release date: Oct. 1974
format: cd (reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Phil Lynott, Ron Nevison
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: Ireland
Track highlights: 1. "She Knows" - 3. "It's Only Money" - 4. "Still in Love with You" (4 / 5) (live) - 6. "Showdown" - 8. "Philomena" - 9. "Sha-La-La"
4th studio album by Thin Lizzy following the band's '73 album Vagabonds of the Western World marks a significant change to the band's line-up as guitarist Eric Bell prior to the recordings for the album left the trio during a live tour. Gary Moore shortly replaced Bell for remainding concerts but left again before the actual recordings for the album. Lynott arranged auditions for the band and subsequently hired guitarist Brian Robertson and American guitarist Scott Gorham as replacements for Bell. Bringing in two guitarists naturally made an impact on the sound of the band, and in this regard Nightlife contains signs of a more original sound and also it introduces some of Lynott's classic works and Thin Lizzy appeared in its 'first' famous line-up as a quartet of Lynott, Gorham, Robertson, and Downey. Using two guitarists was rather unusual for a traditional rock band but it also made way for a unique sonic shape. Eric Bell hadn't succeeded in exquisite performances, and it seems that both Robertson and Gorham simply made each other better instrumentalists.
Although, now including two guitarists, Nightlife could still be considered the band's most laid-back and least hard rock studio album with both funk and soul elements on an overall coherent blues rock-founded release. Gary Moore had only a short replacement period of a few months in the band but he still co-wrote a few songs with Lynott and he contributes on lead guitar on "Still in Love with You".
Nightlife is probably the band's first coherent studio album, and it contains traits of the twin-guitar sound that from hereon would be a specific trademark of the band, and at the same time it showcases Lynott's capacity as a songwriter and as a soulful rock vocalist on a higher level.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]
