Live and Dangerous

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The band began touring to promote the album, but after a one-off gig in Ibiza, Lynott and Robertson had an acrimonious argument. Robertson subsequently quit Thin Lizzy permanently to form Wild Horses with former Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain. He was replaced by a returning Gary Moore, who had already been a band member in 1974 and 1977. [21]

We were always told: ‘Never come off the road, because as soon as you do, everyone is going to forget about you,’” says Gorham. “So it was album, tour, album, tour…’” For sheer sensory excitement, though, the opening power chords of Lizzy’s take on Bob Seger’s Rosalie take some beating, and the inherent spunk of Brian Robertson’s playing is manifest on four different instances of his extraordinary wah-wah solo on Don’t Believe A Word. “You had to be able to step into the spotlight and hold your balls in your hand,” noted Gorham. Live And Dangerous-era Robbo is the archetype of that phenotype. Live And Dangerous also précised Lizzy’s easy mix of machismo and vulnerability. For every Massacre or Warriors there was a Still In Love With You or a Dancing In The Moonlight (It’s Caught Me In Its Spotlight), the latter one of the greatest songs about fumbling adolescent romance.In true Thin Lizzy style, they even toured the live album, culminating with two dates at London’s Wembley Arena. Then Lynott and Robertson clashed again.

Lizzy are in explosive form on each of the gigs presented here, bringing a vibrancy and fluidity that was sometimes missing from the studio versions of these songs. The band’s all-time best lineup is in top form: Lynott’s propulsive bass anchors not only the songs’ riffs but their melodies as well; guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson peel off blazing, melodic leads on every song, while drummer Brian Downey is a powerhouse with the ability to both swing and deliver thunderous, double-bass-drum powered beats. (And since those members were American, Scottish and Irish respectively, they brought their own range of influences to the band.) In early 2020, Gorham was introduced to the former guitarist in a big 80s pop group, who told him that his previous band overdubbed most of their live album because that’s what Thin Lizzy did with Live And Dangerous. The Cream/Hendrix-infatuated trio moved to London where their take on the traditional folk ballad Whiskey In The Jar went Top 10 in spring ’73. Then Eric Bell walked out on New Year’s Eve. Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore was among his temporary replacements, before Lynott found his dream team in May 1974. Nevertheless, Visconti signed up for the task of wading through 30 hours of live Lizzy, recorded on different kinds of tape at different speeds and by different engineers. Which is when the rumours began about how live Live And Dangerous really is. Adrian Bolster: I was 14 at the time, still have my vinyl copy with photos from Fin Costello. Harmonica from Huey Lewis (Clover) on Baby Drives Me Crazy and John Earl on Sax from Graham Parker and The Rumour. Awesome.Robertson was just 18 and came from a family steeped in music; Gorham was a 22-year-old tearaway with a drug conviction before he fled Glendale, California, for London. Gorham’s brother-in-law, drummer Bob Siebenberg, had just joined Supertramp, and Scott hoped the band needed a guitarist. Tony Visconti was surprised to be asked to produce Live And Dangerous. Bowie even more so, when he discovered his producer was delaying his next album, Lodger, to work on a Thin Lizzy live record. The truth is, Visconti loved the band, but not their increasingly parlous lifestyle.