Gary Moore & Friends - One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott (DVD, 2006)

Thin Lizzy devotees salivated at the mere mention of the myriad of influential guitarists who graced Lizzy's ranks reuniting in homage of Phil Lynott & out of respect of the 20th Anniversary of the death of the mulatto Irish genius. Naturally the gig was held at The Point in the wonderful city of Dublin, Eire. I'm glad they decided to professionally record it for DVD televisual posterity as it's really worth a look. Although the gig was touted as Gary Moore & friends, everybody knew that it was a Lizzy reunion. I agree with other reviewers that opening up with a Gary solo number just because of his star power wasn't the greatest of ideas, but after that things went pretty much as hoped for. The absence of John Sykes, Snowy White & Darren Wharton was noteworthy. However, a fact that people miss, is what a huge part of the Thin Lizzy sound the syncopated rhythms were. Drummer Brian Downey seldom gets enough kudos, so it's a genuine treat to see him healthy & behind the skins again, playing hits that were made popular as much by his genius & input as Philip's. Jethro Tull's bassist could never fill the entertaining gunslinging visual role that Phil commanded, but did a decent job of keeping the bass lines as true to the original as possible. Nor could anybody but Phil produce that cocky, roguish onstage banter that made him so beloved. It was very well recorded though so nothing gets missed (including unfortunately Robbo's lamentable lack of preparedness in trying to reproduce his anthemic solo on "Still in Love With You.") Gary mimics his sound from the Black Rose era very nicely. It blends seamlessly with his opposite number whether it be Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham or Eric Bell. Gary is by far the dominant player, but it would've been nice to have seen him take a back seat & just sing & let the classic Robbo & Scott combo play in tandem on a couple, but you can't have everything. The only thing I've seen as authentic as this is tribute band Limehouse Lizzy in concert. The behind the scenes extras are a nice touch too & fondly reminiscent of how loved Phil was, but sadly also in retrospect how his tragic demise seemed inevitable to those closest to him. Thin Lizzy remains the greatest hard rock band ever. If, as I do, you still believe that, buy this! www.DarrenAdkins.com