Vagabonds of the Western World | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 21 September 1973 [1] | |||
Recorded | 11 April – 19 July 1973 [2] [3] | |||
Studio | AIR Studios and Decca 4, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:59 | |||
Label | Decca | |||
Producer | Nick Tauber, Phil Lynott | |||
Thin Lizzy chronology | ||||
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Vagabonds of the Western World is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work would appear on many subsequent albums by the band.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10 [5] |
Pitchfork | 7.0/10 [6] |
Uncut | [7] |
Pitchfork reviewer Stuart Berman remarked how the band were "starting to kick out the jams with greater confidence and consistency" on this album, with Phil Lynott producing "the sound of a spiritually adrift musician ecstatically discovering his true calling" on "The Rocker". Berman also commented favourably on the "swinging" "Mama Nature Said", the "gorgeous soul serenade 'Little Girl in Bloom'" and the title song. [6] Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic described the album as Thin Lizzy's "first sonically satisfying album", with Lynott "brimming with attitude and dangerous swagger" on "The Rocker", their "first bona fide classic". He described "Little Girl in Bloom" as "absolutely flawless", and noted Eric Bell's slide guitar playing on the environmentalist "Mama Nature Said", but criticised "The Hero and the Madman" and "Slow Blues" as "overblown" and "tepid" respectively. [4] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff remarked on the album's "crusty sound quality and style-searching waywardness", mixing influences ranging from American blues, to Motown, to early metal. He rated Vagabonds of the Western World the lowest of all Thin Lizzy's albums for four tracks which "seem either simple and out-of-character or dated", "bearing scant few traces of the high class Lizzy imprint." [5]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mama Nature Said" | Phil Lynott | 4:52 |
2. | "The Hero and the Madman" | Lynott | 6:08 |
3. | "Slow Blues" | Brian Downey, Lynott | 5:14 |
4. | "The Rocker" | Eric Bell, Downey, Lynott | 5:12 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Vagabond of the Western World" | Lynott | 4:44 |
6. | "Little Girl in Bloom" | Lynott | 5:12 |
7. | "Gonna Creep Up on You" | Bell, Lynott | 3:27 |
8. | "A Song for While I'm Away" | Lynott | 5:10 |
When the album was repackaged for CD in 1991, it included the respective A and B-sides of the two singles released at around the same time. "Whiskey in the Jar" was Lizzy's first hit.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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9. | "Whiskey in the Jar" | Traditional; arranged by Bell, Downey, Lynott | 5:44 |
10. | "Black Boys on the Corner" | Lynott | 3:21 |
11. | "Randolph's Tango" | Lynott | 3:49 |
12. | "Broken Dreams" | Bell, Downey, Lynott | 4:26 |
Total length: | 57:19 |
On 11 October 2010 Vagabonds of the Western World was reissued as a 2CD deluxe edition. This version was remastered with bonus tracks. The original album and bonus material is featured on disc 1, while disc 2 features bonus material.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
9. | "Randolph's Tango" | 3:49 | |
10. | "Broken Dreams" | 4:26 | |
11. | "The Rocker" (single version) | 2:41 | |
12. | "Here I Go Again" (B-side of the single "The Rocker") | Lynott | 4:41 |
13. | "Cruising in the Lizzymobile" (originally "A Ride in the Lizzy Mobile", B-side of the German single "The Rocker") | Bell | 4:07 |
14. | "Little Darling" | Lynott | 2:55 |
15. | "Sitamoia" | Downey | 3:20 |
16. | "Slow Blues" (1977 overdubbed and remixed version) | 5:01 | |
17. | "Randolph's Tango" (radio promo edit) | 2:25 | |
18. | "Whiskey in the Jar" (radio promo edit) | 3:43 | |
Total length: | 77:07 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Rocker" (BBC Radio One in Concert) | 5:53 | |
2. | "Things Ain't Working Out Down at the Farm" (BBC Radio One in Concert) | Lynott | 7:32 |
3. | "Slow Blues" (BBC Radio One in Concert) | 7:29 | |
4. | "Gonna Creep Up on You" (BBC Radio One in Concert) | 3:27 | |
5. | "Suicide" (BBC Radio One in Concert) | Lynott | 4:28 |
6. | "Vagabond of the Western World" (BBC Radio One John Peel Session) | 4:27 | |
7. | "Gonna Creep Up on You" (BBC Radio One John Peel Session) | 3:22 | |
8. | "Little Girl in Bloom" (BBC Radio One Rock On Session) | 4:41 | |
9. | "Sitamoia" (BBC Radio One Bob Harris Session) | 3:45 | |
10. | "Little Darling" (BBC Radio One Bob Harris Session) | 3:05 | |
11. | "Slow Blues" (BBC Radio One Bob Harris Session) | 5:31 | |
12. | "Showdown" (BBC Radio One Bob Harris Session) | Lynott | 4:40 |
13. | "Black Boys on the Corner" (BBC Radio One John Peel Session) | 4:12 | |
Total length: | 60:32 |
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [10] | 99 |
Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Thin Lizzy initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon, although Wrixon left after a few months. Bell left at the end of 1973 and was briefly replaced by Gary Moore, who himself was replaced in mid-1974 by twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who remained with the band until 1978 when Moore re-joined. Moore left a second time and was replaced by Snowy White in 1980, who was himself replaced by John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980. The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (1972), "The Boys Are Back in Town" (1976) and "Waiting for an Alibi" (1979) were international hits, and several Thin Lizzy albums reached the top ten in the UK. The band's music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal.
Eric Robin Bell is a Northern Irish rock and blues musician, best known as a founding member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy, of which he was a member from 1969 to 1973. After his time in Thin Lizzy, he briefly fronted his own group before joining the Noel Redding Band in the mid-1970s. He has since released several solo albums and performs regularly with a blues-based trio, the Eric Bell Band.
Thin Lizzy is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 30 April 1971. The album was followed by the EP New Day, produced and recorded by Nick Tauber at Decca Studios on 14–17 June 1971 and released on 20 August 1971. The songs from the EP were included in later editions of the album.
Shades of a Blue Orphanage is the second studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1972. The title is a combination of the members' previous bands: Shades of Blue and Orphanage.
Fighting is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1975. Following the release of four studio albums, the band finally forged an identifiable sound featuring the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. This sound draws from hard rock, folk, pop and rhythm and blues. It set the stage for the big commercial breakthrough of the follow-up album, Jailbreak. The album was also their first album to chart in the UK, hitting No. 60.
Jailbreak is the sixth studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. It was released on 26 March 1976, by Vertigo Records. The album proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the US, and the only Thin Lizzy album with a certification in that country. The singles taken from the album include "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back in Town"; the latter is Thin Lizzy's biggest US hit, and won the 1976 NME Award for Best Single.
Johnny the Fox is the seventh studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1976. This album was written and recorded while bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott was recovering from a bout of hepatitis that put him off the road halfway through the previous Jailbreak tour. "Don't Believe a Word" was a British hit single. Johnny the Fox was the last Thin Lizzy studio album on which guitarist Brian Robertson featured as a full member of the band, as the personality clashes between him and Lynott resulted in Robertson being sacked, reinstated, and later sacked again.
Bad Reputation is the eighth studio album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1977. As the front cover suggests, most of the tracks feature only three-quarters of the band, with guitarist Brian Robertson only credited on three tracks. He had missed most of their previous tour, following a hand injury sustained in a brawl, and this album turned out to be his last studio effort with Thin Lizzy. On 27 June 2011, a new remastered and expanded version of Bad Reputation was released.
Chinatown is the tenth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1980. It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist. White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd. Chinatown also featured eighteen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, and he joined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member later that year.
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Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.
Nightlife is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 8 November 1974 by Vertigo Records. It was produced by Ron Nevison and bandleader Phil Lynott, and was the first album to feature the band as a quartet with newcomers Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitars.
Remembering – Part 1 is a compilation album by rock group Thin Lizzy, one of the first compilations of the band's early years with Eric Bell, released by their record company at that time, Decca Records, in an apparent attempt to cash in on the chart success Lizzy had recently begun enjoying with Vertigo. It includes "Sitamoia" and "Little Darling", both featuring Gary Moore during his first brief stint with the group, the first of which was previously unreleased. The time frame of the album stretches from 1971 to 1974. The album was issued in the US as Rocker (1971-1974) in 1977 by London Records, with the song "Honesty Is No Excuse" instead of "A Song for While I'm Away".
The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans is a 1979 compilation album by the rock group Thin Lizzy.
"The Rocker" is a song by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, included on their 1973 album Vagabonds of the Western World. It was also released as a single in a 2:41 edited format; the original album track stretched to 5:17, with most of the extra length being taken up by an extended guitar solo by Eric Bell. There is an accompanying performance on Dutch TV programme TopPop to the song which features Gary Moore recorded in 1974 during his first of two spells with the band.
Whiskey In The Jar is a compilation album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, originally released in 1996, covering the early part of the band's career. There are various versions of this album, released by different record companies, with the same track listing but with different covers.
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"Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, written by guitarist Scott Gorham and bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott, and released as a single in 1982. It was the only single to be released from their 1981 album Renegade.
"Cowboy Song" is a song by hard rock band Thin Lizzy that originally appeared on their 1976 album Jailbreak.
sessions for what was to become Vagabonds of the Western World began in earnest on April 11
the album was compiled and mixed over July17-19 but further work was done on "The Rocker