One of my biggest regrets is that I never got to see Thin Lizzy live back in the day, only catching them after Phil passed. Ironically I was in Great Yarmouth to catch the show that appears as Disc 5 on this impressive 6 disc set that contains four live shows plus demos on top of the first disc entitled ‘2022 Remix’. It’s a title that is a little misleading in that it suggests a remix of an actual album (otherwise it would surely be titled ‘remixes’) when in fact it contains 13 tracks that are neither of the three already released collections – ‘The Studio Sessions’, ‘Twilight’s Last Gleaming’ or ‘Hit The Ground’ and appear to be just a selection of the total recorded tracks with omissions, though I haven’t compared everything and the remainder may well appear on the final ‘Demos’ disc. I guess the expansive booklet that comes with the release will reveal all.
The great irony I guess for fans of Phil is that even though he passed in 1996 both of his most notable bands – Thin Lizzy and to a lesser extent Grand Slam have seen revivals and are effectively still running – Thin Lizzy pick up things again shortly with Scott Gorham at the helm and in 2016 Grand Slam was revived by original members Mark Stanway and Laurence Archer for Sweden Rocks as as far as I know is still up an running.
Back to the box set though – the main joy here should surely be the live recordings. There have of course been recordings released of live shows previously notably shows in Ireland and Sweden as well as the Nostell Priory Festival, Wakefield show (which I have an love) but we only get part of that in this collection.
The first Disc as I said contains the studio recordings (only demos were ever recorded at various states of completion) and whilst it’s not complete it sounds fine, though there’s not really a noticeable upping in quality despite the claims of remastering (maybe I just had a decent previous version). Disc 2 – Live in Orebro appears to be the previously released ‘Live in Sweden’ set from ‘The Collection’ and whilst there are claims of remastering I don’t really hear any difference to the existing CD I have which whilst not necessarily live album quality was pretty OK. If you’re expecting a jump in quality I’m not really convinced this is better sounding?
Disc 3 – The Live in Lifford CD is interesting and rather disappointing in that it cuts out the version of ‘Whiter Shade Of Pale / Like A Rolling Stone’ that appeared mid set in the previously available Live in Ireland release. It also appears to attribute all songs to being recorded in Lifford when previous releases noted some tracks were from Galway and Castlebar. Don’t get me wrong I have no idea as to the provenance of the set or origin of the audio though the only records I can find seem to suggest that combination did appear at that time in the Lifford set. It’s a nice recording and has a great recording of ‘Parisienne Walkways’ despite the feedback (or ‘Parisienne Blow Jobs’ as Phil introduces it). ‘Cold Sweat’ and ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ – tracks from both ends of a career sound cool too.
Deeper in Disc 4 – ‘Live in London’ amounts to just five tracks and sounds like it was recorded in the room. It’s a nice memento but sonically sounds like a nice bootleg. Disc 5 on the other hand the Great Yarmouth show I was actually at might not be the clearest mix I’ve heard, but brought it all back. In a short space of time these guys were great live and who knows what would have happened if Phil hadn’t left us in ’86.
The final disc in the collection Disc 6 – The Demos are just that, quite comprehensive, nice and clean sounding, but clearly not ready for release but I love them. If you’re a fan it’s well worth dipping into the wallet for this one, even if still incomplete it’s the most comprehensive representation of the band yet and a joy to listen to with all its imperfections… in a way just like Rock and Roll should be – like the version of ‘Whiter Shade Of Pale / Like A Rolling Stone’ it’s wonderful stuff.
8 / 10