My favorite band of all time. For me: 1. Johnny the Fox 2. Thin Lizzy 3. Renegade 4. Jailbreak 5. Vagabonds of the Western World 6. Bad Reputation 7. Thunder and Lightning 8. Black Rose 9. Fighting 10. Nightlife 11. Chinatown 12. Shades of a blue Orphanage
1. LIVE and Dangerous 2. Bad Reputation 3. Jailbreak 4. Johnny the Fox 5. Black Rose 6. Chinatown 7. Thunder and Lighting 8. Renegade 9. Fighting 10. Nightlife 11. Vagabonds of the Western World 12. 13.
1. Thunder and Lightning 2. Johnny The Fox 3. Jailbreak 4. Black Rose 5. Bad Reputation 6. Renegade 7. Fighting 8. Chinatown 9. Nightlife 10. Vagabonds of The Western World 11. Thin Lizzy 12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
Great show Martin and Peter! I enjoy hearing all of your opinions! 12. Renegade 11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage 10. Thunder and Lightning 9. Chinatown 8. Thin Lizzy 7. Vagabonds of the Western World 6. Fighting 5. Bad Reputation 4. Black Rose 3. Johnny the Fox 2. Jailbreak 1. NIghtlife
I consider Bad Reputation to be their masterpiece, despite Jailbreak and Johnny featuring stronger individual songs and classic hits, and Robbo's contribution being stricly limited. it is barely represented in the L&D setlist, curiously. But enjoy the depth, seriousness and the depressing, dark feel on almost the enterity of the album. Love the Snowy era too, people keep randomly complaining about him for not being flashy enough or doing crazy stage moves, but he was truly competent in his writing and playing. For about 8 shows during the Renegade tour they actually played without Gorham, and listening to a couple of bootlegs recorded in Spain '82 he has no problem handling all guitar parts and delivering excellent solos.
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage 11. debut 10. Nightlife 9. Jailbreak 8. Vagabonds of the Western World 7. Fighting 6. Black Rose 5. Chinatown 4. Renegade 3. Bad Reputation 2. Thunder and Lightning 1. Johnny the Fox
1. Fighting 2. Black Rose 3. Jailbreak 4. Johnny the Fox 5. Chinatown 6. Renegade 7. Thunder and Lightning 8. Vagabonds of the Western World 9. Nightlife 10. Bad Reputation 11. Thin Lizzy 12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
1. Jailbreak 2. Black Rose 3. Bad Reputation 4. Johnny the Fox 5. Chinatown 6. Renegade 7. Thunder and Lightning 8. Vagabonds of the Western World 9. Fighting 10. Nightlife 11. Thin Lizzy 12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
I read the reason that the Bad Reputation title is offset is that Brian Robertson was cut off (he was on the left next to Brian Downey) because he didn't want to be on the cover because he only participated on three songs. I think I saw the original somewhere.
Great show and great rankings! I can't believe I missed the notification on this show. Thin Lizzy is my third favorite band and have been since I was a kid in the late 70's and I love ALL these records and my top five has been my top five always! and I like to listen to the Eric Bell albums together ( I have a great playlist with all the singles and rare ep tracks) when in that kind of mood. so with that said... 12. Thin Lizzy 11. Shades Of Blues 10. Vagabonds Of The Western World 9. Nightlife 8. Chinatown 7. Thunder and Lightning 6. Renegade 5. Johnny The Fox 4. Fighting 3. Jailbreak 2. Bad Reputation 1. Black Rose
Johnny the Fox is in my top 3, Massacre Boogie Woogie Dance, Don't Believe a Word Johnny the Fox Meets... are amazing, to me the sound on it is good, guitars are loud enough as well. Bad Reputation album cover is not a great one but was suppose to have Robbo on front as well as he is on pics on the cd but he had departed by the time it came out even though he did play on a few tracks, something to do with him getting into a fight and breaking his hand. Top album to me is Jailbreak, and Chinatown 2nd. Thunder and Lightning would be 4 to me, Not worried about the so called heavy metal album, was still classic hard rock to me. Nightlife is in my opinion good, to wimpy , Still in Love with You is a good heavy blues album, brilliant solo from Brian Robinson but rest are to non classic rock sounding.
@@wernermoritz882 Sykes was an impressive guitarist but I'm not sure he was right for WhiteSnake or Lizzy.Thunder + Lightening and Slide It In weren't duds,but the songs don't exactly require shredding.
Well, I've been a THIN LIZZY fan since 1976. They're not my fave artist, but def a Top 10 or so. And I think I have a good, accurate feel for the band. Im also a lifelong guitarist w/music within the family, so I've got that goin' for me too. Heh! That said, an opinion is like an .... everyone's got one, and you're all welcome to your own. A few things I want to say after watching this: 1. I bought "RENEGADE" new when I was 17...wait, no, a girl bought it for my birthday. Thank you again, Shana! Anyway, I don't know what the Aussie is talking about, because I personally think the LP is absolutely brilliant! Renegade is actually my favorite of the post-Bad Rep albums, by a long shot! And aside from all the other good tracks, a couple of the tastiest are "Leave This Town" and "The Pressure Will Blow," but maybe I love those b/c I'm a guitarist and I adore tight funky riffs matched to rhythmic vocal lines. But yeah, those two, plus "Angel Of Death," "Renegade," (right on about that end section, Martin!). "Mexican Blood," "Hollywood," etc., its a really good album that deserves MUCH more praise. Definitely as much as.... 2. BLACK ROSE. Uuuuhhh. I have never understood the overt claims of "masterpiece" with this okay/decent, pretty good record. I had to really work myself into the poppy, sorta anti-Lizzy hits, and then, most of the other stuff is just, I i dunno, "meh.." the title track is quite good indeed, but I hardly recall it on the spot. Sometimes I call this album the "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" record, where everyone likes to get hammered and claim to be Irish, as if that's a bigger deal than any other. Feh.... 2. Peter is WRONG again when he talks about CHINATOWN's s LP cover "trying to keep up with TNWOBHM." Dude, this album came out in "1980,"... and that's right at the "beginnings of British Heavy Metal". Iron Maiden's DEBUT came out the same year, a😅nd while Judas Priest was definitely more experienced, their form of NWOBHM covers hadn't really hadn't happened yet. I strongly prefer the earlier JP and the earlier JP covers, btw. Now I'd get your point if CHINATOWN came out in say, 1983 or so, but in 1980, they were simply coming up with cool album art that matched the subject matter and the time. And btw, Chinatown IS a very good album, but only for half of it's run time. The "Title track," "Killer On The Loose" "Genocide" and maybe/kinda-sorta the first two, are really the only stellar tracks. 4. You're BOTH right about THUNDER and LIGHTNING. There are indeed some good tracks on that album.. mostly for a band other than Thin Schnizzel. I mean, they kinda make it, but overall, it just doesn't come off as a Thin Lizzy album. And this issue has almost all to do with John Sykes and his overwrought, way too metallic, and not nearly as engaging playing. Overall, I'd have to say that although im a major fan of the classic middle era of this band (i.e. 1974-1978), I'm more on the side of Martin here, as I not only agree with more of what he said, but RENEGADE and JOHNNY THE FOX are two of my top Lizzy albums. Also, another song not mentioned is the excellent JTFMJTW. --- You know which one im talking about. Oh, how i grooved to that one when I was 10. And then the very best TL: "Emerald," "Warrior," "Massacre," etc., and ALL of that monster LIVE AND DANGEROUS album! You see, It's all about "Gorham and Robertson" when it comes to THIN LIZZY! Their killer, soulful, perfectly phrased playing (with such a tone), for me, blows the later guys straight out of the water! Marc ✨ *Oh , and that nonsense about the Bad Reputation album cover being "so bad." Look, I get what you're saying about it being non-creative or lazy, whatever. It works for me, mostly because I think "BLACK" works for that album. And even though the picture is a bit regular and the placement of the title isn't dead center, etc., when I listen to that album, the cover seems just right for it, due to the black-centric quality. It fits the sound!
Great show! I can relate to both opinions on Renegade and totally agree on Thunder and Lightning, probably the worst for me, but still has some outstanding tracks.
My ranking of all studioalbums! 12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972) Half of this record I quite enjoy but the other half is rather forgettable. 11. Thin Lizzy (1971) Some songs does meander a bit and the songwriting is in the early stages but several stronger songs too. 10. Chinatown (1980) A very solid album but to me. Although it feels like I've heard everything before in a musical way. It feels like "standard Thin Lizzy" to me. All good but not that much greatness. 9. Thunder and Lightning (1983) An interesting way to end the band. I think it has several strong songs but overall I rather listen to Iron Maiden, Metallica or Judas Priest from the same era. 8. Renegade (1981) I enjoy the entrance of keyboards on this. To me this feels like Chinatown but with a new twist. Just as solid but more interesting. 7. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973) The third album with Eric Bell (almost wrote Eric Bloom, of Blue Öyster Cult fame). A big step up from the first two albums. Just stronger in every way. 6. Nightlife (1974) Probably the album that has risen most for me during the years. At first I thought it sounded like a demo of what was to come but I really appreciate the touches of soul to it. 5. Fighting (1975) I like that every song has a unique touch. Some heavier, some slower, some funkier. I like most of this record a lot but a few I am a bit indifferent about. 4. Johnny the Fox (1976) Very close with Fighting but I think the big stand out tracks here gives it a slight nod! 3. Bad Reputation (1977) I think the bands most coherent record. It all fits very well. Am I a huge fan of all tracks? No but I like them all and what I like least. I like more than things on other records. 2. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979) I love Gary Moore and I think the album rocks very hard and have great more emotional moments. 1. Jailbreak (1976) I love variation and I truly enjoy every song on here. Maybe a boring choice but it's the best selling for a reason! Even more important than Thin Lizzy? The friendship of Martin Popoff to his friend who got a stroke. So many people just move on and forget about sick friends. Hats off to (Martin) Popoff for his actions!
I'm a big Lizzy fan. One of my favorite bands. Pretty unique band with well balanced records. Never made a stone cold classic album but their whole catalogue together is awesome. Live and Dangerous is a stone cold classic"live" record! In high school (early 90's) a new friend tried to get me to listen to Thin Lizzy (he had older brothers who were into hard rock) . He tried to sell it with having Gary Moore in the band, but i only knew his blues stuff and really didn't care for that so that didn't work. But one time during an evening with friends at his parents house i was lying on the couch chillin' with my eyes closed after too many beers and suddenly The Sun goes down entered my ears. I was hooked and the rest is history. So ranking Lizzy: 1st tier: Fighting, Jail, Johnny, Bad Rep 2nd tier: Renagade, Thunder 3rd tier: Night, Black, China, Vagabond, 4th tier: Lizzy, Shades I like 'm all but play the 4th tier ones definitely the least. Like Phil's solo albums but a but wobbly
Great ranking here’s mine: 1) Johnny The Fox (1976) 2) Jailbreak (1976) 3) Nightlife (1974) 4) Black Rose (1979) 5) Vagabonds Of The Western World (1973) 6) Bad Reputation (1977) 7) Renegade (1981) 8) Fighting (1975) 9) Thin Lizzy (1971) 10) Thunder & Lightning (1983) 11) Chinatown (1980) 12) Shades Of A Blue Orphanage (1972)
So happy you did a Thin Lizzy show!!! One of my top three bands of all time. My top five: Johnny the Fox, Black Rose, Renegade, Bad Reputation, Fighting. I never liked Thunder & Lightening a lot. The production is awful and the sound muddy
Great show, really funny to see you both putting Renegade at opposite ends of your rankings. My 1st memory of Lizzy was hearing Whiskey In The Jar. 1st album I bought was Jailbreak, based purely on the album cover. Bought it on a family holiday & had to wait nearly 2 weeks before I could play it. But it was worth the wait. Saw them a few times in the early 80s. A run of great albums, so hard to decide!!! But here's by ranking 12. S/T Debut 11. Shades of A Blue Orphanage 10. Vagabonds Of The Western World 9. Fighting 8. Thunder & Lightning 7. Chinatown 6. Nightlife 5. Renegade 4. Johnny The Fox 3. Bad Reputation 2. Jailbreak 1. Black Rose But tbh my favourite is Live & Dangerous. Those live versions kill!
Ok so I'm going to be totally contrarian and rank renegade as my number one favorite thin Lizzy album it just has everything i love about this legendary band and for the rest Johnny the fox, thunder and lightning, fighting and bad reputation
Great Irish band and I saw them here in Ireland a couple of times. My favourite is Black Rose as it has Gary Moore on it and he's one of my favourite guitarists. Great show.
Great show guys on the awesome Thin Lizzy. Im a huge Robbo fan I think he added so much to the sound with his flamboyant melodic playing. No 1 JailBreak No 2 Johnny the fox No 3 Bad Reputation No 4 Black Rose No 4 Fighting No 5 Renegade No 6 ChinaTown No 7 Night Life No 8 Vagabonds of the Western World No 9 Shades of a blue orphanage No 10 Thunder and Lightning
I was much surprised that both of you are not great fans of Thunder And Lightning and of John Sykes and i was even more surprised that Martin is not a great fan of Gary Moore, Phil Lynott said in 1979 that Gary Moore was the best rock guitar player of all times, in my humble opinion mr. Moore began to be a great guitar player only in 1982 with the album Corridors Of Power and was at his very best at 1987 with the album Wild Frontier, mr. Moore played guitar in two styles, he was a virtuoso and a shredder but also played slow guitar solos with a lot of feel and so was his singing, he would scream in some songs from the bottom of his lungs and when he sang ballads he sang from the bottom of his heart, John Sykes brought Thin Lizzy to a higher level, i wish you well.
Me too Martin especially and other people ranking the albums in the comments here. It’s definitely better than the previous two and the first 3 or 4 at the very least
Fave Lizzy Albums: 1) Jailbreak 2) Bad Reputation 3) Black Rose 4) Fighting 5) Johnny The Fox 6) Renegade 7) Chinatown 8) Thunder and lightning 9) Vanguards of The Western World 10) Nightlife 11) Thin Lizzy 12) Shades Of a Blue Orphanage
Surprised to see Black Rose being do high for Martin, Still goes on about he's guitar tone ??? Not shall why he reckons that, & maybe yes vocally, he was just ok, but was an amazing guitarist period.
12. shades 11. Thin Lizzy 10. Vagabonds 9.Nightlife 8.Renegade 7). Fighting 6). Chinatown 5). Jailbreak 4).Johnny The Fox 3).Thunder and Lightning 2). Black Rose 1). Bad Reputation
My Ranking of Thin Lizzy 1. Johnny The Fox 2. Chinatown 3. Vagabonds of the Western 4. Bad Reputation 5. Night Life 6. Fighting 7. Jailbreak 8. Renegade 9. Thunder&lightning 10. Thin Lizzy 11. Shades of
The line in Jailbreak always bothered me: Tonight there‘s gonna be a jailbreak somewhere in this town“ (probably in jail, just a guess) and kind of ruins the song. How can such a great songwriter and lyricist come up with this? And ironically this is probably his most famous lyric. 😅
Peter has it correct, renegade has to be at the bottom of the rank- by a wide margin. It isnt better than orphanage or vagabonds. thunder and light much better but production is lifeless. 1. Johnny the Fox 2. Chinatown 3. Vagabonds 4. Bad Reputation 5. Black Rose. 6. Thunder Light (Bad Habits/ heart Attack connects back to dear lord from bad reputation and is Lynotts last gasp -and its priceless). All the comments below have divergent ranking. I think we can all agree that divergence is an indication of a very interesting rock band.
1. Johnny the Fox 2. Jailbreak 3. Bad Reputation 4. Renegade 5. Black Rose 6. Fighting 7. Chinatown 8. Nightlife 9. Thunder and Lightning 10. Vagabonds of the Western World 11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage 12. Thin Lizzy
Great ranking Peter and Martin. Love the book! My top five:
1. Fighting
2. Renegade
3. Black Rose
4. Johnny The Fox
5. Jailbreak
My top 3 Thin Lizzy.
1. Chinatown
2. Renegade
3. Jailbreak
My favorite band of all time.
For me:
1. Johnny the Fox
2. Thin Lizzy
3. Renegade
4. Jailbreak
5. Vagabonds of the Western World
6. Bad Reputation
7. Thunder and Lightning
8. Black Rose
9. Fighting
10. Nightlife
11. Chinatown
12. Shades of a blue Orphanage
Appreciate these picks...thanking you!
My top 5
1. Fighting
2. Thunder and Lighting
3. Jailbreak
4. Johnny the Fox
5. Black Rose
Good stuff Ashley!
1. LIVE and Dangerous
2. Bad Reputation
3. Jailbreak
4. Johnny the Fox
5. Black Rose
6. Chinatown
7. Thunder and Lighting
8. Renegade
9. Fighting
10. Nightlife
11. Vagabonds of the Western World
12.
13.
1. Thunder and Lightning
2. Johnny The Fox
3. Jailbreak
4. Black Rose
5. Bad Reputation
6. Renegade
7. Fighting
8. Chinatown
9. Nightlife
10. Vagabonds of The Western World
11. Thin Lizzy
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
Great show Martin and Peter! I enjoy hearing all of your opinions!
12. Renegade
11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
10. Thunder and Lightning
9. Chinatown
8. Thin Lizzy
7. Vagabonds of the Western World
6. Fighting
5. Bad Reputation
4. Black Rose
3. Johnny the Fox
2. Jailbreak
1. NIghtlife
I know the hits and a few others. Looking forward to diving deeper. Thank you guys
I consider Bad Reputation to be their masterpiece, despite Jailbreak and Johnny featuring stronger individual songs and classic hits, and Robbo's contribution being stricly limited. it is barely represented in the L&D setlist, curiously. But enjoy the depth, seriousness and the depressing, dark feel on almost the enterity of the album.
Love the Snowy era too, people keep randomly complaining about him for not being flashy enough or doing crazy stage moves, but he was truly competent in his writing and playing. For about 8 shows during the Renegade tour they actually played without Gorham, and listening to a couple of bootlegs recorded in Spain '82 he has no problem handling all guitar parts and delivering excellent solos.
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
11. debut
10. Nightlife
9. Jailbreak
8. Vagabonds of the Western World
7. Fighting
6. Black Rose
5. Chinatown
4. Renegade
3. Bad Reputation
2. Thunder and Lightning
1. Johnny the Fox
Thanks for your picks...Nice!
1. Fighting
2. Black Rose
3. Jailbreak
4. Johnny the Fox
5. Chinatown
6. Renegade
7. Thunder and Lightning
8. Vagabonds of the Western World
9. Nightlife
10. Bad Reputation
11. Thin Lizzy
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
We shall compare Jim...thanks for the early picks
1. Jailbreak
2. Black Rose
3. Bad Reputation
4. Johnny the Fox
5. Chinatown
6. Renegade
7. Thunder and Lightning
8. Vagabonds of the Western World
9. Fighting
10. Nightlife
11. Thin Lizzy
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
I read the reason that the Bad Reputation title is offset is that Brian Robertson was cut off (he was on the left next to Brian Downey)
because he didn't want to be on the cover because he only participated on three songs. I think I saw the original somewhere.
He was fired from the band
Great show and great rankings! I can't believe I missed the notification on this show. Thin Lizzy is my third favorite band and have been
since I was a kid in the late 70's and I love ALL these records and my top five has been my top five always! and I like to listen to the Eric
Bell albums together ( I have a great playlist with all the singles and rare ep tracks) when in that kind of mood. so with that said...
12. Thin Lizzy
11. Shades Of Blues
10. Vagabonds Of The Western World
9. Nightlife
8. Chinatown
7. Thunder and Lightning
6. Renegade
5. Johnny The Fox
4. Fighting
3. Jailbreak
2. Bad Reputation
1. Black Rose
Thanks Drew. Always appreciate your feedback/comments!
Lizzy was one of the first big concerts I ever went to in 1978. There wasn't many heavy band tours in Australia in the mid to late 70s.
Was watcing on YT the other day...Lizzy at the front of the Sydney Opera House...fantastic show...
Yeah I was there
My rankings 1. Jailbreak 2. Chinatown. 3 Johnny the Fox. 4. Thunder and Lightning. 5. Bad Reputaion. 6. Fighting. 7. Black Rose. 8. Vagabonds 9.Nightlife. 10. Renegade. 11. Thin Lizzy. 12. Shades
Johnny the Fox is in my top 3, Massacre Boogie Woogie Dance, Don't Believe a Word Johnny the Fox Meets... are amazing, to me the sound on it is good, guitars are loud enough as well. Bad Reputation album cover is not a great one but was suppose to have Robbo on front as well as he is on pics on the cd but he had departed by the time it came out even though he did play on a few tracks, something to do with him getting into a fight and breaking his hand. Top album to me is Jailbreak, and Chinatown 2nd. Thunder and Lightning would be 4 to me, Not worried about the so called heavy metal album, was still classic hard rock to me. Nightlife is in my opinion good, to wimpy , Still in Love with You is a good heavy blues album, brilliant solo from Brian Robinson but rest are to non classic rock sounding.
Brian Robertson in that time frame he was with Lizzy atleast was phenomenal.Also love his stint in Motorhead.
Robbo is still so underrated.
I'm not a Motorhead fan, but the one album with Robbo is really good. On spots it sounds like - Lemmy being a guest singer on a Lizzy album.
@@domielakrabi3276 He does awesome work as usual on that album,it's better than what Sykes did for Lizzy.
@@ericrobertson2024 for sure, Sykes was the wrong guy for thin lizzy imho.
@@wernermoritz882 Sykes was an impressive guitarist but I'm not sure he was right for WhiteSnake or Lizzy.Thunder + Lightening and Slide It In weren't duds,but the songs don't exactly require shredding.
Well, I've been a THIN LIZZY fan since 1976. They're not my fave artist, but def a Top 10 or so. And I think I have a good, accurate feel for the band. Im also a lifelong guitarist w/music within the family, so I've got that goin' for me too. Heh!
That said, an opinion is like an .... everyone's got one, and you're all welcome to your own.
A few things I want to say after watching this:
1. I bought "RENEGADE" new when I was 17...wait, no, a girl bought it for my birthday. Thank you again, Shana! Anyway, I don't know what the Aussie is talking about, because I personally think the LP is absolutely brilliant!
Renegade is actually my favorite of the post-Bad Rep albums, by a long shot! And aside from all the other good tracks, a couple of the tastiest are "Leave This Town" and "The Pressure Will Blow," but maybe I love those b/c I'm a guitarist and I adore tight funky riffs matched to rhythmic vocal lines.
But yeah, those two, plus "Angel Of Death," "Renegade," (right on about that end section, Martin!). "Mexican Blood," "Hollywood," etc., its a really good album that deserves MUCH more praise. Definitely as much as....
2. BLACK ROSE. Uuuuhhh. I have never understood the overt claims of "masterpiece" with this okay/decent, pretty good record. I had to really work myself into the poppy, sorta anti-Lizzy hits, and then, most of the other stuff is just, I i dunno, "meh.." the title track is quite good indeed, but I hardly recall it on the spot.
Sometimes I call this album the "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" record, where everyone likes to get hammered and claim to be Irish, as if that's a bigger deal than any other. Feh....
2. Peter is WRONG again when he talks about CHINATOWN's s LP cover "trying to keep up with TNWOBHM." Dude, this album came out in "1980,"... and that's right at the "beginnings of British Heavy Metal". Iron Maiden's DEBUT came out the same year, a😅nd while Judas Priest was definitely more experienced, their form of NWOBHM covers hadn't really hadn't happened yet. I strongly prefer the earlier JP and the earlier JP covers, btw.
Now I'd get your point if CHINATOWN came out in say, 1983 or so, but in 1980, they were simply coming up with cool album art that matched the subject matter and the time. And btw, Chinatown IS a very good album, but only for half of it's run time. The "Title track," "Killer On The Loose" "Genocide" and maybe/kinda-sorta the first two, are really the only stellar tracks.
4. You're BOTH right about THUNDER and LIGHTNING. There are indeed some good tracks on that album.. mostly for a band other than Thin Schnizzel. I mean, they kinda make it, but overall, it just doesn't come off as a Thin Lizzy album. And this issue has almost all to do with John Sykes and his overwrought, way too metallic, and not nearly as engaging playing.
Overall, I'd have to say that although im a major fan of the classic middle era of this band (i.e. 1974-1978), I'm more on the side of Martin here, as I not only agree with more of what he said, but RENEGADE and JOHNNY THE FOX are two of my top Lizzy albums.
Also, another song not mentioned is the excellent JTFMJTW. --- You know which one im talking about. Oh, how i grooved to that one when I was 10.
And then the very best TL: "Emerald," "Warrior," "Massacre," etc., and ALL of that monster LIVE AND DANGEROUS album! You see, It's all about "Gorham and Robertson" when it comes to THIN LIZZY! Their killer, soulful, perfectly phrased playing (with such a tone), for me, blows the later guys straight out of the water!
Marc
✨
*Oh , and that nonsense about the Bad Reputation album cover being "so bad." Look, I get what you're saying about it being non-creative or lazy, whatever. It works for me, mostly because I think "BLACK" works for that album. And even though the picture is a bit regular and the placement of the title isn't dead center, etc., when I listen to that album, the cover seems just right for it, due to the black-centric quality. It fits the sound!
Great show! I can relate to both opinions on Renegade and totally agree on Thunder and Lightning, probably the worst for me, but still has some outstanding tracks.
Thanks for the comment Werner!
My ranking of all studioalbums!
12. Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
Half of this record I quite enjoy but the other half is rather forgettable.
11. Thin Lizzy (1971)
Some songs does meander a bit and the songwriting is in the early stages but several stronger songs too.
10. Chinatown (1980)
A very solid album but to me. Although it feels like I've heard everything before in a musical way. It feels like "standard Thin Lizzy" to me. All good but not that much greatness.
9. Thunder and Lightning (1983)
An interesting way to end the band. I think it has several strong songs but overall I rather listen to Iron Maiden, Metallica or Judas Priest from the same era.
8. Renegade (1981)
I enjoy the entrance of keyboards on this. To me this feels like Chinatown but with a new twist. Just as solid but more interesting.
7. Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
The third album with Eric Bell (almost wrote Eric Bloom, of Blue Öyster Cult fame). A big step up from the first two albums. Just stronger in every way.
6. Nightlife (1974)
Probably the album that has risen most for me during the years. At first I thought it sounded like a demo of what was to come but I really appreciate the touches of soul to it.
5. Fighting (1975)
I like that every song has a unique touch. Some heavier, some slower, some funkier. I like most of this record a lot but a few I am a bit indifferent about.
4. Johnny the Fox (1976)
Very close with Fighting but I think the big stand out tracks here gives it a slight nod!
3. Bad Reputation (1977)
I think the bands most coherent record. It all fits very well. Am I a huge fan of all tracks? No but I like them all and what I like least. I like more than things on other records.
2. Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
I love Gary Moore and I think the album rocks very hard and have great more emotional moments.
1. Jailbreak (1976)
I love variation and I truly enjoy every song on here. Maybe a boring choice but it's the best selling for a reason!
Even more important than Thin Lizzy? The friendship of Martin Popoff to his friend who got a stroke. So many people just move on and forget about sick friends. Hats off to (Martin) Popoff for his actions!
Nice comment about Martin....that is 100% spot on..friendship is numero uno
Nice picks...love your commentary...Your observations about friendship...spot on!
I'm a big Lizzy fan. One of my favorite bands. Pretty unique band with well balanced records. Never made a stone cold classic album but their whole catalogue together is awesome. Live and Dangerous is a stone cold classic"live" record!
In high school (early 90's) a new friend tried to get me to listen to Thin Lizzy (he had older brothers who were into hard rock) . He tried to sell it with having Gary Moore in the band, but i only knew his blues stuff and really didn't care for that so that didn't work.
But one time during an evening with friends at his parents house i was lying on the couch chillin' with my eyes closed after too many beers and suddenly The Sun goes down entered my ears.
I was hooked and the rest is history.
So ranking Lizzy:
1st tier:
Fighting, Jail, Johnny, Bad Rep
2nd tier:
Renagade, Thunder
3rd tier:
Night, Black, China, Vagabond,
4th tier:
Lizzy, Shades
I like 'm all but play the 4th tier ones definitely the least.
Like Phil's solo albums but a but wobbly
Nice commentary, thoughts on the band....Thanking you!
@@RockDaydreamNation you're welcome. I'll be heading to Australia in july. Making the Cairns - Sydney trip with the family.
Great ranking here’s mine:
1) Johnny The Fox (1976)
2) Jailbreak (1976)
3) Nightlife (1974)
4) Black Rose (1979)
5) Vagabonds Of The Western World (1973)
6) Bad Reputation (1977)
7) Renegade (1981)
8) Fighting (1975)
9) Thin Lizzy (1971)
10) Thunder & Lightning (1983)
11) Chinatown (1980)
12) Shades Of A Blue Orphanage (1972)
Nice picks
So happy you did a Thin Lizzy show!!! One of my top three bands of all time.
My top five: Johnny the Fox, Black Rose, Renegade, Bad Reputation, Fighting.
I never liked Thunder & Lightening a lot. The production is awful and the sound muddy
Glad you enjoyed it!...
Great show, really funny to see you both putting Renegade at opposite ends of your rankings. My 1st memory of Lizzy was hearing Whiskey In The Jar. 1st album I bought was Jailbreak, based purely on the album cover. Bought it on a family holiday & had to wait nearly 2 weeks before I could play it. But it was worth the wait. Saw them a few times in the early 80s.
A run of great albums, so hard to decide!!! But here's by ranking
12. S/T Debut
11. Shades of A Blue Orphanage
10. Vagabonds Of The Western World
9. Fighting
8. Thunder & Lightning
7. Chinatown
6. Nightlife
5. Renegade
4. Johnny The Fox
3. Bad Reputation
2. Jailbreak
1. Black Rose
But tbh my favourite is Live & Dangerous. Those live versions kill!
Thanks Parish...If live was included I would suggest a few folk would pick this as their number 1
Ok so I'm going to be totally contrarian and rank renegade as my number one favorite thin Lizzy album it just has everything i love about this legendary band and for the rest Johnny the fox, thunder and lightning, fighting and bad reputation
Great Irish band and I saw them here in Ireland a couple of times. My favourite is Black Rose as it has Gary Moore on it and he's one of my favourite guitarists. Great show.
Appreciate your feedback!
Great show guys on the awesome Thin Lizzy.
Im a huge Robbo fan I think he added so much to the sound with his flamboyant melodic playing.
No 1 JailBreak
No 2 Johnny the fox
No 3 Bad Reputation
No 4 Black Rose
No 4 Fighting
No 5 Renegade
No 6 ChinaTown
No 7 Night Life
No 8 Vagabonds of the Western World
No 9 Shades of a blue orphanage
No 10 Thunder and Lightning
Nice Picks Rockstardust...if not already please sub to the channel...more Lizzy down the track on the channel!
@@RockDaydreamNation been a subscriber for a while now enjoy your content mate
@@Rockstardust69 cheers...appreciated👍
I have said this is my favorite band for decades. I have never ranked their albums and don't know if I can. The first two are their worst though.
You have to have irish in you to love the first 3 full of soul folk and rock prog brilliant music
I was much surprised that both of you are not great fans of Thunder And Lightning and of John Sykes and i was even more surprised that Martin is not a great fan of Gary Moore, Phil Lynott said in 1979 that Gary Moore was the best rock guitar player of all times, in my humble opinion mr. Moore began to be a great guitar player only in 1982 with the album Corridors Of Power and was at his very best at 1987 with the album Wild Frontier, mr. Moore played guitar in two styles, he was a virtuoso and a shredder but also played slow guitar solos with a lot of feel and so was his singing, he would scream in some songs from the bottom of his lungs and when he sang ballads he sang from the bottom of his heart, John Sykes brought Thin Lizzy to a higher level, i wish you well.
Me too Martin especially and other people ranking the albums in the comments here. It’s definitely better than the previous two and the first 3 or 4 at the very least
Fave Lizzy Albums:
1) Jailbreak
2) Bad Reputation
3) Black Rose
4) Fighting
5) Johnny The Fox
6) Renegade
7) Chinatown
8) Thunder and lightning
9) Vanguards of The Western World
10) Nightlife
11) Thin Lizzy
12) Shades Of a Blue Orphanage
Great picks!
Surprised to see Black Rose being do high for Martin, Still goes on about he's guitar tone ??? Not shall why he reckons that, & maybe yes vocally, he was just ok, but was an amazing guitarist period.
I Love the Song: 'Angel of Death'
12. shades
11. Thin Lizzy
10. Vagabonds
9.Nightlife
8.Renegade
7). Fighting
6). Chinatown
5). Jailbreak
4).Johnny The Fox
3).Thunder and Lightning
2). Black Rose
1). Bad Reputation
Thanks for your picks!
bottom line the best is lizzy 1974 to 78 hands down robertson and gorham on guitars the rest of the albums so so
I just like Robertson so much more than the others before and after.The songwriting and production on those 5 albums is great as well.
@@ericrobertson2024 bang on
@@ericrobertson2024 True. Eric Robertson was the real deal on guitar.
My Ranking of Thin Lizzy
1. Johnny The Fox
2. Chinatown
3. Vagabonds of the Western
4. Bad Reputation
5. Night Life
6. Fighting
7. Jailbreak
8. Renegade
9. Thunder&lightning
10. Thin Lizzy
11. Shades of
Thanks for your ranking! appreciated!
@RockDaydreamNation Most welcome 🤘 I really like seeing all of our different rankings...based on different factors of our lives 🤘
The line in Jailbreak always bothered me: Tonight there‘s gonna be a jailbreak somewhere in this town“ (probably in jail, just a guess) and kind of ruins the song. How can such a great songwriter and lyricist come up with this? And ironically this is probably his most famous lyric. 😅
Peter has it correct, renegade has to be at the bottom of the rank- by a wide margin. It isnt better than orphanage or vagabonds. thunder and light much better but production is lifeless. 1. Johnny the Fox 2. Chinatown 3. Vagabonds 4. Bad Reputation 5. Black Rose. 6. Thunder Light (Bad Habits/ heart Attack connects back to dear lord from bad reputation and is Lynotts last gasp -and its priceless). All the comments below have divergent ranking. I think we can all agree that divergence is an indication of a very interesting rock band.
Thanks Ray and agree...they are a very interesting band...so many styles/genres!
1. Johnny the Fox
2. Jailbreak
3. Bad Reputation
4. Renegade
5. Black Rose
6. Fighting
7. Chinatown
8. Nightlife
9. Thunder and Lightning
10. Vagabonds of the Western World
11. Shades of a Blue Orphanage
12. Thin Lizzy