4/5 Great relic of an early 80's Thin Lizzy.
  by hi13ts
This concert was filmed back in 1981 for the Rockaplast series. It showcased Thin Lizzy during their Chinatown phase with Snowy White taking Brian Robertson's place. The performance itself is almost a bit dissappointing, but the fact that the old tapes were re-edited and re-worked to create a decent quality DVD is appreciated.

Thin Lizzy's Chinatown period seems to be overlooked for their high point during the Bad Reputation/Johnny the Fox period with Brian Robertson in the band. Also, Thin Lizzy was still on top of the game during their Black Rose period with the phenomenal Gary Moore as Brian Robertson. This video is quite a treat due to the fact that it's the full concert and that it's part of the rarely-documented 80's period of Thin Lizzy.

The performance, as I said, is almost dissappointed. There's no doubt that Scott Gorhum and Phil were under the influence of drugs during the performance it affected their show adversely. Scott was quite sloppy on his work and Phil looked like he had a hard time keeping his energy up. Snowy, as great of a bluesman as he is, did not gel with the band. Technically, he's a phenomenal guitar player, but his guitar-phrasing and stage persona were contrasting to the rest of Thin Lizzy. That was a bit of a dissappointment, I'm sure, to fans who watched Gary Moore or Brian Robertson rip it with Lizzy a couple years back.

Thankfully, Thin Lizzy did climb back up to the top when John Sykes joined the band. That period is documented on the Live and Dangerous DVD as a bonus concert. But as we all know, Phil died soon after the band was up again, effectively ending Thin Lizzy as we knew it.

Again, this video is a great documentation of that rare period in Thin Lizzy's career. The punctuality of the guitarists are not as it is in Live and Dangerous and Black Rose and it looks as though it's the beginning of the end for Phil. But as a true and devoted Thin Lizzy fan, the video serves as a great relic of this band.

4/5 Philo and the Renegades
  by Thirty-Ought Six (West Virginia, USA)
I've only owned this DVD for a little over a week and I thought it was quite nice to have some footage of Lizzy with Snowy White onstage with the lads. The sound quality on it is good with some discrepancies in regards to Scott's and Snowy's guitars in the mix. Nevertheless, it is the complete show and the only song I wish they hadn't performed is the lacklustre "Trouble Boys" which was, at the time, their latest single. Why on earth Phil chose to release this song(written by Billy Bremmer(Rockpile) is beyond me. But, all in all, this is a solid show and it explains the ups and downs of Snowy's role within the group. On songs like "Emerald", "Cowboy Song", and "Suicide" it really shows that Snowy's style compared to those who preceded him(Robbo and Gary Moore)lacks the bite and vigorous venom that is required with those songs. Don't get me wrong, Snowy's a talented player, for sure, but, overall, one can see why John Sykes was later recruited to allow Lizzy to go out with a bang in their final throes as a group. If you're a die-hard Lizzy fan, you'll want this alongside the Live and Dangerous DVD set and the Greatest Hits DVD. I hope that there will be more footage released later on, especially with some of Phil's later projects(Grand Slam)...Great set this one....