Thin Lizzy – Live And Dangerous (Super Deluxe 8 CD Reissue) Review

14th February 2023 0 By George Simpson

There’s not a lot that can be said about Live And Dangerous that hasn’t already been said is there? Forty five years after it was unleashed on us, it’s received the mother and father of reissues. Here it is expanded from one disc, up to eight. If you’re a Thin Lizzy nut, this will be your Christmas coming early. One of the greatest albums of all time, just got a whole lot greater.

Whenever there is a poll of the greatest live albums of all time, the original album is always there. Indeed, so are the other usual suspects like Live After Death, Strangers In The Night, Quo Live! and If You Want Blood You Got It. Each has a strong argument to be number one, but personally I love them all. I just wish each would get this sort of lavish expanded treatment.

In addition to a remaster of the original album, we get an additional seven discs. Six of these feature the shows from which the original album was compiled. Not only that, but we also get a final show from London from the 1978 tour in support of the albums release. Though, this last disc, more or less features the same set list as the original album.

Of course, the vast majority of rock and metal fans already know and love this album, so there is no point reviewing as it were. So, what does this box set offer in addition to the original? In the accompanying booklet, the lengthy essay touches on the murky world of overdubbing on live albums. In that respect Live And Dangerous was no different from many others. Therefore, this makes the extra seven discs so compelling, as they are all ‘as live’ before selected tracks were embellished for final release.

The trio of 1976 discs are the highlight of this set. These three shows feature the classic Phil Lynott, Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham and Brian Downey at the their rawest. Recorded just two years after they came together in 1974, this was them arguably at their peak. Touring in support of the recently released Johnny The Fox album, these trio of shows largely feature that album, and their previous effort, the monumental Jailbreak album. Indeed the latter is probably their finest hour, when you consider it featured the brilliant title track, Emerald, Cowboy Song, and The Boys Are Back In Town. Hearing Phil introduce the latter as merely “a song we had out as a single” is surreal.

Then, having experienced the first of Brian Robertson‘s firings and re-hiring’s, they delivered 1977’s Bad Reputation album, where they began to spread their wings musically. A pair of shows recorded in Philadelphia, and a night in Toronto feature the likes of the title track, the funky Dancing In The Moonlight, and set opener Soldier Of Fortune from it. However, one revelation included in the booklet, that I didn’t know previously concerns Southbound‘s inclusion on the live album. Unlike all the other’s what was actually released was a soundcheck recording, with crowd noise overdubbed to sound live.

The final disc features the band ripping through the full album in London in 1978, without overdubs. It’s a sign of their musicianship that there isn’t really any much difference between this and the final album. Therefore proving that the need to overdub performances was merely a vanity project on the part of the musicians!

One thought that really stuck with me throughout this box set was that it documents a great band, at the absolute height of their powers. It’s hard to believe that the bands’ classic line up was only together for four years, and in that time delivered a quartet of studio albums as well as this live set too. Not many bands could deliver such quality over a lifetime!

In addition to that, it makes you wonder what could’ve been. As we know now, Robertson’s final firing in 1978 signified the beginning of the end for Thin Lizzy. Starting with Gary Moore‘s re-joining for 1979’s excellent Black Rose album, there was a revolving door of guitarists coming in, and out. The music suffered as a result, and in 1983 it was all over. Obviously, there was a far greater loss a couple of years later with Lynott‘s sad passing too. Had the fab four stayed together, we can only wonder whether it might’ve saved them both musically, and professionally.

As a result, this album is most certainly a celebration. It celebrates not only the anniversary of one of the greatest albums of all time, but also one of the greatest live bands ever, at the top of their game. As for scoring this album, did you really expect anything less than full marks?

Score: 10/10