I must admit that I am a relative latecomer to the magnificence that is Thin Lizzy.  I actually didn’t get a copy of this album until probably the 1990s and I’ve got NO idea why I waited so long as the playing is fantastic and the album is full of great songs.  Sure, I was very familiar with “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back In Town” and had heard “Cowboy Song” but that was it.  My first Lizzy was actually their Dedication greatest hits, which I immediately fell in love with and from there I quickly set about purchasing anything and everything by the band.  This live platter was from their 1976/1977 tours supporting their recent Johnny The Fox and Bad Reputation albums and features the classic lineup of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitar, the underrated Brian Downey on drums, and charismatic frontman/lead singer/songwriter/bassist Philip Parris Lynott.

Side one kicks things off with a rousing rendition of “Jailbreak” (an underrated classic if there ever was one) and the immortal “Emerald”, the latter of which is an excellent example of Lynott’s songwriting and his fascination with Irish history.  Both songs stay fairly true to form compared to their studio counterparts found on the Jailbreak album but offer up a bit more excitement in front of the live crowd with some seriously stinging guitar playing.  Next cut “Southbound” is actually a smooth take from a soundcheck, all cool and mellow and featuring a great vocal from Lynott.  Side four rounds things out with “Rosalie”, a Bob Seger penned cut that Lizzy makes their own by speeding up the tempo and fattening up the riffs.

Side two is a great mix of funk, rock, and heartfelt ballad type cuts that show the great range of this band.  “Dancing In The Moonlight” is an excellent cut, a bit of a laid back rocker/funkster with one of Lynott’s best lyrics and a saxophone solo to boot!  “Massacre” is another hard rocker, kicking off with Downey’s tribal tom toms and unison Robertson/Gorham riff with another fantastic Lynott lyric about the plight of the American Indian.  Last two cuts on side two offer up even more great variety-  “Still In Love With You” is a slow burner, a love letter to a former flame with a blistering axework from Robertson; and “Johnny The Fox” is Hendrix-y in a mellow blues take with plenty of wah wah guitar.  Great stuff!

Side three is pretty much full on rock of all shapes and sizes:  “Cowboy Song” starts off with a softly strummed melody before kicking into an all out rocker before immediately segueing into the Lizzy cut everyone knows, “The Boys Are Back In Town”.  Both versions are fabulous and show what a formidable live unit this band was at the time.  Next three cuts are more straight forward rockers, not as cheerful in vibe as the aforementioned two but nonetheless ballsy in their own right:  the bouncy “Don’t Believe A Word”, the Hendrixian “Warriors”, and solid “Are You Ready” all kick down the doors and feature more great guitar work and excellent vocals.

Last but not least side four goes out with a bang with the awesomely swinging “Suicide”, a song featuring fantastic soloing from the team of Robertson/Gorham and continues into “Sha La La” featuring a brief solo spot for drummer Downey.  Last two cuts end the show on a rocking note including a bit of crowd participation in “Baby Drives Me Crazy” (featuring harmonica from Huey Lewis, soon to be of The News fame) and stomping version of “The Rocker” from their early years as a trio.  Once again, all songs are fine, fine examples of this band’s talents-  excellent guitar playing, rock solid drumming, and fantastic songwriting.

If you like guitar driven rock with extremely well written songs, you owe it to yourself to pick up a few Thin Lizzy albums.  The first three albums show a fine young trio getting their feet wet featuring more folkier material sprinkled in with some blues based rock cuts, with Lynott starting to blossom as a songwriter.  Their famous middle years period (including this album) is their most well known and is my favorite era of the band, especially the classic teaming of Robertson/Gorham as an unwieldy guitar duo.  Later years featured a slew of guitarists that replaced Robertson, offering up even more fab tunes until the band split for good in 1983.  Unfortunately, years of heavy drug use started to take its toll on Lynott and he passed away in January 1986.  For a great taster of the man’s fine work, Live and Dangerous will do you just fine 🙂