While Thin Lizzy's previous release, Black Rose, was a focused, inspired hard rock masterwork, its follow-up, 1980's Chinatown, was a letdown.
Guitarist Gary Moore was a major reason for the predecessor's success, but he quit during the subsequent tour (eventually replaced by ex-Pink Floyd touring guitarist Snowy White).
Also, leader Phil Lynott and guitarist Scott Gorham were indulging heavily in hard drugs by this point, which was obviously taking its toll.
And since producer Tony Visconti was not on board again, the lively production that played such a prominent part in the success of their past few releases was noticeably absent.
The first side contains the best material: the anthemic "We Will Be Strong," the pop perfection of "Sweetheart," the obviously autobiographical drug tale of "Sugar Blues," plus the British hit singles "Killer on the Loose" and the title track.
The second side, however, is comprised almost entirely of bland filler, such as "Having a Good Time," "Didn't I," and "Hey You." While it's not their worst album (that "honor" would go to their next studio album, 1981's Renegade), Chinatown should have been a lot better, especially coming off such a stellar release as Black Rose.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | We Will Be StrongPhil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | ChinatownBrian Downey, Scott Gorham, Phil Lynott, Snowy White | Thin Lizzy | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | SweetheartPhil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Sugar BluesBrian Downey, Scott Gorham, Phil Lynott, Snowy White | Thin Lizzy | Play | 04:22 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | Killer on the LoosePhil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Having a Good TimePhil Lynott, Snowy White | Thin Lizzy | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | Didn't IPhil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Hey YouBrian Downey, Phil Lynott | Thin Lizzy | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | Genocide | Thin Lizzy | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 41 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 283 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Handsome Harvey Baker | Stage Manager |
| 2 | Jim Barber | Bass Technician |
| 3 | Roger Chapman | Layout Design |
| 4 | Ian Cooper | Cutting Engineer, Engineer |
| 5 | Brian Downey | Composer, Drums |
| 6 | Peter Eustace | Engineer |
| 7 | Jim Fitzpatrick | Artwork |
| 8 | Gordon Fordyce | Assistant Engineer |
| 9 | Scott Gorham | Composer, Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Scott Gotham | Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Pete Gross | Drum Technician |
| 12 | Tim Hinckley | Piano (Electric) |
| 13 | Tim Hinkley | Keyboards |
| 14 | Phil Lynott | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Producer, Vocals |
| 15 | Linda McCartney | Artwork, Layout Design |
| 16 | Andy Moore | Guitar Technician |
| 17 | John Paul | Photography |
| 18 | Finbarr Quinn | Lighting Design |
| 19 | Roger | Artwork |
| 20 | John Salter | Management |
| 21 | Fay Samurell | Research |
| 22 | Eddy Schreyer | Digital Remastering |
| 23 | Dave Seal | Amplifiers, Keyboards |
| 24 | Brian Slagel | Digital Remastering |
| 25 | Thin Lizzy | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 26 | Fiachra Trench | Arranger, String Arrangements, Strings |
| 27 | Fuacgra Trench | String Arrangements |
| 28 | Giachra Trench | String Arrangements |
| 29 | Ultravox | Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | Midge Ure | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Vox Organ |
| 31 | Darren Wharton | Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Snowy White | Composer, Guitar, Vocal Harmony |
| 33 | Kit Woolven | Engineer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |