AC/DC "For Those About To Rock" 1981***

I believe this is the 4th AC/DC album I present in this blog, which is somewhat disproportionate seeing that as of this moment I've presented less than 10% of my collection. Normally this is the kind of music I prefer to listen to on vinyl, but that's mostly for aesthetic reasons; these recent remasters sound really good on my (average quality) stereo. The packaging contains a nice booklet, and the embossed canon on the cover is another fine touch, but why would the company glue a huge sticker on the front of a digipack CD case? It took up roughly 20% of its surface, and when I tried to remove it to get the cover photographed - well, you can see for yourself:

At the time of its release, For Those About to Rock was a huge success, both critically (Rolling Stone magazine declared it their best album, so far) and commercially (their first LP to reach No.1 in the US). Nevertheless, I believe this is less because of this album's qualities, and more because of those that preceded it: Highway To Hell (1979) and Back In Black (1980) won them legions of new fans eagerly awaiting for the follow-up. Indeed, its initial record sales slowed down; it's now the 8th best-selling album by the band, with the two lead positions taken by the aforementioned masterpieces. At first glance For Those About to Rock seemed to fulfill expectations, as it is cut from the same cloth with its mighty predecessors: Using the same producer (Mutt Lange) guarantees sonic continuity, the Young brothers' riffs and solos are distinctive as ever, Phil Rudd's savage drum beating too. Brian Johnson is certainly no Bon Scott, but his shrill vocal didn't bother anyone when he was handling superior material as he did with Black In Black. Unfortunately though, from here on out the songwriting gets weaker. Tunes with catchy hooks and uplifting riffs like "Put the Finger on You" and "Let's Get It Up" are betrayed by embarrassingly bad lyrics/titles. "Evil Walks and "C.O.D." are good fun, but aren't they a tad too similar? And isn't the intro of the former recycled from "Hell's Bells?" "Inject The Venom" is another of the highlights, but falls into the easy trap of hitting on a good title/chorus and repeating it endlessly - one of AC/DC's calling cards. Few details offer an occasional detour (e.g."Night of the Long Knives" Aerosmith-like riff), but in general this is mostly generic AC/DC. A lot of it could have been the work of any of their imitators; "Snowballed" and "Breaking the Rules" especially sound like someone trying to copy a dish by guessing the recipe based on its appearance. It's no wonder that the title song is the only one here that's earned a permanent place in the band's live repertoire: with its Who-like intro, anthemic chorus, and cannon-firing sound effects, it's one of their more memorable compositions. All in all, For Those About To Rock is a slightly above average Brian Johnson-era AC/DC album: typically those may have one stone cold classic if you're lucky (in this case the title track), and two or three good tunes that are nevertheless too reminiscent of older hits. The rest is usually filler. Good fun, certainly - but not nearly as enjoyable as one of their concerts. That's where this lineup really shines, I hope they can keep it up a while longer!

***** for For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

**** for Put the Finger on You, Inject the Venom, Evil Walks, C.O.D.

*** for Let's Get It Up, Night of the Long Knives, Spellbound

** for Snowballed, Breaking the Rules

AC/DC "Ballbreaker" 1995***

Like every year around this time, I'm posting stuff from my drafts folder while vacationing in Greece - once more in my favorite island, Antiparos. For some time it was touch and go whether we'd make it this year, as the covid-19 pandemic is flaring up again - indeed I had to show a recent negative PCR test  in order to be admitted in the country, and one still has to walk around in a face mask, although you can dispense with it when you're at the beach - or a restaurant, or bar, or any place which is non-public which is of course most of the time so it's not too bad. I wonder when (if ever) life will go back to normal. 

Apparently it's been more than 5 years since I last presented an AC/DC album in this blog, which is a pity because I own almost all of them and play them often. Which begs the question: why bother? don't they all sound the same anyway? Well, I'm pretty sure that even the band's biggest fans will have trouble dismissing that argument, except with something like "you can never have too much of a good thing". Ballbreaker is one of their middling albums: not up there with Highway To Hell or Back In Black, but it still delivers the goods. Which, in AC/DC's case means big fat riffs, exciting solos and catchy choruses with dumb lyrics about sex, drinking and rocking out. I wish I could tell you the lyrics are "so dumb they're actually smart" but songs like "Hard as a Rock", "Cover You In Oil", "Honey Roll" etc. are just a lazy parade of sexist cliches. Good for a chuckle, at best - but then again, that is how AC/DC have always been. This time they try to diversify a bit by including some basic social commentary with "The Furor" (anti-censorship), "Hail Caesar" (anti-politician), and "Burnin' Alive" (about the Waco massacre). But enough about the lyrics, no-one listens to AC/DC for the words. Ballbreaker, like every AC/DC album, is based on the well-oiled Young brothers' guitar machine which works just as fine as ever, effortlessly churning out riffs and solos. With original drummer Phil Rudd back in the fold and shrieky Brian Johnson in his usual good form, it was all a matter of getting everything on tape the right way. Enter hotshot producer Rick Rubin, renowned for helping artists find their lost mojo. He worked his nagic with AC/DC, trying to recreate the band's 70's sound evn using vintage equipment. He succeeded in delivering a solid LP that pleased longtime fans but didn't yield any classics like the previous album's "Thunderstruck" or "Money Talks". "Hard as a Rock" and "Hail Caesar" offer memorable choruses, "Cover You in Oil" is one of their funkiest pieces, and "Boogie Man" their bluesiest song for 20 years (since "The Jack" from their debut). "Burnin' Alive" and "Whiskey on the Rocks" are also fun, but the album as a whole is workmanlike rather than inspired.

 

A nice addition is the Marvel comics album art (samples above) - AC/DC would return the favor by providing the soundtrack for Iron Man 2. The album would be greeted as a return to form, as it always happens when veterans release something non-embarrassing. But the fact that only "Hard As A Rock" survived in their live setlist past the "Ballbreaker Tour" says something about the quality of the material. I'll give them this: Ballbreaker is a decent album that saw the band leave their mid 80's slump behind and helped re-establish them with new and old audiences. It's fun to listen to, especially in the car. Does it matter that it's just business as usual? Not at all, business as usual is what I expect from AC/DC. I'm glad they can still deliver it - even more so with the rumor that Brian Johnson has overcome his health problems and that a new album is in the works as of this year.

**** for Hard as a Rock, Hail Caesar

*** for Cover You in Oil, The Furor, Boogie Man, The Honey Roll, Burnin' Alive, Love Bomb, Caught with Your Pants Down, Whiskey on the Rocks, Ballbreaker

Hayseed Dixie "Let There Be Rockgrass" 2004****

 

On hearing Hayseed Dixie were coming to Paard I apped my friends to keep their Tuesday night free and get ready for a honkin' good time. At that point I hadn't seen any live clips of the band but I had a couple of their CD's and so I had an idea of what we were about to witness. It turned out even better than I expected - the guys are experienced entertainers and know how to put on a show. Leader John Wheeler a.k.a. Barley Scotch has been at it for 18 years now. On stage he proved to be very articulate, not just funny but intelligent and well-informed as well. I usually have little patience for between song banter, but with Hayseed Dixie it's part of the show - though, of course, it's their turbo charged bluegrass/rock hybrid that everyone was there for, and they certainly delivered on that respect. The rest of the band (seemingly consisted by a dwarf from Hobbit on mandolin and hilarious posing, the long lost 4th ZZ Top member on bass and Arnold Swarzenegger's twin -yes, I do mean Danny De Vito- on banzo) were also great showmen. The turnout that night may have been low (at best 150 people, many of whom had never heard the band) but, by the end of the night, Hayseed Dixie had made 150 new fans, not to mention almost sold out their merchandise.

It was a crazy idea: let's marry two genres that were never supposed to meet, hard rock and bluegrass country. Ever wondered how would AC/DC sound played by acoustic instruments? I'm not just talking acoustic guitars, but some of the un-rock-iest instruments ever: banjos, mandolins and fiddles. John Wheeler and company (a different line up to the one we saw at The Paard) thought it sounded like a great idea. So they formed an impromptu hillbilly band they called Hayseed Dixie (sounds a bit like AC DC doesn't it?) and made a whole album of AC/DC covers just for the fun of it. Some would have thought a whole album of it is overkill. You know, a joke may be funny the first time you hear it, raise a smile the second time around, but how long can you keep up with it? Well, guess what: 17 years and 15 albums later, Hayseed Dixie are still going strong. It isn't just a testament to their stubbornness or determination to milk every last dollar from their original idea - people love their music (dubbed rockgrass) because it's funny, rowdy and exhilarating. Some of the songs from their debut are reprised here, mostly in live versions, while others come from their 2nd "Tribute to Mountain Love", one from their 3rd album "Kiss My Grass" and still others are new. The 5 AC/DC tunes -especially the live versions- are a hoot, with the Reno brothers' banjos providing an unlikely but worthy substitute for the Young brothers' electric guitars. The speedball banjo on Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" is a definite highlight but some of the other covers are just as entertaining: Aerosmith's "Walk This Way", Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" and The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" have strong hooks that still sound great in these unfamiliar arrangements. Their version of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" makes you think it was always meant to be sung by sleazy rednecks, while The J. Geils Band's "Centerfold" was, of course, already a rockfied country tune so they just had to return it to its natural state. Live staple "Will the Circle Be Broken" is typical country fare, as are the band's two originals, of which the scatological ballad "I'm Keeping Your Poop" is the better known - and Wheeler's own favourite among his compositions. He said it's a very personal song about his first girlfriend, which I frankly find mildly disturbing. Anyway it's a hugely entertaining album that combines nimble and buoyant playing with tongue-in-cheek humour, and a perfect introduction to the band. If it doesn't make you laugh, you may be suffering from depression. If it doesn't make you sing, dance and holler you're probably one of them Taliban music/life haters. Get it, and by all means if you have the chance to see Hayseed Dixie live, don't miss it.

**** for Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC), Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen), You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC), Ace of Spades (Motörhead), Detroit Rock City (Kiss), Walk This Way (Aerosmith), Touch Too Much (AC/DC), Highway to Hell (AC/DC) 

*** for Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC), I Believe in a Thing Called Love (The Darkness), Corn Liquor, Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company), Centerfold (J. Geils Band), I'm Keeping Your Poop, Will the Circle Be Broken (trad.)

Geordie "Can You Do It?" 1973-1975(orig) 1999(comp)***

A Geordie is a person from the Tyneside region of North East England, best known for its coalmines and its inhabitants' distinctive olde English accent. These Geordies must have been very proud of their origin, as not only they've taken their name from it, but one of them also poses on the album cover wearing a Newcastle Utd shirt and holding a Newcastle Brown Ale beer on his hand (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne being, of course, the Tyneside's principal city). I think it's future AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, but it's impossible to be sure because he doesn't wear his usual hat. Now that I realise it, I've never seen him without his famous flat cap. These days he probably only takes it off in the shower or something. Now, Geordie could be called a hard rock band, if only in the wide sense. There are guitars and Johnson's screaming vocals have just a hint of metal at this point, but the music is pretty basic boogie rock'n'roll stuff. It'd actually be more accurate to describe them as blue-collar glam rockers a la Slade or Sweet rather than a metal band. The first two songs on this CD, "Can You Do It" and "All Because Of You" from their 1973 debut, were both Top-20 hits. The former is somewhat close to AC/DC, while the latter is more teenybopper material. "Black Cat Woman" balances between hard rock and parody. "House Of The Rising Sun" from their second effort is among the better versions I've heard of this often covered song, "Electric Lady" and "Natural Born Looser" are a couple of heavy rockers and "Geordie Stomp" stoopid-but-fun glam boogie. "I Cried Today" is a pitiful attempt at reggae while "We're All Right Now" and "Francis Was A Rocker" seem to want to combine T-Rex and Status Quo. "Going to the City", "Rock 'n' Roll Fever" and "You Do This to Me" are pure Chuck Berry-ish rock'n'roll and the set closes with hard rocker "Ten Feet Tall", a taste of the future when Brian Johnson would join AC/DC as Bon Scott's replacement..

**** for Can You Do It, All Because of You, House of the Rising Sun, Natural Born Loser

*** for Black Cat Woman, Electric Lady, Geordie Stomp, Francis Was a Rocker, Going to the City, Rock 'n' Roll Fever, You Do This to Me, Ten Feet Tall

** for I Cried Today, We're All right Now

AC/DC "Rock Or Bust" 2014***

I recently got this CD as a Christmas present (cheers, guys!) and it was a good choice. You always know what you're getting with AC/DC -or do you? After all, Angus Young and co. are not getting any younger. The other constant member of the band, his brother Malcolm, had to regrettably quit the band due to the onset of dementia. Everybody agrees that his rhythm guitar riffs were an essential part of the band's sound, so how much has his absence changed the band? Did Angus snatch the chance to write that rock mini-opera he always wanted? Is it time for that romantic ballad, to show that metalheads have feelings too? After all, even Metallica write ballads and they're fuckin' heavy motherfuckers (I'm writing this in metallica-ish, the language where 2 in every 3 words are "fuck"). Well, let's put it this way...Remember what happened when Coca-Cola replaced their traditional product with the new "improved" Coke? The rage, the nervous breakdowns, the riots until they brought back the old recipe? And that was only a beverage. AC/DC is an institution! Mess with the formula? No sir-ee, this is as pure as it gets. Producer Brendan O' Brian (Pearl Jam, Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine) keeps it simple, lean and mean by removing all the fat - at 11 songs in 35 minutes, this is the band's shortest album ever. Malcolm is seamlessly substituted by his nephew Stevie Young - not the son of younger brother Angus, of course, but neither of older brother George Young guitarist of  the Easybeats or even older brother Alex Young bass player of The Grapefruit. No, Stevie is the son of the even older brother, Stephen Young (who presumably pre-dated rock'n'roll and thus didn't play in any bands). Which accounts for why the band still looks like a bunch of old geezers -Angus' nephew is almost 60 himself... Now back to the record itself: The lyrics are, as always, about rocking, drinking and having sex. The band's philosophy is summed up in the opening song's chorus "In Rock We Trust - It's Rock Or Bust!". Great riff and great chorus - I picture it already: 60.000 mouths singing it all together, fists pumping the air, the crowd moving like the sea in a storm... Second track "Let's Play Ball" is another future classic, destined to accompany the highlight reels at sports shows for decades to come.“Rock The Blues Away” somehow reminds me of John Fogerty and "Miss adventure" sports another nice riff and some "na na na"'s, just for variation. "Dogs Of War" is the closest the album comes to heavy metal - I could swear I've heard something similar by Accept. The following tracks are equally enjoyable but their sameness starts to weigh on you. "Rock The House" stands out with its bluesy Zeppelin sound but the CD ends with 2 more predictable numbers "Sweet Candy" and "Emission Control", the latter title an embarrassingly puerile pun. Not that it makes any difference of course - you don't listen to AC/DC for their insights into the human condition. Let's hope they'll just continue to soldier on despite the losses, because they've obviously still got what it takes. If not, "Rock Or Bust" should make a fine final statement...

I tried to capture the cd cover gimmick, with the words "AC/DC" seemingly exploding as you look at them

**** for Rock or Bust, Play Ball, Rock the Blues Away, Rock the House

*** for Miss Adventure, Dogs of War, Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder, Hard Times, Baptism by Fire, Sweet Candy

** for Emission Control

AC/DC "LIVE" 1992 ****

This one just came with mail order from the fair city of Leipzig (I've never actually been there but I like to imagine it as a beautiful medieval town). There is a single and a double CD edition, this (2CD) supposedly being a "special collector's edition" but very easy to find and cheap (especially second hand, as this one was). Most AC/DC fans swear by the first live album (with Bon Scott) but this one reads like a greatest hits set, so I thought I'd try it. Well, I didn't regret it: the band is super tight and the performances are both professional and enthusiastic (but then, they always are-check them on youtube). If there ever was doubt whether Brian Johnson could fill Bon Scott's shoes, this album should have dispersed it, as he handles older material extremely well. Despite releasing some below-par records in the 80's, it's obvious that at that point in their career the band were on top of their game live. Having recently seen their latest dvd from (the fair city of -as I imagine it, that is) Buenos Aires, the band is still great but, when you compare the 2 albums, it's obvious that Brian Johnson's voice isn't what it used to be back then. I won't do a track-by-track presentation, as I'll be presenting their studio counterparts in the future. Three songs are notably different from the studio versions, as they're presented in the form of elongated jams ("Jailbreak", "High Voltage", "Highway to Hell") but otherwise the performances are tight and never let up. Overall, the album is a fun, hit-packed collection that flows extremely well, except for these small nuisances: A) the 2CD edition includes some relatively weaker songs from their then-current albums, creating a lull in quality somewhere in the middle of the first CD and B) the songs fade in and out instead of running consecutively, thus ruining the illusion of a "live" concert. Nevertheless, given the absence of a Best-Of, this could be a good place for the novice to start, as it contains all the hits... 

**** for Thunderstruck, Back In Black, Moneytalks, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, T.N.T.

*** for Shoot To Thrill, Who Made Who, The Jack, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Hells Bells, Are You Ready, Thats The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll, High Voltage, You Shook Me All Night Long, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

** for Sin City, Heatseeker, Fire Your Guns, Jailbreak, The Razors Edge, Bonny