Nightlife (Thin Lizzy album)

Nightlife
Studio album by Thin Lizzy
Released	8 November 1974
Recorded	Worthing and London; April and July – October 1974
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	37:11
Label	Vertigo (UK) Mercury (US)
Producer	Phil Lynott, Ron Nevison
Thin Lizzy chronology
Vagabonds of the Western World (1973) Nightlife (1974) Fighting (1975)

Nightlife is the fourth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1974. It was produced by Ron Nevison and Phil Lynott, and was the first album to feature guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson.

Some reissue CDs, and occasionally other sources, spell the album title as Night Life, the same as the song title. However the original album title is Nightlife.^[1]

The song "Philomena" was written for Lynott's mother. "It's Only Money" was re-recorded 35 years later by Robertson on his 2011 solo album Diamonds and Dirt.

A deluxe edition of Nightlife was released on 12 March 2012.

Album artwork

The album cover, designed by Jim Fitzpatrick, shows a panther-like creature in a city scene. The panther is often thought to be intended to represent Lynott,^[1] but Fitzpatrick has confirmed that the panther referred to the Black Panthers and African-American political figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.^[2]

Track listing

All songs composed by Phil Lynott, except where stated.

1. "She Knows" (Scott Gorham, Lynott) – 5:13
2. "Night Life" – 3:57
3. "It's Only Money" – 2:47
4. "Still in Love with You" – 5:40
5. "Frankie Carroll" – 2:02
6. "Showdown" – 4:32
7. "Banshee" – 1:27
8. "Philomena" – 3:41
9. "Sha La La" (Brian Downey, Lynott) – 3:27
10. "Dear Heart" – 4:35

On the cassette version, the positions of "She Knows" and "Showdown" were reversed.

Disc 2 (2012 deluxe edition CD)

1. "She Knows" (BBC Session 3 October 1974)
2. "Sha-La-La" (BBC Session 3 October 1974)
3. "It's Only Money" (BBC Session 3 October 1974)
4. "Philomena" (BBC Session 3 October 1974)
5. "Dear Heart" (BBC Session 23 October 1974)
6. "Banshee" (BBC Session 23 October 1974)
7. "Showdown" (Demo with Gary Moore)
8. "Still in Love with You" (Demo with Gary Moore)
9. "It's Only Money" (Demo with Gary Moore)
10. "Showdown" (Unreleased alternate take)
11. "Still in Love with You" (Unreleased alternate take)

Singles

• "Philomena"/"Sha La La" – 25 October 1974
• "It's Only Money"/"Night Life" (Germany only)
• "Showdown"/"Night Life" (US only)

Cover versions

• American metal band Slough Feg covered "Sha La La" on a 2006 split with Bible of the Devil, and again on their 2011 live album Made in Poland.
• Concrete Blonde covered "It's Only Money" on their 1989 album Free

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described Nightlife as an "underrated gem of a record", but a "complete anomaly within their catalog"... "a subdued, soulful record, smooth in ways that Thin Lizzy never were before and rarely were afterwards". He singles out "She Knows" as "gently propulsive, [and] utterly addictive", but adds that there are "still moments of tough, primal rock 'n' roll", such as "It's Only Money" and "Sha La La".^[3]

Personnel

• Phil Lynott – bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar
• Scott Gorham – guitar
• Brian Robertson – guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Downey – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Frankie Miller – joint lead vocals on "Still in Love with You"
• Gary Moore – lead guitar on "Still in Love with You"
• Jean Roussel – keyboards

References