Review of Thin Lizzy: Live And Dangerous

Introduction

When speaking of the greatest live rock albums of all-time, there are those that simply have to be on the shortlist, to give the discussion credibility. The Who`s "Live at Leeds", Deep Purple`s "Made In Japan", and even Peter Frampton`s "Frampton Comes Alive" must be included. Perhaps the only other must-hear is Thin Lizzy`s classic, "Live and Dangerous".

But with this DVD set of the same name, let me quickly dispel the thought that this is a video recording of the concerts that can be heard on the album. This is, in fact, a single concert recorded on 29th March 1978, at the Rainbow in London, which features several different tracks in comparison to the LP. Thankfully, however, at this point the band still maintained the classic line-up of singer/bassist Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, and guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson.

As an extra, also included on this DVD set - which is available in amaray or (a beautiful) deluxe version - is another concert, from 1983, recorded for the BBC "Sight and Sounds" series. This was the band`s farewell tour, and by this time a keyboard player had been added in Darren Wharton, and Robertson had been replaced by the future Whitesnake guitarist, John Sykes.

Further extras include five Top of the Pops tracks, and 45 minutes worth of new interview footage with Downey, Gorham, and Robertson.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen NTSC (Region 0), and is quite good.

The transfer itself is unproblematic, but the video is let down by only average source material. Indeed, it would appear that this is footage is taken from the VHS master, a fact which is corroborated by the fact that on the sleeve, track six is noted as "Call On Me", when it is actually "Still In Love With You". This was an error that appeared on the original VHS release, too.

With that in mind, a video recording from 1978 is clearly not going to compare favourably to almost anything more recent, and it is true that Live and Dangerous does look very dated. Aside from the almost cringeworthy split-screen shots - which I`m sure were quite innovative at the time - the stage is quite darkly lit, something which you never see today.

To give the visuals some credit, this probably couldn`t look much better than it does, even with a frame-by-frame remastering. It`s just a shame that the original tapes aren`t available, so that the entire concert could be re-cut, and cleaned up more effectively.

Audio

Audio is presented with a choice of Dolby Digital 2.0, or DTS 5.1.

Despite much searching, the multi-track tapes from this show have never been recovered, and thus only the audio from the original VHS master tape was available for re-mixing. It is a devastating blow to this release, and as such, the audio here can in no way compare with the album of the same name. Some hiss is noticeable throughout, in particular during the quiet parts of "Still In Love With You". This in spite of the fact that the overall mix is quite low in treble.

In terms of how each instrument is mixed, the main surprise is the aggressiveness with which Lynott`s bass is mixed. Rather than complimenting the drums in the background, allowing the guitars to take the lead, the bass is right up there at the forefront with the guitars - in some cases even overpowering them. It was pleasing to hear Lynott`s bass playing so clearly, but not at the expense of the sound of Gorham or Robertson.

Aside from sheer volume, there is very little difference between the Dolby Digital 2.0 track, and it`s DTS 5.1 counterpart. That, in itself, shows how badly the original audio tapes are missed.

Features

The BBC "Sight and Sound" concert - recorded at Hitchen Regal Theatre on 26th January 1983 - is the main extra feature of this release, providing an excellent companion to the "Live and Dangerous" concert itself. It`s a nice setlist, with the "Holy War" track a particular stand-out, though the likes of the more familiar "Jailbreak" suffer somewhat from the un-needed addition of keyboards.

The Top of the Pops tracks - "Whiskey In The Jar", "Jailbreak", "Dancin` In The Moonlight", "Waiting For An Alibi", and "Don`t Believe A Word" - provide some of Lizzy`s best studio work, and it`s nice to see Lynott in particular playing to the camera.

There are also 45 minutes worth of excellent, newly-recorded interviews with Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, and Brian Robertson. Here, they discuss how they got involved with the band, how the live album came about, as well as their thoughts on every track that appears on the video concert. For Lizzy fans in particular, this is a fascinating feature, and very much worth a look.

Though it isn`t a DVD extra, also to be noted is the bonus disc, which is a CD of a newly-found 1975 show, recorded in Derby. It contains only seven tracks, but is a great bonus, even if the audio quality doesn`t quite make the CD grade.

Conclusion

Considering the mitigating fact that the original tapes could not be found, for a full remastering job, what we are left with here is as good as it is going to get. With the original tapes, this could have been so much more, but at least now, it is out there for fans in its best current form.

The band`s performance, as you would expect from them at what is generally noted as their peak, is excellent. Though there isn`t a great deal of eye contact between guitarists Gorham and Robertson, their playing of Thin Lizzy`s signature twin guitar sound is wonderful. Brian Downey is as consistent as ever on the drums. And Phil Lynott is his charismatic self, but adds fantastic musicianship in both his singing and bass playing.

The quality of the set-list tails off a little towards the end, partially due to the band`s policy of trying to play their most embraced songs at the beginning of the set. But that is not to say that tracks such as "Sha La La" are poor, more that "The Boys Are Back In Town", "Emerald", "Dancing In The Moonlight", and "Still In Love With You" are classics of the rock genre.

It is a little disappointing that the main feature lasts just shy of one hour only, but that is made up for by the excellent extras that are available here. The "Sight and Sound" concert is a nice comparison to "Live and Dangerous", the Top of the Pops performances will be a delight for those who perhaps haven`t seen them since they aired, and the interviews with Downey, Gorham, and Robertson are a fabulous insight into the band, and "Live and Dangerous" itself.

Overall, if you are a Thin Lizzy fan, or a fan of the genre, there isn`t any need to deliberate over adding this to your collection. But despite its best intentions, there is the sense that this isn`t - without a complete remastering - the definitive Thin Lizzy release.