THIN LIZZY – 74-75 Night Life + Fighting (40th Anniversary Edition Super Deluxe 7CD) [2025], MP3+FLAC

Recorded in 1974 and 1975, ‘Fighting’ and ‘Night Life’ were the first THIN LIZZY albums to feature what is regarded as the classic line up with guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. ‘Night Life’ was released in November 1974 produced by Ron Nevison & Phil Lynott and features evergreens such as Still in Love with You and Sha La La.

‘Fighting’ was released in September 1975 and reached # 60 in the UK charts and featured classic tracks such as Rosalie and Suicide.
This box set “74-75 Night Life / Fighting (40th Anniversary Edition Super Deluxe 7CD)” contains 2 versions of the ‘Night Life’ – the original album, and a new stereo mix by Richard Whittaker as overseen by Guitarist Scott Gorham and mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road. ‘Fighting’ is available in a newly mastered form with 4 tracks newly re-mixed.
Disc 3 contain ‘Night Life Outtakes, B-sides, 7″ edits’, disc 4 ‘Fighting Outtakes, B-sides, 7″ edits’, disc 5 both albums alternate versions and acoustic mixes, disc 6 ‘BBC Sessions’, and CD 7 a previously unreleased killer live recording ‘Live Show (Derby 75)’.
This ia really deep dive into ‘Nightlife’ and ‘Fighting’. The 7CD box set chronicles the making of those two seminal albums which were the first to feature the “classic” quartet line-up.

Nightlife came first in 1974, produced by Lynott and Ron Nevison, whose credits would grow to encompass albums by Ozzy Osbourne, Jefferson Starship, Survivor, Heart, Chicago, KISS, and other marquee artists with a big sound.
Nevison helped the band bring out the innate soul in its hard-rocking songs, finding the subtleties in the band dynamics and balancing the edginess with a certain degree of smoothness. The LP was underneath a Jim Fitzpatrick cover featuring a prowling panther – said by the artist to pay tribute to Black Power and fallen African-American leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X – and inspired by the work of comic book legends Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko.
Nightlife yielded such fan favorite, oft-covered songs as the ballad “Still in Love with You” (likely the band’s most romantic tune) and tough “It’s Only Money.” The title track took its cues from Willie Nelson’s 1960 composition, a hit for Ray Price, B.J. Thomas, and Nelson himself (with trumpeter Danny Davis).

The following year’s ‘Fighting’ further crystallized the dual guitar attack of Gorham and Robertson and once again drew on an R&B influence as well as hard rock, pop, and even folk.
Its varied, bold approach set the stage for Jailbreak and the band’s eventual superstardom. While Phil Lynott still dominated the songwriting, it featured solo compositions from Robertson (“Silver Dollar”) and Gorham (“Ballad of a Hard Man”) as well as Lynott co-writes with Brian Downey (“For Those Who Love to Live”) and Gorham (“King’s Vengeance,” “Freedom Song”).
A cover of Bob Seger’s “Rosalie” from his Back in ’72 album opened Fighting, and featured guest musicians Ian McLagan of Faces and Roger Chapman of Family on piano and backing vocals, respectively. (McLagan also played on “Silver Dollar.”)
For the first time, Jim Fitzpatrick’s famous band logo appeared on the front cover. ‘Fighting’ became Thin Lizzy’s first album to chart in the U.K., peaking at No. 60.

The upcoming box set contains two versions of Nightlife: the remastered original album and a new stereo mix by Richard Whittaker, which sounds great.
The original Fighting gets the remastered treatment, while four songs (“Rosalie,” “Wild One,” “King’s Vengeance,” and “Silver Dollar”) have been remixed.
Each album gets a bonus disc of single edits, B-sides, and outtakes, while the fifth disc, Mixes, presents alternate takes, extended versions, and demos.
The sixth CD reprises a host of BBC live performances, and the seventh CD marks the official premiere of the November 21, 1975 show at the Derby College of Technology in England.
Highly Recommended

CD 1: Night Life – New Stereo Mix + Original Mix Remaster
CD 2: Fighting – New Stereo Mix + Original Mix Remaster
CD 3: Night Life Outtakes, B-sides, 7″ edits
CD 4: Fighting Outtakes, B-sides, 7″ edits
CD 5: Fighting / Night Life Alternate, Mixes, Acoustic
CD 6: BBC Sessions
CD 7: Live Show (Derby 75)

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