Thin Lizzy
already had a fine collection on the market that went a long way toward presenting them as perhaps the best
guitar rock
band of the '70s.
Dedication: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy
is an 18-track call to arms packed with
Phil Lynott
's magical songs, lyrics, and voice as well as the twin guitar gods
Scott Gorham
and
Brian Robertson
(with a little
Gary Moore
here and there).
The Definitive Collection
aims to replace it and stumbles just a bit. Just as on
Dedication
, all the big hits (
"The Boys Are Back in Town,"
"Whiskey in the Jar,"
"Jailbreak"
), key album tracks (
"Showdown,"
"Wild One,"
"The Cowboy Song"
), statements of intent (
"The Rocker"
), and moments of
hard rock
genius (
"Don't Believe a Word,"
"Dancing in the Moonlight [It's Caught Me in the Spotlight]"
) are here. What's different on
is the omission of two worthy songs (
"She Knows"
"Fighting My Way Back"
) and the replacement of the studio version of
"Rosalie"
with an exciting live version from 1978's
Live and Dangerous
album that splices in a couple measures of
"Cowgirl's Song"
much to the audience's delight. The omissions and changes make this less definitive than
. A track or two probably could have been added instead. If
is no longer available though, anyone looking for a fine single-disc collection of
Lizzy
's finest moments should turn to
first. ~ Tim Sendra