The fabulous “Live And Dangerous”
album captures the hard rockin’, hard
livin’ Thin Lizzy at the pinnacle of their
powers.
After early success with a one-off single,
“Whisky In The Jar”, in 1972, things had
reached a nadir during a tour of Germany.
After certain guitarists who were hired
in order to replace original guitarist
Eric Bell had not worked out, the main
song- writer, bass player and showman
extraordinaire, Phil Lynott, along with
his Irish colleague Brian Downey, considered
throwing in the towel. However, the arrival
of the ultra cool American Scott Gorham
along with Scottish wild man Brian Robertson
soon sorted things out and Thin Lizzy
started their meteoric rise to the very
top of the rock tree.
After five increasingly successful albums,
they set out on a world tour (supported
by the up and coming Graham Parker and
The Rumour) which culminated in three
sold out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon,
London.
What shows they were too! On ‘Live and
Dangerous’ you get the entire set as it
was performed. After the release there
was a lot of back-biting about the fact
that a lot of the bum notes were smoothed
over by a production studio and that some
of the solos were overdubbed. But let’s
face it, if it improves the overall enjoyment
of the music, who cares? The way these
guys moved on stage, it is hardly surprising
if the odd note was missed.
The set starts with the perfect opener
in “Jailbreak”, with wailing sirens and
the audience impatiently chanting the
band’s name. Then the band come thumping
in with the hard rock beat, and Phil Lynott
informing the masses, “that tonight we’re
going to have a Jailbreak, tonight there’s
going to be trouble, some of us won’t
survive”. Then, the twin lead guitars
are let loose. This band needed stage
ramps as no stage was too big to keep
them contained. Before the next song Phil
Lynott asks the audience, in his thick
Irish brogue, “Is there anybody here with
any Irish in them? Are there any girls
who like a little more Irish in them”?
The band rip through five more songs,
including “Dancing in the Spotlight”,
with the fabulous John Earle on sax. They
then slow it down for the heartbreaking
love song, “Still In Love With You”. With
Phil Lynott singing his own words about
the one-sided break up of a relationship,
this song gives the guitarists space to
really show their stuff in two emotional
solos.
But from that point on, it is Hell-raising
Rock ‘n’ Roll all the way. Phil Lynott
wrote some classic songs and they are
all here. From the pop of Top Ten single,
“The Boys Are Back In Town”, to the heavy
metal of “Suicide”, the music then climaxes
with the band throwing themselves into
the motorbike anthem, “The Rocker”, by
which time the audience has been brought
up to an absolute frenzy.
The next time you have to make a long
car journey buy this album and put it
on your player. You’ll arrive at your
destination in half the time and then
stay sitting in the car to listen to just
one more song.
By 1983 Thin Lizzy were gone and two years
later Phil Lynott was taken from us permanently.
However, listen to their legacy, it will
never be bettered.
Thin Lizzy’s ‘Live and Dangerous’ stood
for what rock music is supposed to be
all about - a good night out.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
