Thin Lizzy
Live And Dangerous


5.0
classic

Review

by manosg EMERITUS
July 23rd, 2014 | 52 replies


Release Date: 1978 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Brilliant and powerful as the cover art suggests.

Great bands give great live shows. A concert is where an artist has the opportunity to showcase his/her talents and apart from the actual performance, charismatic bands tend to add a special touch during their gigs either visually or simply with their music. One solid example is Iron Maiden’s legendary Live After Death. On that album, Iron Maiden have infused their songs with so much energy that has been rarely documented resulting in a stunning album overall. Live and Dangerous is similar to Live After Death exactly in that department.

Even though Live and Dangerous was released nine months after Bad Reputation, it was actually recorded during two different time periods. Therefore, some of the tracks are from the Johnny the Fox tour whereas others come from the tour in support of Bad Reputation. Nevertheless, this has no negative effect on the final outcome as the level of performance and the amounts of energy are consistent throughout this live album.

There are moments where Thin Lizzy sound a bit constrained on their studio releases, maybe intentionally. However, this is not an issue here as this album is dynamic, fun and includes almost every highlight from their brilliant career at the time. In songs such as “Emerald” and “Massacre” the band sounds as powerful as it never did on studio while on “Dancing in the Moonlight” and “Still in Love With You” they slightly alter the instrumentation resulting in magical performances especially on the latter track. What is more, Thin Lizzy is all about the dual guitar sound and harmonies; Live and Dangerous is plain and simple one of the best specimens of twin guitar sound. There are beautiful harmonies, blistering solos and quite a few solid riffs courtesy of Gorham and Robertson. If twin guitar sound was brought to the forefront by Wishbone Ash and The Allman Brothers, Thin Lizzy definitely took it to the next level. Moreover Phil Lynott, an underappreciated vocalist, gives an excellent performance while playing some very sweet bass lines at the same time. In fact, his bass is very prominent on this release along with the guitars whereas the drums are a bit on the background. In addition, the order of the tracks seems to be well thought as it helps maintaining the high level of oomph this album is known for.

In conclusion, since its release a lot has been mentioned about the originality of the finished product but according to the band’s manager “at least 75% of the album is original” while according to the band, slight changes have only been made in aspects such as backing vocals. Additionally, if in some magical way "Roisin Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend" could have been included, the album could have been even better. One way or another though, Live and Dangerous is hands down one of the very best recordings of live rock music and an album that every fan of hard rock should listen at least once.



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user ratings (211)
4.6
superb


Comments:Add a Comment 
manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

I don't usually review albums that have already been reviewed by other guys but I felt this album needed something better.



Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geXgyKgqwLQ



Your comments are very much appreciated.

danielcardoso
July 23rd 2014


11770 Comments


Great review, man. Pos'd from me. I used to listen to Thin Lizzy a lot, not so much recently. Live albums are always a touchy subject, because a band can sound great on studio but not so much live, or vice-versa. Speaking of live albums, I think I'm gonna have my Tokyo Tapes review by Scorpions ready to go. It's about time I continue with the Scorpions discography.

manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Agreed man, bands cannot hide when playing live. Knowing that you're into hard rock, I think you'll love this one.



Good to see that you continue with your Scorpions reviews. Tokyo Tapes is awesome!

danielcardoso
July 23rd 2014


11770 Comments


Well, since I used to be a fan of Thin Lizzy I'll check it out and I'll probably enjoy it. That Lynott-Moore songwriting team was really awesome. And yeah, Tokyo Tapes is an amazing live album, I think it's the culmination of a lot of Scorpions' best material put together in a top-notch live performance.

manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Yeah Black Rose: A Rock Legend is one of their best albums. Regarding Tokyo Tapes, it's indeed a special album. My only concern is the tracklist. It could have included a couple of other tracks such as The Sails of Charon.

danielcardoso
July 23rd 2014


11770 Comments


Yeah, the lack of stuff from Fly to the Rainbow, for example, was somewhat disappointing. And Sails of Charon definitely should've made the cut, it's an awesome track indeed.

menawati
July 23rd 2014


16721 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

opium trail on the deluxe edition is marvellous, great review pos

manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks man. Yeah, I remember you talking about Opium Trail and the deluxe edition in the past but I can't recall if I checked it. Gonna check the additional material asap.

menawati
July 23rd 2014


16721 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

well im biased its my favorite lizzy song

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
July 23rd 2014


19009 Comments


Great opening paragraph, Live After Death is stunning indeed. Have a pos.

I need to revisit this album. RIP Phil.

NightProwler
July 23rd 2014


7006 Comments


Great review for a great album, pos'd!'

Heey baby, meet me I'm a tough guy,
got my cycle outside, wanna try?


And hey NoTrap, man! m/

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
July 23rd 2014


19009 Comments


Cheers Mr. NightProwler m/

manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Hey guys thanks for the kind words! m/

RivalSkoomaDealer
July 23rd 2014


1645 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Great review. Love the footage from this.

manosg
Emeritus
July 23rd 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Cheers man.

deslad
July 23rd 2014


645 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Great review, I'm gonna have to check this out since I love this band. Have a pos from me too.

manosg
Emeritus
July 24th 2014


12709 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks! I really think you'll love this one. It's one of the greatest live albums imo.

NightProwler
July 24th 2014


7006 Comments


Yeah, this album is usually what spawns Lizzy-fans, so if you already dig them, you'll love them after this one

danielcardoso
July 24th 2014


11770 Comments


I think that Jailbreak sounds even cooler live.

NightProwler
July 24th 2014


7006 Comments


Yeah, most songs (not gonna say "every", because I haven't heard them all in their studio-versions) sound better on here



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