Monday, October 27, 2008

Black Ice

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a big AC/DC fan (would you agree, Jed?).  They have managed to stay a pure rock band for over 30 years now and their discology is legendary.  They are also one of the few bands to manage to lose their lead singer, come back with a lead singer of a completely different style, and remain incredibly successful.

Personally, I prefer the Bon Scott era.  T.N.T, Big Balls, The Jack, Live Wire, High Voltage, Ride On, Dirty Deeds, Ain’t No Fun, Dog Eat Dog, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let Their Be Rock, Problem Child, Down Payment Blues, Sin City, Highway to Hell, Girl’s Got Rhythm, If You Want Blood, and on and on remain a classic sensation of true rock. 

Then came the untimely death of Bon Scott, and a new era began with Brian Johnson as the lead singer.  Most bans die at this point.  Not AC/DC.  Despite already being successfully all over the world, they continued to release a string of hits.  Hells Bells, Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Have A Drink On Me, For Those About to Rock, Let’s Get It Up, Shake Your Foundations, Sink the Pink, Who Made Who, Thunderstruck, Hail Caesar, Ballbreaker, and on and on. 

One of the great things about AC/DC is that they have never felt the need to “reinvent” themselves.  They just keep rocking it. 

My wonderful wife, Wendy, knowing and anticipating my every need and want, bought me the new AC/DC album, Black Ice, for my birthday.  I’ve given it a first listen and thought I would offer my overtly biased opinion. 

Overall, it’s an average to slightly above average album for AC/DC.  Bear in mind that every AC/DC album has that much more to live up to.  It continues the tradition of the heavy beat, soaring guitar, and pressing vocals.  Pure Rock ‘n’ Roll.  There are a few standout songs, but there weren’t any blockbusters in my first take.  It’s a very fun album to listen to and certainly keeps your head banging ever-so-slightly in oblivion to any effort to stop it. 

Go buy it and you won’t be disappointed in the purchase, but don’t expect it to live up to the standards of Let Their Be Rock or Back In Black. 

Feel free to name your favorite AC/DC song in the comments.  Mine is Ride On.

BTW, I prefer the 10 minute version off of the Bonfire collection, Disk 3.

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2011 hrs
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  1. Back in Black.  You just can’t beat that guitar riff.  It was also the title track of an ablum that showed AC/DC was back in a big way—a great relief.  I hope they add Milwaukee to their tour.  If only I had worn hearing protection during all those performances of For Those About to Rock…

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 27, 2008 at 2210 hrs


  2. Its a Long Way To The Top. You have to love the bagpipes!

    When I’m in a coding groove AD/DC always keeps me focused on the task.

    Posted by LibertyNews on October 27, 2008 at 2211 hrs


  3. He emerges from the shadows to proclaim “Hells Bells”...and if you’ve ever seen my license plate…you KNOW I’m an AC/DC fan….(and a Navy Vet)

    Posted by Pete Fanning on October 28, 2008 at 0609 hrs


  4. “She’s Got The Jack”.  How was I to know that she’d been shuffled before?

    Posted by steveegg on October 28, 2008 at 0633 hrs


  5. I’ve been a fan of AC/DC since 1978 when I heard Big Balls and Dirty Deeds. Black Ice sorta reminds me of the tunes from Back In Black and earlier.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 28, 2008 at 0719 hrs


  6. Asking someone to name their favorite AC/DC song is a bit like asking someone to pick their favorite child.  How can you do it?  “Down Payment Blues” and “What’s Next to the Moon” are on my short list.  “Ride On” could very well be the best blues rock song ever written.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 28, 2008 at 0835 hrs


  7. A tie between You Shook Me All Night Long and Money Talks.

    Posted by Peter on October 28, 2008 at 1709 hrs


  8. A couple things keep this from greatness:

    The lyrics suck. Okay, so I realize you don’t turn to AC/DC for poetry, and Bon Scott set a really high bar, but after eight years is this really the best they could do? I’d expect better from a fifth-grader who was told to write a dozen songs using the words “hard,” “rock” and “gun” as often as possible. Admittedly, Brian Johnson hasn’t sung much that made sense since Back in Black, where producer Mutt Lange helped with the lyrics, but still.

    And the solos aren’t much better. Angus used to play some amazing lead—his guitar weeps on Ride On and the solo at the end of Back in Black was a knockout. On Black Ice each solo is basically a short squall of random notes at the same place in each song. What the hell?

    Take away the words and the solos and you’ve got some great riffs—but that doesn’t make a classic.

    AC/DC favorites? Powerage is among the most criminally overlooked albums of the past 30 years, period, and even better than Highway to Hell (for the record, I’m in the “Revolver is better than Sgt. Pepper” camp too). As far as tracks: Overdose, Gone Shootin, Sin City, It’s a Long Way (Lucinda Williams covers it on her new CD), Gimme a Bullet, Have a Drink on Me.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 29, 2008 at 1148 hrs


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