Songs for While I'm Away (2020) User Reviews

It's okay amigo, you can let yourself go.

[tokoroos · 8/10 · 29 October 2020]

Yesterday I saw this documentary in the cinema. Very special, since it was the first movie I saw in this pandemic. Also very special because the entire audience was double my age. 'All these old rockers...' mumbled a guy a few feet away, with his Thin Lizzy shirt on.

I grew up with Thin Lizzy because my parents named me after the song Rosalie. And although born in 1990 in the Netherlands, that was not the only song I knew. I discovered Thin Lizzy like it was a band releasing new songs. I bought albums as a teenager, I even somewhat followed Phil's solo career.

Having that said, I was tremendously excited to see this documentary. Phil was a big part of my life, but I didn't know much about him. Who was this guy that was always blasting through my speakers?

The documentary is very complimentary to Phil, and not without reason. He was a special man. A lot of songs passed through the docu, even songs I didn't know yet. It is a very personal movie and all the comments stay very personal. That was maybe the only thing I missed: Phil's influence on other musicians. But nevertheless, a very moving docu. It's very dreamy, just like Phil.

For me, Thin Lizzy will always have a place in my life. And this docu is a nice add to the library! Wel done.

Pulls its punches

[paul2001sw-1 · 6/10 · 7 December 2021]

Phil Lynott was a black Irish rock star at a time when this was a decidedly unlikely thing to be, who sadly died young after developing an addication to drugs. At the start of this documentary, his family express their wish for a film that celebrates his life, rather than glamourising his death. And 'Songs for While I'm Away' does that, albeit at the price of becoming something of a hagiography. We're told about Lynott's talent, charisma and (away from the stage) shyness. But just about everything that went wrong (the breakup of his various band lineups and relationships, and his eventual dependency on heroin) is glossed over. Things happened, we're told, with an air of inevitability; but how they did so is not covered in any detail. The result is an imbalanced portrait, which makes it hard to understand exactly why he was one of those who didn't make it in the end. A bit more frankness would not have gone amiss.

Gorgeous

[culturalfatwa · 8/10 · 13 June 2021]

Look there's maybe an argument that she welched out a little on the drugs story.

But.

This is an amazing Philo tribute, stylishly and artistically put together with so much of the coolest bash street character himself menacing and prancing and pulling in the light.

Another thing I loved.. You actually get to hear quite a few songs.. Some music documentaries try to do snippets and a lot of taking heads.

(the talking heads are great here too and well spaced and edited.. It appears there is one cool one in U2 who knew? Scott Gorham should have his own show he was cool as)

Beautifully and artfully presented if a little too much of a hagiography perhaps.. But then he was something else

First time back in a cinema and it was a good one to soak in.

Phil Lynott, a poet of rock music

[alex-oceallaigh · 10/10 · 20 June 2021]

Ah I just loved every moment of this.

I remember growing up and knowing 'The Boys Are Back In Town' and other classic Thin Lizzy tunes without knowing the name of the band. Have to thank my cousin and uncle for one summer really getting to know their music.

With that being said I still didn't know much about Phil Lynott and the life that he lived. And what a life he lived. For someone taken too early, he really left his mark. This film gives such a beautiful sense of the person he was and how he went about making his music. An immense talent and a genius lyricist. He wrote so many amazing songs.

An excellent documentary from Emer Reynolds which at times I found really emotional and heartbreaking. Highly recommend.

Phil Lynott really was the greatest Irish Rock Star.

Not a moment too soon

[paul-ayres-60784 · 10/10 · 14 July 2022]

I confess that this pretty nearly had me in tears. I've always been a massive fan of Phil and the band.

It's a very well put together documentary with plenty of music and interesting interviews from those who were around him whilst he was alive. Some of the extra imagery was very professionally produced. The pace is perfect throughout.. So many thanks to the producers.

It didn't go into his drug addiction in much detail or mention some of his conflicts with people but hey. Why dwell on the darker things in his life? This is a celebration of a truly great man.

Wonderful absorbing documentary.

[andrewcollins-86653 · 10/10 · 10 December 2021]

Thin Lizzy were the first rock band I ever got into in the 70s as a kid and are still with me today. Phil was one of THE great frontmen of rock and this wonderfully assembled life story paints the picture of what that was like both good and very bad. Great to see and learn about his early struggles growing up in Ireland and how that made him stronger. One can only reflect now on what we all truly lost when this wonderfully talented and enigmatic guy succumbed to the dark side of rock stardom. Highly recommended watch whether a big fan or not !