Thin Lizzy – Still Dangerous

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impulse buy

Thin Lizzy Productions
Produced by Glyn Johns & Scott Gorham

Another Thin Lizzy live album. More to the point, another Thin Lizzy live album from the same period as several others, most notably their multi-platinum selling Live And Dangerous opus. Pointless, one would think.

Well, almost. Most rock aficionados know that Live And Dangerous doesn’t really deserve the title “live album”. When in the studio adding a few vocal overdubs to the recordings (taken from one show on the Bad Reputation tour in Toronto and three back-to-back shows from the Johnny The Fox tour in London) the band decided to re-record all of the vocals, bass and guitars in the studio. The only genuinely live parts of Live And Dangerous are the drums and the audience.

The purpose of releasing Still Dangerous, the first release on Thin Lizzy’s own label, is to right this wrong. The recordings here are taken from another show, at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, on the Bad Reputation tour which was also recorded for Live And Dangerous but wasn’t used. None of these recordings have been released before, and three of the songs, Soldier of Fortune, Opium Trail and Me And The Boys, didn’t make it onto Live And Dangerous at all, although the latter of those three did show up on the Live And Dangerous DVD issued in 2007.

The claim here is that Still Dangerous is a true live recording from the 1977 tour (presumably they’re planning to also issue one from the 1976 tour), with no overdubs or studio editing. It doesn’t sound as raw as the excellent UK Tour 75 album, but does sound like a genuine live recording. Some of the song selections are a bit obvious (yet more versions of Boys Are Back In Town, Jailbreak and Cowboy Song), but Lizzy collectors will love it nonetheless.

As a release for the fans, it does its job. For the more casual listeners, especially those who already have one or more of the previously issued live albums (Life being the most comprehensive), this won’t add much.

“ a true live recording ”

Tracklist: Soldier of Fortune / Jailbreak / Cowboy Song / Boys Are Back In Town / Dancing In The Moonlight / Massacre / Opium Trail / Don’t Believe A Word / Baby Drives Me Crazy / Me And The Boys

Written by Andy Lye
More: Hard Rock, Live Albums, Thin Lizzy