Echoes of Hendrix, the Who and even the early Kinks run rampant through the second Thin Lizzy LP, a record that explodes with the raucous energy normally reserved for rocket launchings. This is a band that understands electricity and uses it to its advantage in a way untried since the Hendrix Experience, thereby forging their playing into something that eclipses mere music and becomes sheer sound. Be it assuming a suprahuman caricature on "The Hero and the Madman" and "Gonna Creep up on Ya," or taking the space-blues trip ("Slow Blues"), these guys manage to hit the note and mash it at the same time. All that plus they've included the first studio recording of "The Rocker"—the essence of punk in which a lengthy guitar solo traverses through a phase shifter, fuzz box and wah-wah—all within two minutes. Easy to play along with, as energetic as a hard-chargin' bull, Vagabonds of the Western World is an utter delight. (RS 168)

GORDON FLETCHER