Live And Dangerous is not just one of the greatest live albums of the 70s, it is perhaps the most complete portrayal of Thin Lizzy as a live rock band. Released in June 1978 as a double album, it brings together recordings from concerts in London, Philadelphia and Toronto, produced by Tony Visconti.

And here lies the great paradox: the album is considered “live”, but it is not a completely raw concert document. There were overdubs and studio interventions. How extensive they were has been the subject of debate for decades. But that does not change the basic fact: the energy we hear comes from a Thin Lizzy in terrifyingly high form.

The heart of the album is undoubtedly the duo of Scott Gorham – Brian Robertson. The two guitarists do not function simply as two people playing at the same time. Their guitars seem to converse, complementing each other and, at their best, creating a sound far greater than the sum of the two instruments.

From the explosive “Jailbreak” and the epic “Emerald” to “Massacre,” “Are You Ready” and “The Rocker,” the guitar work is constantly in motion. The riffs have weight, the solos have melody and the two-guitar harmonies are essentially Thin Lizzy’s trademark.

And behind it all is Phil Lynott, a frontman who doesn’t need to scream to be heard.

His voice has that signature blend of confidence, melancholy and rock’n’roll vagrancy. He doesn’t just sing the songs, he interprets them as stories.

In “Cowboy Song,” you have Lynott as a street poet. In “The Boys Are Back in Town,” he becomes the leader of an entire generation. And on “Still in Love with You,” he reveals his most vulnerable side.

The latter is perhaps the album’s crowning moment. The song’s nearly seven-minute run gives the guitars room to breathe, while Lynott sings with a dramatic quality that’s far removed from the stereotype of the hard-rock frontman.

Brian Downey on drums and Lynott on bass make for an exceptionally solid rhythm section.

Downey is not a drummer who’s just interested in intensity. He plays with groove, detail, and an almost jazzy feel at points. Lynott’s bass, in turn, doesn’t just follow the guitars; it’s an active part of the composition.

This is particularly noticeable on “Dancing in the Moonlight,” “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed,” and “Sha-La-La,” where the band shows that Thin Lizzy could be as funky, groovy, and bluesy as they could be heavy.

Even if you’ve never heard the entire album, you’re probably familiar with “The Boys Are Back in Town.” But here the song takes on a whole new dimension. The studio version is great, but the live performance has that extra element that’s hard to create in the studio: the feeling that the entire audience is participating in the song.

The same goes for “Jailbreak,” which opens the album in an almost cinematic way, and for “Cowboy Song,” where the audience and the band seem to function as one unit.

Live and Dangerous was created from different concerts and then edited and edited. Tony Visconti added studio overdubs, which has led some to question its characterization as an authentic live album, but that’s probably more of a historical detail than a reason to diminish its value.

And the result is a band at the peak of its power: Phil Lynott in absolute dominance, Brian Downey leading the band with an amazing groove and Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson creating one of the most distinctive twin-guitar formations in rock history.

From “Jailbreak” to “The Rocker”, there is almost no dead point. The album has aggression, melody, blues, funk, emotion and, above all, that sense of rock’n’roll danger that its title implies.

A must-have for fans of Thin Lizzy, classic/hard rock, blues rock and generally for anyone who wants to understand what a “big live band” could mean in the late 70s. Live And Dangerous, through which I select the track “Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed”, has rightly been included in lists of the most important albums that anyone should listen to.

Tracklist

A1. Jailbreak 4:31
A2. Emerald 4:18
A3. Southbound 3:44
A4a. Rosalie
A4b. Cowgirl’s Song 4:00

B1. Dancing In The Moonlight (It’s Caught Me In Its Spotlight) 3:50
B2. Massacre 2:46
B3. Still In Love With You 7:40
B4. Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed 3:32

C1. Cowboy Song 4:40
C2. The Boys Are Back In Town 4:30
C3. Don’t Believe A Word 2:05
C4. Warrior 3:52
C5. Are You Ready 2:40

D1. Suicide 5:00
D2. Sha-La-La 4:18
D3. Baby Drives Me Crazy 6:36
D4. The Rocker 3:58