Thin Lizzy "Vagabonds Of The Western World"

Vagabonds of the Western World is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work would appear on many subsequent albums by the band.

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic described the album as "brimming with attitude and dangerous swagger", and Thin Lizzy's "first sonically satisfying album", with "The Rocker" their "first bona fide classic". He described "Little Girl in Bloom" as "absolutely flawless", but criticised "The Hero and the Madman" and "Slow Blues" as "overblown" and "tepid" respectively. Pitchfork reviewer Stuart Berman remarked how Thin Lizzy were "starting to kick out the jams with greater confidence and consistency" on this album, with Lynott producing "the sound of a spiritually adrift musician ecstatically discovering his true calling." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff remarked the album's "crusty sound quality and style-searching waywardness", mixing influences ranging from American blues, to Motown, to early metal. He rated Vagabonds of the Western World the lowest of all Thin Lizzy's albums for four tracks which "seem either simple and out-of-character or dated", "bearing scant few traces of the high class Lizzy imprint."

Track listings

Side one

1. "Mama Nature Said" Phil Lynott 4:52
2. "The Hero and the Madman" Lynott 6:08
3. "Slow Blues" Brian Downey, Lynott 5:14
4. "The Rocker" Eric Bell, Downey, Lynott 5:12

Side two

1. "Vagabond of the Western World" Lynott 4:44
2. "Little Girl in Bloom" Lynott 5:12
3. "Gonna Creep Up on You" Bell, Lynott 3:27
4. "A Song for While I'm Away" Lynott 5:10

When the album was repackaged for CD in 1991, it included the respective A and B-sides of the two singles released at around the same time. "Whiskey in the Jar" was Lizzy's first hit.

1991 CD edition bonus tracks

1. "Whiskey in the Jar" Traditional arr. Bell, Downey, Lynott 5:44
2. "Black Boys on the Corner" Lynott 3:21
3. "Randolph's Tango" Lynott 3:49
4. "Broken Dreams" Bell, Downey, Lynott 4:26

Total length: 57:19