| High Voltage | review #2 | 1976 |
| Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | 1976 |
| Let There Be Rock | review #2 | 1977 |
| Powerage | 1978 |
| If You Want Blood, You've Got It (live) | 1978 |
| Highway To Hell | 1979 |
| Back In Black | review #2 | 1980 |
| For Those About To Rock, We Salute You | 1981 |
| Flick Of The Switch | 1983 |
| '74 Jailbreak | 1984 |
| Fly On The Wall | 1985 |
| Who Made Who (soundtrack) | 1986 |
| Blow Up Your Video | 1988 |
| The Razor's Edge | 1990 |
| AC/DC Live | 1992 |
| Ballbreaker | review #2 | 1995 |
| Bonfire (box set) | 1997 |
| Stiff Upper Lip | 2000 |
I've come around to the AC/DC style a bit more than I used to, as I can now recognize them as one of the most unique hard rock bands of all time. They're not exactly one of those bands that I can listen to all the time, as their limitations and annoying features are obvious. For one, they've pretty much maintained their sound throughout their entire career, making only minor variations of the same album over and over again, and while the actual sound they have might be somewhat attractive, in large doses it can get a bit tiring. And along with Kiss and Led Zeppelin, they're pretty much a bad influence on quite a few 80's metal acts - many of the attempts I've heard to emulate the band's sound produce horrid results (ever listen to Kix before? Don't!). Plus, both of their singers (Brian Johnson in particular) didn't exactly have the most attractive vocal chords in the world.
With that being said, I fully understand the hype over these guys - the groove they set up in quite a few cases is awesome, and the signature guitar interplay between brothers Malcolm and Angus Young is some of the best around. Sometimes it can get underdeveloped, but the repetiveness of it can also be irresistibly fun when you're in the mood for it. The gritty vocals and tough, oftem macho, streetwise lyrics often had a refreshingly clever edge to them. They were particularly over the top in the Bon Scott era (their original singer, of course), but that's the very thing that made them so much fun. Singing along to stuff like "T.N.T." and "Back In Black", regardless of how dirty the lyrics might be, is a blast! And though the rhythm section they employ must get really really tired of 4/4 rhythms over and over, that same groove that I sometimes get tired of really works at its' best, and it's merely plodding at worst.
In short, AC/DC will never be one of my favorite bands, since their lack of progression goes against my musical philosophy (though their unique sound certainly doesn't!) and when they're formulaic, it's hard to imagine a more boring band out there. But when they're good, they're really good. I haven't gotten to reviewing or even hearing all their albums yet, but knowing me, I'm sure I will at some point, particularly the early stuff that's considered to be great like Let There Be Rock and Powerage. Casey Brennan has analyzed a couple of the albums I don't have (bear in mind they're the first reviews he ever wrote here, unrewritten), so here they are, along with the rest of my analysis (not that there's much to analyze, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way).
--Nick Karn
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the people wh o wrote the AC DC reviews are total idiots. How can you give High Voltage a 4????? What is wrong with you people?? And the childishness of Bon's lyrics were a huge part of the AC DC charm. NOBODY could get away with being this childish like Bon era AC DC. That's what made them so unique. And the lyrics weren't as childish as you think, anyway. There a good example of what i like to call 'simple but effective' or 'minimalist'. IMO no Bon era AC DC album deserves less than a 7. Their best albums are Highway to Hell and Powerage, which deserve 9s.
[email protected] (Rich Bunnell)
AC/DC FUKIN ROX!!!!!!! PROBLEM CHILD = BEST SONG EVER, DUNUNNUNNUNUNUNUNUNNUNUNUNNU BALLBREAKER BALLBRAKER BRIAN JOHNSON GOD AND SO IS BON SCOTT THEY ROCKMY FUCKIN NUTS OFFFDAHAHSFHHAAAHFLALLAALAYAAYAAA UDDNDUNNUNNUNNUNUNUNUNUN FUCK YEAH THATS THE SOUND OF MY EARS EXPLODING YEAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!AC/DC RULES U SUCK!!!!!!
I think ac/dc kick'd ass back in the early days and still does. brian is good but bon is much better. I was wondering if bon sing a first version to back in black? rip bon you still fuck rock ass.
Dear [email protected] and any other ass holes who coule even dought the exelence of ACDC. you are all stupid fucks who should learn to keep your mouths shut and too all you people who thinks ACDC rocks and is cool, kick ass cause you all rock and are awsome people and angus and everyone els you all rock to
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: T.N.T. LOW POINTS: The Jack, Live Wire, Little Lover.
Here's a little background which you probably already know to start this review off - this isn't technically the first AC/DC album, but actually a compilation of their first Australian only albums whose best tracks were picked for the American version of the record. That unfortunately (or not?) means that you're missing out on hearing such gems as the only ballad they ever wrote in their history ("Love Song") among others. Nah, actually, if this collection actually represents the best material either album has to offer, then neither of them must be very good at all, since this kinda ... umm... sucks. I will give them one thing here, though - the bluesy dual guitar sound, approach to groove, and Bon Scott's exciting frontman persona combine for a unique sound that's already in place this early in the band's history, and if you ask me, the freshness of the style is about the only thing that saves this album from being a totally boring waste of time.
There are probably several reasons for this misfortune - for one thing, when you think of an AC/DC album, you think of great riffs, and this is one early album that is very, very lacking in that category, since most of what passes for riffs here are unmemorable two chord repetitive 4/4 midtempo crap (the prime example is "She's Got Balls", your basic plodding one riff song with absolutely nothing exciting going on other than the hilarious chant of the attention grabbing title). Same thing with the simplistic, juvenile arena nonsense of "Rock And Roll Singer", which at least declares Bon Scott's intentions early on in one of the most profound lyrical statements ever. Additionally, the slower songs, without exception, completely bore and drag and do all sorts of plodding things - the bluesy workouts "Live Wire", "Little Lover" and "The Jack", which, aside from the lyrical 'cleverness' (combining a card game with uh... the disease of the same name) has to be the most boring song ever to become an AC/DC classic.
The album, besides the neat sound, does have merits in a few songs, though - "T.N.T." (regardless of the decidedly dumb backing vocals and 'oy... oy' chanting) is a quite infectious riff rocking single, the almost as melodic opening track "It's A Long Way To The Top" not only combines one chord effectively, but actually experiments with bagpipe accompaniment (outside instruments! an absolute breakthrough!) and "Can I Sit Next To You Girl" probably has more of a pop influence in the melody and groove, working decently for that sort of style. Still, though, High Voltage is on the whole an underwhelmingly boring work that only slightly hints at better things to come, and I also find it fitting that the closing title track employs what basically is exactly the same chorus melody as "It's A Long Way To The Top". And that, my friends, brings full circle to this brilliant conceptual opus of substantial magnitude.
Of course, this had to be the first album for me to review because I'm doing this in alphabetical order. This happens to be one of my more inane albums. This is AC/DC's first album; it is comprised of material from their T.N.T. and High Voltage albums they released in Australia. Basically what you hear is what you get from AC/DC: repetitive hard rock riffs, gritty and hilarious vocals from Bon Scott (until he died), and 4/4 drumbeats. It's a formula that started here on this album and would continue for the next 20 years. The only worthwhile songs on this album are "TNT", "It's A Long Way To The Top", and the catchy "Can I Sit Next To You Girl". The rest of the songs usually go over the 5 minute mark and bore you with their repetitiveness. Mostly bad in the lyrics department; especially in the schoolboy pervertedness of 'She's Got Balls' with the mundane, hilarious, growl refrain, 'She's Got BAAAaaLlls!'
OVERALL RATING: 4
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Big Balls, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. LOW POINTS: Ain't No Fun (Waitin' Around To Be A Millionaire), Ride On.
Although recorded in 1976, this album wasn't officially released in the U.S. until five years later, I guess to give the fans hungrier for more Bon Scott-era material what they wanted. But unfortunately, the material here as a whole hardly represents the best that era had to offer, since the main problem here is the album is extremely formulaic. And I don't mean formulaic in a normal sense, I mean it's such even by the standards of this band, which should tell you something immediately. Not that the music doesn't kick ass here - side one in particular boasts a lot of the hard rocking power and tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness the band is so known for, but if anything during Bon Scott's tenure with the band can truly be called 'AC/DC by numbers', this is really it. Granted, that opening half could be a solid taste of just what kind of awesome effect a minimalist approach could have, but still...
Case in point: the opening "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". Sure, the overall power and tightness of the band is at its' peak on the record, which makes it a highlight, but if that song isn't done almost exactly the same way as "T.N.T." (only an idiot, or someone who hasn't heard both songs, could miss the very striking similarity between both the riff and the chanting chorus melody), then I don't know what is. Good rewrite, though. The faster-paced "Rocker" is a fairly exciting, but very standard, piece of speed that may get your adrenaline going, but you might not even notice it once it's over, and "Problem Child" is a humorously child-ish, though somewhat overlong, power anthem. "Love At First Feel", meanwhile, is a typically tongue in cheek sleazy piece that I could take or leave (I'll take it while it's on, though), and the bookends on side two ("There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'", "Squealer") are exciting enough, particularly the swagger of the former track and the arena rock style in the latter song, but not substantial.
Fortunately, there's an absolutely priceless classic in the form of the absolutely ridiculous "Big Balls". But I don't mean 'ridiculous' in a bad way! Bon Scott's tongue is so firmly in cheek on this one it's unbelievable, as he uses lyrics about ballrooms and other upper-class imagery as a metaphor for umm... those other balls, all sung in such a hilariously over-the-top accent (plus I can never resist the chants of 'we've got the biggest... balls of them all!') This is AC/DC's grossly exaggerated humor at its' best! Too bad they still can't handle slower paced songs, though - "Ain't No Fun (Waitin' Around To Be A Millionaire)" never accomplishes anything within its' 7 minute length except for possibly putting me to sleep, and "Ride On" is a nearly as boring and almost as overlong bluesy groove. These two songs, along with the utter formula of a lot of the rest, unfortunately bring down the rating somewhat for me, but this is still a decent listen.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Let There Be Rock, Whole Lotta Rosie. LOW POINTS: Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be.
Definitely much better than the two preceeding albums (despite one track from Dirty Deeds - "Problem Child" - actually being recycled here for some truly bizarre reason), as they're beginning to move away from their 'bluesier' roots and a lot more towards the vein of the distinctive arena rock sound we all have grown to love (well, some of us) on the late 70's albums and Back In Black. Of course, this being AC/DC and all, the songwriting is still a bit boring and formulaic in spots (a few songs are a little hard to distinguish from one another), but let's not start holding them to really really high standards now. Even if it does contain the one song that might actually be the standard for all their great songs to come, and this standard is, of course, the absolutely immortal political satire "Dog Eat Dog".
Nah, that song is a perfectly good rocker with effective use of distortion added on (and typically comical lyrics like 'eat cat too...'), but it's like, complete garbage compared to the title track. Man, that one is just a truly great and exciting fast rocker, what with that main rff just pounding itself into your brain and all. But that is, of course, not the only great thing about it - the lyrics are among the most hilariously exaggerated Bon Scott would ever come up with. It's like, he uses the beginning of rock as a metaphor for the creation of the world! 'Let there be sound! There was sound! Guitar! There was guitar! Let there be drums! There was drums!, etc.' And the way the guitars totally drop out during the verses with the bass rumbling is a really cool effect. Seriously, this could possibly be my favorite AC/DC song ever, just because it hits such a perfect balance between musical comedy and ass-kicking catchiness.
I could probably write an entire short story surrounding that song (its' music and subject matter), but the only other one that strikes me as awesome among the others (including the recycled bastard "Problem Child") is the closing "Whole Lotta Rosie", an interestingly fast, energetic take on the blues, with a stop-start riff and amusing lyrics about, well, a whole lotta Rosie. Definitely an excellent way to end the album there. Not that the other four songs are really bad, though I can't remember a thing about "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be", so it's probably the album's low point. "Go Down" is a fine opener with a really familiar three note riff constantly pounding away that's strangely addictive in its' simplicity, "Bad Boy Boogie" is pretty much (good) midtempo AC/DC by numbers, and "Overdose" predates the 'buildup' tendencies of a couple songs on Powerage, with that neat distorted intro. When all is said and done, good album, even though the two highlights clearly overshadow everything else here.
The same thing as the last album, just done a little better. They rock out a little more, with even more horrible lyrics. Songs like "Dog Eat Dog" and "Problem Child" have some of the most childish lyrics you can find in hard rock.... 'Dog eat dog, eat cat too..','..I'm hot, and when I'm not, I'm as cold as ice'! "Problem Child" is actually a decent song this time around though. "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Let There Be Rock" have good energy too, but as usual the rest of the songs sound the same which make for a boring listen. I wonder if this could be their first album all over again except they changed the song titles to pretend they came out with something new?
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Down Payment Blues, Riff Raff, Rock And Roll Damnation. LOW POINTS: Gone Shootin', Kicked In The Teeth.
From listening to this record, it's even easier to hear the appealing qualities in AC/DC music than usual, as their groove and riff based sound is getting ever catchier and more entertaining than Let There Be Rock, and to my ears it's not very far removed from the next album at all - Highway To Hell is a bit more comically 'threatening' and with more emphasis on 'pop' hooks. This particular record, though, is still pretty good - it has its' share of glorious anthemic moments, with the songs more to the point than usual and... okay, there's really not all that much to say about this one that doesn't apply to several other of the band's albums that all sound the same (like the last one!). But still, I get my kicks out of the direct guitar interplay and fun grooves on the album, anyway, especially on side one's tracks. And there's even a couple of them with sort of 'epic' buildups.
These songs are definitely the most worthy here, with the best of them surely being the monster "Down Payment Blues". What an amazing riff this one has, and it's a testament to how great it is in that riff pretty much gets slammed into your head for 6 minutes repeatedly with only slight key changes and stops here and there, but yet it always remains exciting. And the lyrics on the subject are actually really clever for once! "Riff Raff" is the other killer song, with a fast paced barrage of guitar at the beginning that leads into a highly thrilling speed rocker, boasting an overpowering chorus yell. To a lesser extent, the opener "Rock And Roll Damnation" is perhaps the closest thing to a really memorable, arena rock singalong tune, which is a sort of venture the band really thrives in.
The rest of the album is certainly good and listenable, though not really as exciting or distinguishable. There's more melodic and simplified hard rock tunes in "Sin City" (catchy chorus, and nice minimalistic bass heavy bridge there), the somewhat fun "What's Next To The Moon" (the best parts of this one are the 'it's the love that I want...' breakdown sections) and "Up To My Neck In You" (basically the same song as both of them), plus a mildly addictive guitar groove in the form of "Gimme A Bullet". So that leaves the only two songs that I really don't care for here - "Gone Shootin'" features a really weak and annoying, constantly repetitive midtempo riff (and doesn't part of that melody rip off "Sin City"?) while "Kicked In The Teeth" is an unconvincing fast rocker attempt that comes when the album has run out of steam at the end. So it actually might not be a bad idea to shut this one off after track 6 and call it quite an impressive hard rock album, but I get really tired during the last third of it, so I pretty much only call it a 'good' listen.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: If You Want Blood (You've Got It), Girls Got Rhythm, Shot Down In Flames, Highway To Hell. LOW POINTS: Night Prowler.
The band's final album Bon Scott recorded with the band before his tragic drinking-related death was also their breakthrough, and it quickly gained notoriety for depicting Angus Young as the devil and such. What's more important than the controversy, though, it's how good the music is, and for the most part, this is a well worthy listen. It's overrated, of course, as I don't really see how a few of these tracks could have made the way up the ladder as classics, mainly the more simplistic groove-based stuff on here, but other than a couple missteps which I'll get to later, this is one 'hell' of a fun listen. The Young brothers' guitar interplay is definitely at a highpoint, and Bon's vocals are the perfect foil for them. What's also interesting is that several songs on here kinda sound like some sort of dark world that's never exactly scary, but it's like reading a good comic book - it's mindless and thoroughly entertaining stuff.
Nothing better exemplifies this mood than the opening title track, which really evokes the image of a vehicle cruising down a 'highway to hell', and not only that, it's also quite a hook-filled rocker, with a distinct opening riff and lyrics that ironically predict Bon Scott's death, mirroring his wild lifestyle almost perfectly, and getting the album off on the right foot. As does "Girls Got Rhythm", which is probably the epitome of a wild ride in the back seat of your (or someone else's!) car, with a swinging, catchy, and raunchy groove that really makes it the second best song here. As for the best song, that would definitely be "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)", where the power of the band sound positively convincing in an incredibly exciting anthemic tune that just revels in comic violence. What a nasty hook and riff, too, which perfectly complements the lyrics. "Shot Down In Flames", the last of the major highlights here, also has one heck of a force, one which really isn't all that different than the others in style, but who cares? It's energetic, anyway.
None of the rest of the album really lives up to the kickass action of those four tracks, although a couple other songs do have their moments. "Love Hungry Man" actually gets funky due to the excellent bass work, and that and the catchy pop chorus (one of the best elements of fun on this album) help the song work better than it probably should. There's also the really fast guitar part of "Beating Around The Bush", which is an interesting twist, since it isn't really all that often that these guys go for a fast tempo, and "Get It Hot" is a decent midtempo bass-heavy rock force. As for "Touch Too Much", that's a fun little song, I guess - nothing all that classic, but certainly entertaining while it's on (and I dig the opening 'it was one of those nights / when you turn out the lights' lines).
Like I mentioned before, the least thrilling songs for me are the ones based on slower, bluesier grooves. This is particularly a problem with the closing "Night Prowler", which gained a lot of the album's controversy for its' lyrical matter, and while people probably took that aspect of it too far, that ultimately doesn't matter to me. What matters is that it tries to sound slow and threatening, but in the long run comes off as cheesy and overlong. Likewise, "Walk All Over You", although the main body of the song is a quite good fast rocker, there's too many moments of slow and simplistic boredom (the intro, especially) for it to truly catch fire. Nevertheless, if not their best studio effort, this is certainly one of the band's most influential and popular albums, and I'll admit I've gained more of an appreciation for it since my original horribly empty review of it.
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COMMENTS
Highway to Hell is probably the least rocking song on this album…I'd have to say that its my least favorite…my second least favorite song on this album is Shot Down in Flames…it just isn't that good…but the rest of the album (especially Get it Hot and Love Hungry Man) KICKS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!...that's all I have to say….
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Have A Drink On Me, Hell's Bells. LOW POINTS: Let Me Put My Love Into You.
After AC/DC finally broke through to the public with the last album, all of a sudden they were up against adversity. Bon Scott had tragically died after a hard night of drinking, and the band was now faced with either calling it quits completely or attempting to find a replacement. Wisely, they decided on the second choice in recruiting Brian Johnson, a singer with even more of a tough, raspy (though also a bit more annoying) tone to his voice and a trademark cap on his head. The end result is widely regarded as the best hard rock album of the 80's, and one of the finest the style has to offer. While the whole tone of the album is more exciting and upbeat than usual in being constructed as a tribute to Bon (despite the mournful black cover), and it certainly has its' share of classics, Back In Black strikes me as way too inconsistent of a record, with too many half-baked and overly macho tracks throughout, to make me call it better than the last one. In fact, it's very noticeably weaker.
These problems show themselves most in songs like the plodding sexual anthem "Let Me Put My Love Into You", which emphasizes the raunchier aspect of the band over anything else (the lyrics gained quite a bit of PMRC-related controversy), and the chorus just comes off as obnoxious. While it's clear "Given The Dog A Bone" doesn't take itself seriously at all in its' 'clever' metaphorical lyrics, it also doesn't come across as anything above dumb and standard. Plus the closing "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", while triumphantly stupid in a good way during the chorus, has little to get excited about in its' bluesy verses. Then there's the sleazy nonsense of "What Do You Do For Money Honey", which, although fairly catchy, has that factor hit a little bit too hard throughout, so I can always do without it.
But what about the good stuff on this album? Well, thankfully, I can think of three songs here that really justify their classic reputations, and strangely enough, they're all in a row on the second side of the album, highlighted by the title track, a song which has one of the best power grooves ever committed to tape. It's extremely simple, yeah, but incredibly addictive and distinct - plus, the lyrics are actually fun to sing along to at the top of your lungs. The even bigger radio staple "You Shook Me All Night Long" has another perfectly executed groove and the most solid, memorable anthemic chorus on the entire album, so you definitely won't hear me knocking it. Then there's the most obvious tribute to Bon in the extremely fun party-like "Have A Drink On Me" (another really catchy chorus on this one, well-done irony throughout and a fantastic opening riff).
The other two singles "Hells Bells" and "Shoot To Thrill" do have the same classic potential as the highlights - the former song has an effective ominous tolling 'bell' at the beginning and an effective dark, cartoonish tone to its' catchy chorus, and the latter has an exciting and really loose, gloriously 'violent' feel to it that makes it pretty good. Both of these, though, are a little long and repetitive to really have the same impact as the highlights. And as for "Shake A Leg" that rounds out the album? Fine power chorus here, but the verses sound pretty standard and unmemorable to me. So the final verdict, despite it being overrated, I do enjoy the album somewhat, and it's probably the best of the Brian Johnson output by far, but not to the point where I'd rate it truly great. I can't turn my brains all the way off just yet.
UPDATE: Listening to this a couple more times for the first time in awhile, I realize now that a 7 is too low for this album. The key here is the SOUND - this is easily one of the best produced hard rock albums I've ever heard, with each instrument coming in with an absolute force. Plus, I've begun to appreciate "Hell's Bells" even more for the dramatic epic that it is - the way that just builds and builds in the first minute with each member coming in is just the best, isn't it? Hey, even the weaker songs are given a ton of power (I've especially gotten more out of "Given The Dog A Bone" lately - catchy chorus!)! The three songs that start off side two are still all-time classics, and even "Let Me Put My Love Into You", stupid as it is, does have a cool epic riff to it that salvages things. I still wouldn't go higher than solid 8, though - without the sound at its' absolute max, a lot of these songs wouldn't come off as all that great, and parts like the verses of "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" still sound boring to me. Maybe part of the reason I can't put it on a huge pedestal has to do with Brian Johnson's voice, as his shrieking is hard for me to take over a full 40 minutes. Plus some of this stuff still sounds too overly sleazy to be really entertaining.
I don't really get this group. They put out something like 14 albums, all of which sound EXACTLY the same. And no, I'm not being dense; even lead guitarist Angus Young jokes about them sounding the same. Which I suppose is great for you people that hate Metallica for changing their sound, or Pearl Jam, or Megadeth or.....well, you get the idea. I, on the other hand, see NO POINT to putting out future albums if your band's plan of attack is to sound the same throughout your entire career. We're not even talking about 1980's Metallica style; almost every one of AC/DC's many albums are completely interchangeable.
That being the case, I never really cared much for this band, they usually play too slow, uncomplicated songs, with the exact same plodding, boring drum beat. But this album ain't bad. The two radio staples are certified rock classics. Even I cannot dispute this. And it is still fun to listen to "You Shook Me All Night Long" or "Back in Black". Recently, I started liking "Hells Bells" which despite the ridiculously dumb title, is a pretty catchy song. It also appears that Metallica stole the beginning of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" from that song.
Other than "Have a Drink on Me" and "Given The Dog A Bone" just about everything else on here sounds the same, and are candidates for the skip button on the old CD player. This is how it would be for the rest of the AC/DC collection, so don't say I didn't warn you. Oh yeah, and in case you haven't noticed, AC/DC sing about some really dumbass pseudo-macho shit that comes off more as laughable than tough. A lot of people consider this to be the top metal album of the 80's. Damned if I know why that is. Master Of Puppets and South Of Heaven both easily beat this album in consistency and quality of the compositions.
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COMMENTS
A perfect 10! Hands down! So get with the fuckin program!!
And if you don't like these guys, then why the hell are you reviewing them?????
AC/DC KICKS FUCKIN ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good call! AC/DC sucks, their music is fucking stupid, pointless, repetitive shit with great melodies thrown on top of them! Every song is about getting drunk, stoned, laid, which is fine and good, but not very good when the lyricist can't even write a complete sentence. The only people that like AC/DC are white trash who spend their entire McDonald's paychecks at the bar. Fuck AC/DC, fuck cock-rock in general, fuck the white trash who rave about this stuff all of the time, and long live real rebellious music with a point to it!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Inject The Venom. LOW POINTS: Breaking The Rules.
For some strange reason, a lot of fans tend to hold this second Brian Johnson era album in really high regard, but that's just one more sign that I'll never be a huge AC/DC fan. You know, I'm still not really in love with Back In Black, though I do enjoy it to a pretty good extent, and I can see how so many people can call it one of the greatest albums ever. This album, on the other hand, I can't see how anyone but a diehard could love - it basically sounds like a bunch of recycled Back In Black riffs, only with more plodding tempos and the band taking themselves really seriously in the lyrics. Ooh, they're really dark and satanic now! Evil walks behiiiiind you! Care of the devil! I'll put the finger... right on you! I don't know about you, but AC/DC to me is supposed to be a fun band, and stuff like this isn't exactly my idea of fun. It isn't as flat out boring as I once thought, but hardly the stuff of greatness either.
I suppose when you get right down to it the songs themselves aren't really bad at all (the only one I can pin down as a real low point would be the lethargic and particularly obnoxious "Breaking The Rules") it's just that there's no point in their existence. How about the way "Spellbound" uses a similar riff as "Hell's Bells" and has its' title sung in exactly the same way as that song's chorus (with the verses moving along at snail speed)? Or the way the title track seems to convince itself that its' 'glorious' use of cannon fire automatically makes it a classic song, regardless of the fact that really slow AC/DC... uh... isn't very convincing at all (I will admit it is quite catchy, though). Or how "C.O.D." thumps along just like "You Shook Me All Night Long", only with those Satanic overtones getting in the way, much like "Evil Walks", as if we're supposed to feel threatened by this stuff. Whatever.
Like I said, though, while this album is certainly unimpressive most of the way through, at least the sound and tightness of the band is still quite powerful when it wants to be, even though it doesn't really have the songs to back it up. Regardless, there is some at least decent material here - "Snowballed" is quite good for a "Shoot To Thrill" ripoff, with a nice and nasty slower chorus transition to boot, "Put The Finger On You" is somewhat silly and generic but still infectious pop metal that fits the 'fun' bill rather nicely (unlike a lot of these songs), and "Inject The Venom" has a fine bluesy toughness to it that the other 'dark' songs on here lack, so I suppose it's my favorite on here. It's hard to tell, though, as this stuff only rises a little above okay, if inessential, most of the time (though thankfully doesn't fall much below that), like on the by the numbers midtempo of "Let's Get It Up" or the dumb singalong "Night Of The Long Knives". Yeah, Back In Black II... err, For Those About To Rock, is AC/DC mediocrity epitomized, pretty much. So it's a fan favorite!
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Thunderstruck, Money Talks, The Razor's Edge. LOW POINTS: most of side 2, particularly Got You By The Balls and Are You Ready.
I know all AC/DC albums are supposed to sound the same and all, but would just a little variety have killed these guys? After a series of commercially (and probably creatively) disappointing efforts, this one, an album often regarded as a great comeback for the 90's, is probably the one where this weakness is the most frustrating. And why is that? Because this album actually contains three great, maybe even classic, songs, and a couple other very enjoyable ones, which, for a band past their prime like this, is actually quite an accomplishment. But the ultimate downfall of this coaster is that the overall sound, especially on side two, is so unbelievably monotonous that, before too long, I feel like I'm listening to the same 'okay' song over and over.
But regardless of my complaining, I flat out cannot deny how awesome the highlights here are. The opening "Thunderstruck" without a doubt has one of the best guitar riffs they've ever come up with, a fast barrage of notes in that unmistakable tone leads to a fantastic intro complete with chanting, and the remainder of the tune is a fine catchy anthem. Then there's "Money Talks", which is basically their "You Shook Me All Night Long" for the 90's, and it has the same simple, hooky groove power to it. Finally, the title track, despite utterly stupid lyrics, has a freakin' great ominous intro, evil and bluesy, and that totally makes the rest of the song. Even the minor highlights on side one, "Fire Your Guns" and "Mistress For Christmas", have their good points - the former is exciting speed, and the latter's concept is predictably as laughable as it gets, but it's actually one of those instances where you can laugh with the band, not at them, as they revel in stupidity.
Unfortunately, there's hardly anything else on the album that holds interest the rest of the way, and that's the whole stretch of the last seven songs. There's actually only one of them that can be called close to bad (the pedestrian "Got You By The Balls") but it's all just so boring and routine. Only the fine chorus of "Let's Make It" (with a cool guitar part popping up throughout) and the power groove and memorability of the otherwise dull closer "If You Dare" even attempt to really entertain the listener, and crap like "Are You Ready" just drifts along in bland midtempo mode. This album is still worth owning for the solid cuts throughout side one, but not for much else. A prime example of this band's frustrating inconsistency.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Thunderstruck, Back In Black, T.N.T.. LOW POINTS: The Jack.
The long awaited live album from the Brian Johnson era of the band, this one documents the supporting tour for The Razor's Edge. The main flaws of this album are very obvious - this is basically a collection of performances from the tour instead of a complete show, and after nearly every song, you hear the crowd fading out, so there's very little continuity here. Also, the performances here are only marginally different from the studio originals, with the only real big difference being the vocals - Brian Johnson's voice sounds shot on the numbers from the current incarnation of the band, and he's also not the same singer that originally performed on the Bon Scott numbers, so they sound different, too. But fortunately, the gang still has a lot of their energy on stage, and this one showcases that admirably.
Hardcore fans will also claim that you don't need this album, but really, for someone like me who finds AC/DC a band with several classics but extremely patchy studio efforts, Live brings together more classics in one place than any of the other albums, especially considering the lack of a real compilation for casual listeners (and no, I'm not counting something like Bonfire). Such classics as "Back In Black" and "Thunderstruck" go down particularly well in a context like this, especially the latter, which works as quite the great showstopping opener in featuring one of the most dramatic intros you'll ever hear from the band. Stuff like "T.N.T.", meanwhile, really benefits from the crowd participation, with the crowd chanting done perfectly in sync with the song's main riff.
The other Bon Scott era songs (with the exception of that damn 'card game' song, "The Jack", which doesn't plod along any more interestingly than before) are done faithfully enough, particularly the early favorite "Whole Lotta Rosie" and the crowd pleasing "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". And there's also the interesting facet of Johnson's shot voice making macho anthems like "Shoot To Thrill" and the closing 'cannon firing' of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" sound unintentionally hilarious. Overall, while this album's definitely got its' flaws that prevent it from a higher rating (the songs don't really add that much to the originals in many cases, for one), this might definitely be a good starting point for casual fans of the band, since it really resembles a solid greatest hits compilation in the track selection. [Note: Apparently, there also exists a longer, double CD version of this album that might be more comprehensive, but the one I'm reviewing now is the more widely available single disc version. Both might be worth acquiring anyway.]
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Hard As A Rock, Cover You In Oil. LOW POINTS: Ballbreaker, The Honey Roll, Caught With Your Pants Down, Love Bomb, Boogie Man, Hail Caesar.
More than anything else, his album is probably famous in the web-reviewing community for the really venomous comments Mark Prindle received from fans on his site for unceremoniously bashing this album, but I'm inclined to completely stick up for his reasoning. It seems to me that five years after The Razor's Edge, the band took the almost completely faceless second side of that album and their raunchier side as a starting point. Sure, the attempt is made to have the songs here sound a lot like authentic classic period AC/DC, but for all its' flaws, back then the band at least had quite a few memorable riffs, grooves, melodies and a whole lot of excitement, while this thing sounds like an incredibly boring, tasteless self-parody of their former selves. Not to mention Brian Johnson sounds like shit here, as his vocal tone is even worse than it was on the last album.
Not that the album is a completely worthless wasteland, of course, as it actually does start off promisingly. The chorus of the opening lead single "Hard As A Rock" is a bit lame, but the main guitar riff and melody to the verses is every bit as memorable as anything they came up with before (if not as great in power). "Cover You In Oil" is an unabashedly sleazy number, but unlike most of this material, it's actually fun to listen to, as the groove it sets up, while not exactly classic, at least sticks in your head. To a lesser extent, "The Furor", "Burning Alive" and "Whiskey On The Rocks" actually have pretty decent dramatic riffs to them (though the last one is little more than a reworking of "The Razor's Edge"), although the excellent melodies and fun atmosphere simply aren't present like they are in the highlights, not to mention these lyrics are so distractingly childish and badly written even by AC/DC standards that it's even more difficult to compensate for them (which reminds me, the biggest mistake of this album was probably printing those things - ugh).
The rest of this material, however, I can't even begin to talk about. Really bland, generic riffs, almost non-existent melodies, and an almost totally parodic feeling to the whole experience. The closing title track is probably the worst of the lot, since it actually does have a hook, and a really obnoxious one at that, carried by one of the most simplistic and dull grooves I've heard from this band yet (a three note riff repeated over and over with tasteless lyrics, GENIUS). The other remaining songs I can at least happily ignore since they're totally unmemorable (like the generic-as-they-come trashy blues of "Boogie Man" and the astoundingly stupid "Caught With Your Pants Down"), as they're a lot like 'the same OK song over and over' that characterized the second half of the last album, just a bit worse in quality. My advice is to not buy this thing at all (unless you see it really cheap) - it's pretty obvious that the band exhausted their possibilities with the sound years and years ago.
UPDATE: You know, I'm shocked yet grateful, considering the magnitude of flames on Prindle's site, that I haven't been hit comments at all on this album. But even so, I've heard plenty of people say stuff along the lines of, "I don't see how this is so much worse than all the other AC/DC albums blah blah blah", which led me to giving it another chance... and it still blows. Well, I can see that if you love love love the style, since this, production-wise at least, is closer to Back In Black than before, but for one who likes the style but doesn't love it.... it's painful hearing sixth-rate imitations of the same thing that offers absolutely nothing exciting or interesting. This stuff is boring and standard to the extreme, people! Never before have I heard such half-assed riffs and melodies than these largely poor creations, and that's not even considering the 'self parody' feeling otherwise. And where has the excitement gone to? Admittedly, I do still enjoy the first two songs, which is why the rating is even this high, and with maybe the exception of the 'Brian Johnson's voice sounds like shit' comment (I guess it's not any worse than The Razor's Edge) I stand by everything I wrote before.
It occurred to me as I sat down to review this album that it is FAR easier (not to mention more enjoyable) for me to write a unfavorable review of an album than a likable one. Maybe I'm just a negative guy; I just take a lot more enjoyment in bashing some pathetic collection of half-assed riffs and tired melodies than say, an album that I really enjoy. On the other hand, it is also a lot easier to come up with sadistic humor for albums you generally dislike. Take Talk Show for example. I'm actually thinking of rewriting that review, cause every time I give that CD a spin in the car, several more singing one-liners come to mind. And I relish the opportunity to use them! Speaking of half-assed, this album definitely falls into that category. Maybe even "quarter" or "eighth-assed" if such ridiculous slang actually existed. If not for "Hard as a Rock" and the title track, this album might get the coveted 0 rating. Its not even that my general lack of interest in the band; if they wrote good melodies, I'd be headbangin' to the Backstreet Boys, for pete's sake! Well, at least until somebody saw me or beat me up.....
Like I wrote before, AC/DC's music consistently reminds me of some aging, greasy rocker pumping some aging groupie in a murky bar somewhere. It's not necessarily a knock against the band; it's just the image their brand of slow, plodding hard rock conjures up. Now, I could take Back In Black, hell even ENJOY parts of it, because Angus and co. penned some catchy riffs and great melodies for that record. Not so here. It seems that the band is desperately trying to recapture the sound of that era, which they may have done, but apparently in the process of that they forgot to write good MUSIC. "Hard as a Rock" kicks all ass, though. Probably my favorite AC/DC song. That bridge before the chorus is INCREDIBLY catchy. Kudos to Angus (or Malcolm) for that great chiming guitar. Other than that, no reason to buy this album. Even Mark Prindle (a diehard AC/DC fanatic) hates it, which should tell you something
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