One of their best (4.5 stars)
Phil Lynott's continued growth as a songwriter is apparent throughout and the band continue to further their horizons musically. Thin Lizzy's 1977 release, Bad Reputation, is another strong album from the underrated Irish band. The album is best known for the wicked title track (certainly one of their heaviest songs) and a juicy slice of R&B called "Dancing in the Moonlight. " One of the band's best tracks, "Dancing. . . " works on every level from Phil's great vocals and his funky bass line to the snappy horn lines and its catchy chorus. Like their previous album (Johnny the Fox), Bad Reputation works best on the more melodic tracks as "Southbound" and "That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart" are great songs led by the band's dual guitar sound while the mellower "Downtown Sundown" and "Dear Lord" are just as good. As for the harder rockers, they're all very good with "Soldier of Fortune" and the title track being on the level of the best ones on Jailbreak or Johnny the Fox. All told, Bad Reputation is another strong album from Thin Lizzy and is worth checking out. .
You better turn yourself around...
Unfortunately for Robbo this would ultimately lead to his exit from the band. From strength to strength as a recording band, nevertheless Thin Lizzy were reduced to a three piece once more due to the temporary incapacitation of Brian Robertson. For 'Bad Reputation' most of the guitar duites fell to Scott Gorham who was often looked at as a second banana in this celebrated partnership. However Gorham produced arguably his finest work as an axeman and 'Bad Rep' is a better album for it. Despite the hiatus of Robbo, 'BR' contains much of the trademark harmonies that defined the band's sound. The title track is an incredible piece of street metal which also includes another outrageous performance from Brian Downey. "Soldier of Fortune", "Southbound" and "Dear Lord" further demonstrate that sometimes less is more. Robertson does contribute killer leads in "Opuim Trail" and "Killer without a Cause" (another classic!) but Scott takes care of business quite well. And Philip? He's the same genius as always whether emulating one of his heroes in "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Van Morrison) or making one of his celebrated confessionals in "Dear Lord" (I believed your story now you believe mine!). "Dancing" proved to be a minor hit for Lizzy but their last real success in the States would have to wait til the live record. 'Bad Reputation' the album would prove to be the end of an era as far as the band's studio albums went, the last stand of troubled genuis Brian Robertson. For consistent, brillant hard rock in the mid to late seventies, there was none better than Thin Lizzy. Time is right to settle scores!.
Thin Lizzy - Didn't know how good we had it
What a band and what an album. Don't know what you got until it's taken from you.
Again, you CAN'T go wrong purchasing this album.
From strength to strength.
1. Soldier Of Fortune- Typical loose and powerful Thin Lizzy. Love those guitars!
2. Bad Reputation - Listening to Scott Gorham play on Bad Reputation seals the deal.
3. Opium Trail - One of the few leads Brian Robertson plays. Solid.
4. South Bound - Incredible. One song I NEVER get tired of playing at loud levels
5. Dancing In The Moonlight - Surprisingly my least favorite track, and it's still great!
6. Killer Without A Cause - Powerful and pounding. Didn't Iron Maiden lift the riff on this one? Well, kinda : )
7. Downtown Sundown- Great tune, Slowing down the pace. Awesome bass work throughout.
8. That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart - A slight hiccup. Not bad but not great either.
9. Dear Lord- Phil exorcising his demons. Back to form again!
A solid chuck of 70's hard rock music.
Almost 30 yrs later this album shows the power and intensity these guys had.
Go get all of Thin Lizzy';s stuff and see what quality is all about.
Get hooked now!It's not too late!
Phil Lynott RIP. I wish we still had you with us. Your music has meant so much to so many people. .
good album
They're good albums but I just didn't think all the songs fit well on them like "Fight or Fall", "Emerald" on Jailbreak and "Sweet Marie", "Old Flame", "rocky" and the appauling "Boogie Woogie dance", I just felt that they let down those albums, with all the other songs being great. Bad reputation is a good album and all the songs fit well together, unlike Jailbreak and johnny the fox.
Bad Reputation has some awesome songs like the opener "Soldier of Fortune", "Bad Reputation", "Southbound" and "Dancing In The Moonlight". The feel of the album is good and has a mix of styles but they all fit well together. I especially like the breakdown of "Killer Without a Cause".
Thin Lizzy would have been better though if they hadn't used bad technology or recording styles to make their songs because it makes some of their stuff sound dodgy and just commerically tacky.
People wanting to know or find out about Thin Lizzy! dont get anything before Jailbreak (It's not too bad but its not worth getting) and don't get anything after Bad Reputation or Live & Dangerous, because that is when Thin Lizzy's sound became really bad commerical rock. Albums to get is 1. Jailbreak,2. Bad Reputation, 3. Johnny The Fox and for their live album "Live & Dangerous".
one of Lizzy's best
Thin Lizzy cds. this is one of my fav. it's has lots of different cool songs.
You can see a complete list of all Thin Lizzy discography, or go back to the Thin Lizzy tabs
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