What does it sound like?:
Vagabonds of the Western World was my first Thin Lizzy album, thanks to my elder brother.
Kev had been tipped off by our Irish cousin, Paul, that this fantastic band were on their third album and that he’d been to see them in Belfast and how good they were. Then, in November 1972, Whiskey in the Jar began to get played on the radio and Kev bought ‘Vagabonds’ a few months later and played it to death in our shared bedroom. So, from the age of sixteen, I knew this album and then its predecessor, Shades of a Blue Orphanage.
Decca Records have put together a fantastic package to celebrate the album’s 50th birthday, a package which includes;
The original album; an album of radio sessions from the time; an album of live, rarities, demos and out-takes plus a blu-ray of a Dolby Atmos 5.1 mix and stereo mixes of the album and some bonus ‘Atmos-only’ mixes.
The album still sounds great, fifty years on. From the opening slide guitar of Mama Nature Said to the orchestral fade out of A Song For While I’m Away, it is a terrific album which showcases a tight, hardworking band desperate to cling onto their contract, (they had been told that this was their ‘last chance saloon.’) The remix sounds terrific with Phil Lynott’s bass and Brian Downey’s drums pushed further up in the mix to match the original prominence of Eric Bell’s guitar.
Phil admitted himself that his musicianship lagged behind that of the others but two years of constant gigging and the move to London in March ‘71 had honed his skills enough that they were now a trio of equals. The ace up their sleeve was Phil’s voice, his look and his stage-presence.
As I remember only too well, Side One of the album closed with the best sounding guitar-track that, at that point, I had ever heard; The Rocker. Here was Lizzy’s calling-card, their raison d’etre, their template for the rest of Phil’s life. Downey’s drums, that phased section before Eric’s solo and Phil’s tough-guy persona, (a complete act, btw,) combined for a track which could not be constricted by the cabinet surrounding a mere stereo-speaker; it burst out of it every time you put the needle onto it.
The album includes all of the Single-mixes and their respective B-Sides, which means that you get the blistering Black Boys On the Corner, one of Phil’s most autobiographical songs.
The radio sessions are superb. Drawn from Bob Harris, John Peel and RTE Radio programmes they span that period from November ‘72 to the album’s release in September ‘73 when the band were on the road constantly, (in November ‘72 they were the support for a U.K tour by Slade. If you saw that tour, I am so jealous.)
The 3rd CD is a lovely curiosity-shop of stuff which includes a Radio One In Concert from July ‘73, instrumental versions and some rough mixes.
I won’t review the blu-ray as it wasn’t part of the download from Decca.
Three months after the album’s release, Eric Bell walked off stage at a New Year’s Eve gig at Queen’s University, Belfast, had to be persuaded to finish the gig, and quit the band next day. He was unhappy with the increased structure of the songs which allowed less time for jamming, and with the pressure from Decca to come up with ‘another Whiskey’ for the next single. However, it was the songs which Phil was writing, and getting very good at, which the record-buying public were attracted to. Randolph’s Tango is a great example of the beautiful, lyrical writing which Phil was beginning to come up with and the several versions here make a nonsense of the fact that it didn’t make the album.
The booklet apparently includes rare photos and extensive sleeve-notes by Mark Blake
What does it all *mean*?
This is the sound of a great band fighting for their collective lives. Yet it is also the sound of a great band falling apart. The next chapter would become the stuff of legend.
Goes well with…
A pint of Guinness.
Release Date:
17th November 2023
Might suit people who like…
Empty wallets – HMV and the tax dodgers have it for around £83. Rough Trade has it for £73.99 which is currently the cheapest I’ve found. The vinyl version will set you back around £120.
@bargepole Apologies for my tardiness in getting this review out – a bastard bout of Covid interrupted me and caused me to completely forget that I was working on it. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Good things are always worth waiting for 😉
Back in the 80s I worked with a guy who had shared a flat with Phil at the early 70s.
He spoke of Phil’s constant practicing and desire to be recognised as a serious musician but another thing he said, that completely surprised me in view of his later predilections, was that PL was at that time totally opposed to drugs.
I’ll give this a listen online, though not sure if I’d buy it. Certainly not at those prices/
Saw them in Athlone in Aug 71 with my cousin Noel. Only thing I remember is how
few people were in the audience
I’m a huge Lizzy fan but unfortunately too young to have seen the Eric Bell lineup. Those first three albums as a trio are probably now the Lizzy albums I play most, Eric Bell’s solos are incredible.
Vagabonds is my favourite album of theirs.
I saw them at Bracknell Sports Centre shortly after Eric Bell had left. They were still a 3 piece. The new guitarist was some young upstart nobody had ever heard of called Gary Moore.
Saw GM playing with Skid Row several times – most memorably at the Walsgrave Pub in Cov in April 71 – the first concert I ever saw. Neither 17–yo Gary (17) or 15-yo me would have been allowed inside had licensing laws been more rigorously applied back then.
I’m extremely jealous of anyone who saw the three piece line up with either Eric Bell or Gary Moore. I did see Gary Moore on the Black Rose tour in 1979, by that time of course it was the twin guitar line up. He was on fire that night, incredible.
A wonderful review @niallb, I never saw the early Lizzy but managed to see them many times afrom 1975 onwards including their final concert at Reading in the 80’s. Vagabonds is a favourite album of mine and this set is excellent but not at those prices. I managed to gat mine below £50 which I reckon is good value
It’s been a good year for Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy fans, this release, Live & Dangerous and the Phil Lynott’s Grand Slam box
I had hoovered up all the other Lizzy albums and really struggled to find Vagabonds. Agree with the comments above, the songwriting at this time was of a quality that their more successful years rarely matched.