[2] Between March and May, the band worked on more songs, including "Lady Killer on the Loose", "The Sacred Sweetheart" and the title track "Chinatown", the latter two of which were also performed live at this time, at shows in Ireland and Scandinavia.

[2] Another song which had already been played live was "Didn't I", on the recent Japanese tour with temporary guitarist Dave Flett in the band.

[3] Woolven described the recording as "hard to do" due to Lynott's tendency to make up ideas on the spot rather than undertake any pre-production work.

Wharton travelled to London for an audition in the form of a loose jam, but the band were too busy finishing "Chinatown", which was to be released as a single in May.

These were directed by David Mallet, with whom the band had worked on videos for the previous album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, at Hewitt Studios in London.

Side one closed with "Killer on the Loose", which attracted attention from the press amid the ongoing murders and attacks on women by the Yorkshire Ripper, particularly when the song was released as a single in September.

[2] Side two opened with "Having a Good Time", followed by "Genocide (The Killing of the Buffalo)", which Lynott wrote with the help of Thin Lizzy artist Jim Fitzpatrick, who also designed the cover for the album.

Fitzpatrick did not contribute to the lyrics but assisted in maintaining the historical accuracy of Lynott's theme of the slaughter of American bison in the 19th century, and its effects on the Plains Indians people.

Hinkley had previously added keyboards to "Running Back" on the Jailbreak album in 1976, and Trench had worked on Johnny the Fox, also in 1976, as well as Vagabonds of the Western World in 1973.

"[3] Greg Prato of AllMusic described Chinatown as a "letdown" compared to the previous album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, blaming the absence of Gary Moore and producer Tony Visconti, and the drug problems experienced by Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham.

[1] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff wrote that "although comprising some spirited tunes, (...) lyrically and thematically the songs seem forced and all too topical" and "the overall level of quality below Lizzy's soulful standards", with Snowy White "more a studied session man" than a new band member.

He was frustrated at what he saw as wasted time in the studio, and also stated that some guitar ideas he recorded while waiting for the band were subsequently wiped at Lynott's instructions without listening to them.

[3] Drummer Brian Downey remembered, "There's some great tracks on both [Chinatown and the follow-up Renegade], but Phil's songwriting seemed to be slipping a bit.