Do Anything You Want To

"Do Anything You Want To" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and the second single released from their 1979 album, Black Rose: A Rock Legend. Black Rose was the only Thin Lizzy album recorded while guitarist Gary Moore was a member of the band, although he left soon after. The song was recorded at Pathe Marconi EMI Studios in Paris, France.[1]

"Do Anything You Want To"
UK single sleeve featuring (l–r): Moore, Gorham, Lynott and Downey
Single by Thin Lizzy
from the album Black Rose: A Rock Legend
B-side"Just the Two of Us"
Released16 June 1979
GenreHard rock
Length3:51
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)Phil Lynott
Producer(s)Tony Visconti and Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy singles chronology
"Waiting for an Alibi"
(1979)		 "Do Anything You Want To"
(1979)		 "Got to Give It Up"
(1979)

Composition

The song opens with an African-style drum beat by Brian Downey, which gives way to twin-guitar harmonies characteristic of Thin Lizzy's sound.[2] The lyrics include heavy use of rhyme and alliteration, such as the first three lines which include the words 'investigate', 'insinuate', 'intimidate', 'complicate', 'wait', 'hesitate', 'state', 'fate' and 'awaits'.[3] The song fades out with lead singer Phil Lynott doing an impersonation of Elvis Presley which seemed to have little to do with the meaning of the song. Guitarist Scott Gorham suggested, "I think he just wanted to use his American accent there."[1]

Chart performance and video

The single reached No. 14 in the British charts and remained in the charts for nine weeks.[4] It reached No. 25 in Ireland, charting for two weeks.[5] An accompanying video was filmed at Molineir Studios, directed by David Mallet. Mallet has said that the video cost £12–15,000 to film, adding, "Most of the shoots I did with Lizzy back then only lasted a day, maybe eight or ten hours worth of footage."[6] The video was the band's first attempt at a short film, rather than a simple video of a band performance.[6] The video featured Hot Gossip dancers Perri Lister, Dominique Wood and Carole Fletcher.

Subsequent releases

This track has featured on several Thin Lizzy compilation albums including The Adventures of Thin Lizzy, released in 1981; Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy released in 1991, and Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy, released in 1996. It was subsequently included on the Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels box set in 2002, and the Greatest Hits and Definitive Collection sets, among others.

The single's b-side, "Just the Two of Us", is a Lynott/Gorham composition that was not included on the Black Rose album, and was only available on the single until the release of Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels.

Personnel

References
  1. Black Rose: A Rock Legend sleeve notes, Stuart Bailie, 1996.
  2. Ken Brooks, "Phil Lynott & Thin Lizzy: Rockin' Vagabond", Agenda, 2000, p.82–83.
  3. "Do Anything You Want To lyrics". LyricsFreak.
  4. Mark Putterford, "Philip Lynott: The Rocker", Castle, 1994, p.179.
  5. "Irish Charts - Thin Lizzy". www.irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  6. Alan Byrne, "Thin Lizzy: Soldiers of Fortune", Firefly, 2004, p.111.
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