Thin Lizzy Live And Dangerous 1977

Live and Dangerous is the famous first live album by Thin Lizzy. It was recorded on the 1976 tour promoting the Johnny the Fox and and the 1977 tour for Bad Reputation.

The album has a great rough, tough live sound but it’s well known that it was extensively touched up in the studio although the exact amount has been disputed by the band and the producer, Tony Visconti.

In 2011 it was remastered and two bonus tracks were added – Opium Trail and Bad Reputation.

Thin Lizzy Live And Dangerous

Thin Lizzy Live And Dangerous

Set List – 10/10

  1. Jailbreak – 4:31 (originally from the album Jailbreak)
  2. Emerald – 4:18 (Jailbreak)
  3. Southbound – 4:44 (Bad Reputation)
  4. Rosalie/Cowgirl’s Song – 4:00 (Fighting)
  5. Dancing in the Moonlight – 3:50 (Bad Reputation)
  6. Massacre – 2:46 (Johnny The Fox)
  7. Still in Love With You – 7:40 (Fighting)
  8. Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed – 3:32 (Johnny The Fox)
  9. Cowboy Song – 4:40 (Jailbreak)
  10. The Boys Are Back in Town – 4:30 (Jailbreak)
  11. Don’t Believe a Word – 2:05 (Johnny The Fox)
  12. Warriors – 3:52 (Jailbreak)
  13. Are You Ready – 2:40 (first appeared on this album)
  14. Suicide – 5:00 (Fighting)
  15. Sha La La – 4:18 (Nightlife)
  16. Baby Drives Me Crazy – 6:36 (first appeared on this album)
  17. The Rocker – 3:58 (Vagabonds of the Western World)
  18. Opium Trail – 4:41 (Bad Reputation)
  19. Bad Reputation – 6:04 (Bad Reputation)

Four songs from Bad Reputation (1977), three from Johnny The Fox (1976), five from their breakthrough album Jailbreak (1976), three from Fighting (1975), one from Nightlife (1974) and one from Vagabonds of the Western World (1973).

This very much reads as a best of Thin Lizzy up to 1977. They are a group that had produced some excellent tracks but their studio albums always suffered from inconsistency with some filler. Yes even Jailbreak isn’t consistent although The Boys Are Back In Town and my favourite, Emerald are big highs.

Performance – 10/10

The set list is beautifully ordered with the slower numbers Dancing In the Moonlight and Still In Love With You early in the set and it gradually builds in intensity to finish with a raucous version of The Rocker. Two bonus tracks that weren’t on the original release are tacked on at the end.

There have been plenty of personnel changes in Thin Lizzy. The membership of the band when this was recorded was:

  • Phil Lynott – lead vocals, bass guitar
  • Scott Gorham – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Robertson – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Downey – drums, percussion

Here are some videos of Thin Lizzy playing live around 1976 and 1977.

The Boys Are Back In Town

Emerald

Still In Love With You

Dancing In The Moonlight

Atmosphere and Authenticity – 7/10

Songs came from an November 1976 concert in London and an October 1977 show in Toronto. That’s a long way from representing the perfect situation of a recording from one night. The bonus tracks are added to the end rather than put in their appropriate place.

Add in the touching up in the studio and this is the Achilles heel for Live and Dangerous. Gains in the set list and performance are lost in this section.

Overall Rating 27/30

It sounds fantastic but my rating system forces me to mark it down.

If you ignore the doubts over the authenticity, it is a great hard rock record where the songs retain their melodies despite the power of the performances. It stands as Thin Lizzy’s greatest achievement.

What Other People Say About Live And Dangerous by Thin Lizzy

This album is often considered to be one of the greatest live albums ever, if not the greatest.

In particular the following recommend it very highly:

Classic Rock – 1st
NME – 1st
Planet Rock – 1st
Chordstrike.com – 36rd
DigitalDreamDoor.com – 59th

Reviewers at Amazon.com rate Live and Dangerous very highly

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It’s also doing well in my best live albums polls (see below).

Buying Live And Dangerous by Thin Lizzy

To help you to find the album quickly and easily, I’ve given you the following links::

What Do You Think About Live And Dangerous?

Do you think this album lives up to its stellar reputation as one of the best hard rock albums? Or do you think albums like UFO’s Strangers In The Night, AC/DC’s If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, Kiss Alive and Double Live Gonzo by Ted Nugent are better?

Is it the best Live Album by Thin Lizzy

What Are The THREE Best Live Albums By Thin Lizzy Or Phil Lynott? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

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What Are The Best Live Albums Ever?

Please help me to find the best live album by voting in the readers polls. It is nominated in the hard rock and classic rock genre polls.

best hard rock live album.

What Are The TEN Best Hard Rock Or Heavy Metal Live Albums Ever? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

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Because there are so many great hard rock live albums, I have a second division poll where you may find other favourite live albums.

best classic rock live albums

What Are The FIVE Best Classic Rock Live Albums? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

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Again there are too many very good live albums so I have a classic rock second division poll as well.

You may be interested in other hard rock artist polls – AC/DC AerosmithAlice Cooper – Blue Oyster CultDeep PurpleGary MooreMott The Hoople –  The Rolling StonesThin LizzyThe Who

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