolution forward. All the same strengths are still here -- the band still sounds as thunderous as a force of nature,
Phil Lynott
's writing is still graced with elegant turns of phrase, his singing is still soulful and seductive -- but the group ramped up the inherent drama in
Lynott
's songs by pushing them toward an odd, half-baked concept album. There may be a story within
-- characters are introduced and brought back, at the very least -- but it's impossible to tell. If the album only had an undercooked narrative and immediate songs, such digressions would be excusable, but the music is also a bit elliptical in spots, sometimes sounding theatrical, sometimes relying on narration. None of this falls flat, but it's never quite as gripping as
-- or the best moments here, for that matter, because when
is good, it's great, as on the surging
"Don't Believe a Word"
or the elegiac
"Borderline."
These are the reasons why
is worth the extra effort, because it does pay off even if it isn't quite as good as what came immediately before -- or immediately afterward, for that matter. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine