Still Dangerous: Live at Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977

AMG Review of Still Dangerous: Live at Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977

Dave Thompson
All Music Guide

Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous album ranks among the most beloved and, if you believe the gossip, the most controversial concert recording of its age. On the surface, it is dynamic -- four vinyl sides of pure Lizzy gold. But underneath, who knows what studio trickery was employed to make the electricity crackle so loudly? The band shrugged and said very little; the producer claimed a lot, and the truth could be anywhere in between. Well, stop fighting. Live and Dangerous was a compilation drawn from a string of gigs recorded during 1976-1977; Still Dangerous zeroes in on just one, from the tail end of that span, and if you truly believe there are any critical differences between the two, then maybe you should find other ways of occupying your time. Seven songs (but not performances) carry over from one disc to the other -- you can probably guess which ones they are -- and in terms of energy, drive, and sheer exhilaration, there's not a sliver of daylight between them. "Jailbreak," all howling sirens and screaming guitars, is sensational (even if Phil Lynott does muff the occasional line); "Dancing in the Moonlight" is as coiled and sensuous as it ought to be; "Don't Believe a Word" is manic defiance. And then there's that indelible moment of magic that raised a Lizzy concert so high above the competition that it wasn't even worth going to see another band, a soaring "Cowboy Song" slipping deftly and deliberately into "The Boys Are Back in Town," while the entire audience self-combusts with joy. In other words, Live and Dangerous is still one of the greatest live albums ever made. And Still Dangerous is one of the greatest concert recordings. It's as simple, and brilliant, as that.