Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back In Town
Rhino
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In 1978, British rockers ’Thin Lizzy’ were laying to a frenzied audience at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, rocking their fans of the rocker in a concert that featured Lizzy’s most acclaimed line-up, Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham, Gary Moore and Mark Nauseef. Opening the show with ’Jailbreak,’ the band goes through many of their classics, including ’Waiting for an Alibi,’ ’Cowboy Song,’ ’Bad Reputation’ and of course, ’The Boys Are Back In Town.’
All could be well with this DVD, but sadly it isn’t and ultimately it turns out mediocre at best. The biggest problem is undoubtedly the sound of this release, which his reminiscent more of a bootleg concert taping than an official release. The disc contains a stereo track, which sounds incredibly flat and nasal with distorted high ends. A 5.1 Dolby Digital remix is also supplied on this release but it is over-equalized, exhibiting a nasty resonance in the mid-section as a result. Lyrics are mixed too low and are constantly covered by the backing instruments, while the drums and bass are mixed too far into the front, unbalancing the presentation even further. It is a shame, really because ’Thin Lizzy’ was one of the greatest live bands of its time and this release doesn’t allows us to witness any of that.
The video on the release is also shoddy with flat contrasts that lack real depth, and compression artifacts throughout. The DVD contains chapter stops to access the songs directly, but someone has forgotten to include chapter stops for the last two songs… need I say any more?
I was excited about this release but ultimately sorely disappointed. This DVD doesn’t do justice to the greatness that was ’Thin Lizzy’ in any way, but it makes me wish someone would take Lizzy’s ’Rockpalast’ show and remaster it for release.