Chinatown (Thin Lizzy album)
Chinatown | ||||
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Cover art by Jim Fitzpatrick | ||||
Studio album by Thin Lizzy | ||||
Released | 10 October 1980 | |||
Recorded | April – August 1980 | |||
Studio | Good Earth Studios, London | |||
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
Length | 41:02 | |||
Label |
Vertigo (UK) Mercury (Canada) Warner Bros. (US) | |||
Producer | Thin Lizzy & Kit Woolven | |||
Thin Lizzy chronology | ||||
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Chinatown is the tenth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1980. It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist. White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd. Chinatown also featured seventeen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, and he joined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member later that year.
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Martin Popoff | [2] |
Greg Prato of Allmusic described Chinatown as a "letdown" compared to the previous album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, blaming the absence of Gary Moore and producer Tony Visconti, and the drug problems experienced by Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham. Prato praised side one as containing the best material, including the "anthemic" "We Will Be Strong", and the "pop perfection" of "Sweetheart". However, he described side two as "comprised almost entirely of bland filler", although he believed that Chinatown was "not their worst album".[1]
Track listing
All songs by Phil Lynott, except where noted.
- Side one
- "We Will Be Strong" – 5:11
- "Chinatown" (Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Lynott, Snowy White) – 4:43
- "Sweetheart" – 3:29
- "Sugar Blues" (Downey, Gorham, Lynott, White) – 4:22
- "Killer on the Loose" – 3:55
- Side two
- "Having a Good Time" (Lynott, White) – 4:38
- "Genocide (The Killing of the Buffalo)" – 5:06
- "Didn't I" – 4:28
- "Hey You" (Downey, Lynott) – 5:09
Deluxe edition
A new remastered and expanded edition of Chinatown was released on 27 June 2011. This new edition is a 2-CD set, with the original album on disc one, and bonus material on disc two.
Disc two
- "Don't Play Around" (B-side)
- "We Will Be Strong" (Single version)
- "Sugar Blues" (City Hall, Cork, 1980)
- "Whiskey in the Jar" (traditional) (City Hall, Cork, 1980)
- "Are You Ready" (Gorham, Downey, Brian Robertson, Lynott) (City Hall, Cork, 1980)
- "Chinatown" (City Hall, Cork, 1980)
- "Got to Give It Up" (Lynott, Gorham) (RDS Hall, Dublin, 1980)
- "Dear Miss Lonely Hearts" (Jimmy Bain, Lynott) (RDS Hall, Dublin, 1980)
- "Killer on the Loose" (Hammersmith Odeon, 1981)
- "Chinatown" (Edited version)
- "Chinatown" (Soundcheck, Cork, 1980)
- "Don't Play Around" (Soundcheck, Hammersmith, 1980)
- "Sweetheart" (Soundcheck, Hammersmith, 1980)
- "Didn't I" (Soundcheck, Cork, 1980)
- "Hey You" (Soundcheck, Cork, 1980)
Singles
- "Chinatown" / "Sugar Blues" (live) – 16 May 1980
- "Killer on the Loose" / "Don't Play Around" (Gorham, Lynott) – 9 September 1980
- A double single pack was also released, with the other disc featuring "Got to Give It Up" (live) / "Chinatown" (live).
- In the USA, the B-side was "Sugar Blues".
- "We Will Be Strong" / "Sweetheart" (USA only)
- "Hey You" / Killer on the Loose" – 6 January 1981 (Germany only)
Personnel
Thin Lizzy
- Phil Lynott – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Scott Gorham – guitars, vocals
- Snowy White – guitars, vocals
- Brian Downey – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Darren Wharton – keyboards, backing vocals
- Midge Ure – keyboards, Vox Continental organ
- Tim Hinkley – electric piano
- Fiachra Trench – string arrangement on "Didn't I"
Production
- Kit Woolven – producer, engineer
- Gordon Fordyce – assistant engineer
- Ian Cooper – mastering
References
- 1 2 Prato, Greg. "Chinatown review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
- ↑ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.