Thin Lizzy - 'Opium Trail' from Killers Live (recorded Live 1977, released 1981)

I have been thinking about Brian Robertson a lot recently, his work on Motorhead's Another Perfect Day, his central role in mid-70's Thin Lizzy, and his departure from that band during the recording of 1977's Bad Reputation and his return and departure again after the subsequent tour and live album. 'Opium Trail' is my favorite song from Bad Reputation, and Scott Gorham left spaces in some of the songs to convince Brian Robertson to come back and solo on them. 'Opium Trail' is one of those songs. I wanted to include this live version because you can hear them playing it as a band, rather than with Robertson slotted-in, and because it wasn't released on the Live & Dangerous album in the Seventies, but had to wait until the 1981 to see official release. Bad Reputation, despite all of this, is one of my all-time favorite Thin Lizzy albums, and shows that when you are on a hot streak, sometimes there is no amount of adversity which can alter your course.