AC/DC ~ Rock Or Bust (album review) ... Stripped down house rockin'!

Style: heavy metal, blues-rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 2014
Home: Australia

Members: Angus Young ~ lead guitar
Brian Johnson ~ lead vocals
Stevie Young ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Cliff Williams ~ bass/b. vocals
Phil Rudd ~ drums

The title track opens the album with a simple guitar riff lasting a couple bars. Its nothing crazy, or interesting like "Thunderstuck" or "Hell's Bells." Just a basic groove soon joined by bass, drums, vocals. Lead guitar lines are thrown in sparsely until a frantic solo closes the song at 3 minutes. Its stripped back & bare bones. Its AC/DC like you haven't heard in years. Being a lean blues-rock machine is the name of the game here. Its their shortest album of 35 minutes, but its a solid 35 minutes that holds up as well as any other album. This is their 15th album, yet somehow take the very basic blues-rock template which they've done without variation & make it feel fresh. They strip it down, simplify it & had me hooked from start to finish. There's a lot of breathing room on the album. Its hard to really describe, other than saying its the opposite of the commercial The Razor's Edge. That's my fave album, but sounds so slick & stuffed compared to this. Check out the gritty blues of "Hard Times" & the bluesy swagger of "Got Some Rock'n'Roll Thunder." I can't remember them have such bluesy grit in awhile, just pure traditional blues. I have to mention "Rock The Blues Away" which sounded like AC/DC does country music a la Kansas. Not what I was expecting. Since originally drafting this a month ago I've come back to this album to listen again & recommended it to a few. I'm pretty much calling it my second fave album & its a must hear. I'd even recommend this over Power Up!.

AB/CD ~ The Rock'N'Roll Devil (album review) ... AC/DC done dirt cheap!

Style: heavy metal, blues rock
Label: BMG
Year: 1992
Home: Sweden

Members: Mats "Braijan + McScot" Leven ~ lead vocals
Bengt "Bengus" Ljungberger ~ guitar/b. vocals
Nalle "Nalcolm" Pahlsson ~ guitar
Jim "Clim" Gustavsson ~ bass
Nicco "Fill Rules" Wallin ~ drums

Additional: Hakan "Saaate" Worminder, Leif "SU" Sundin, Mario Gustavsson, Micke Wiklund, Loa "Ostbage" Stromgren, "Owe "Male Whore" Jakobssen, Timo Vaisanen, the Cherie Boys ~ b. vocals
Micke Huganen ~ lead guitar 

AB/CD is an AC/DC cover band, founded in 1983, that has also done a few albums of their own original music. In terms of singers ... I'll bet folks money that they'll think this is AC/DC's Brian Johnson on first or second listen, or maybe even third listen. The hardcore fan may know the difference, but likely will still be impressed. Its one thing to sing with a gravel tenor, but its another to sound like Brian & have his phrasing. While AB/DC have the same big chorus vocals. As for the music. Maybe its due to the fact I'm not familiar with everything by AC/DC, but the guitar solos are not quite Angus Young, the blues not quite as thick as the rock, the riffs not quite as original & the music not quite as clean. There's not a lot of breathing room here for the music, & that's one thing AC/DC did incredibly well. If it wasn't for the voice, I wouldn't guess this was AC/DC & its the music that will likely make one realize its not Brian with AC/DC. This leads to the obvious question: are they trying to be AC/DC with their originals or a band that just happens to sound like AC/DC, i.e AC/DC doing songs you've never heard. I'm guessing its a bit of both, but more so trying to be AC/DC as their lyrics are very much int he AC/DC mold. While a couple songs have the singer attempting a Bon Scott voice, which he doesn't really pull off so well. That fact makes me think they are trying to be AC/DC, particularly given these Bon songs are thick blues like he was known for. The essence of AC/DC is in their huge blues soaked riffs & productions values where everything has its space. Neither of these things are found here. But, AB/CD is still worth a listen for their frontman's uncanny imitation. Not to be confused with bands of the same name from Germany & Italy.

AC/DC ~ Power Up (album review) ... With as much power as ever!

Style: heavy metal, blues-rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 2020
Home: Australia

Members: Angus Young ~ lead guitar
Brian Johnson ~ vocals
Stevie Young ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Cliff Williams ~ bass/b. vocals
Phil Rudd ~ drums

If AC/DC had closed their legacy with Rock Or Bust many fans felt it would have ended on a satisfactory note, something I agree with. Yet, much to everyone's surprise they returned with more new music in Power Up. What can one say about AC/DC other than they have one sound that they have never strayed far from? After multiple decades the sound should have worn thin or lost its spark, as that's what has happened to every single one of their peers, but somehow every album is welcomed joyously, even though fans know what to expect with the first notes. Perhaps its the fact they have never tried to do anything other than what they know they do well. Every other band with a recognizable sound has tried to experiment with good & bad results. AC/DC have slimmed down or fluffed up, but have essentially kept to the same sound. They've never brought in keyboards or tried a new approach. Perhaps its the fact that their blues-rock always verged on not being trendy, so why not just do what they always do & when success comes it comes. Yet, its also easy to forget that while today their albums might be instant chart-toppers, they have not all been & there have been some albums with lots of forgettable filler. The answer to why AC/DC is successful is an enigma that defies logic & comparison. They just are. Maybe that mystery is what keeps drawing people in. While pondering the above thoughts I thought of Krishna's flute. Krishna is the Supreme Being who is often seen in Hinduism playing a flute. Supposedly the flute is infused with Krishna's divine beauty & thus no one can resist its music. AC/DC might just be enchanted in the same way. They have turned blues-rock into an art form. Its really amazing how they keep it fresh sounding, even when the songs sound like something you've heard before. Enchantment might be the only explanation. Yet, having said all this, digging in there are different sides to the AC/DC sound. Whereas Rock Or Bust was a stripped back gutsy affair, Power Up is much more commercial & sounds like a companion piece to The Razor's Edge, or maybe if The Razor's Edge was made in 2020. Big big riffs, big vocal parts, kick ass rock songs with sex laced through all of them. "Witch's Spell" & "Kick You When You're Down" sound like something I might have heard on The Razor's Edge alongside "Mistress For Christmas." Yet, it isn't all raunchy. "Through The Mists Of Time" might be one of the most sobering & somber tracks of their career. If they ever made a sad power ballad than this is it. After an initial listen of this album I went back to listen to older stuff. Brian's voice has always been raspy, but I hadn't realized how it had changed. He used to have more of a high range, but all that has now just been lost for a rough voice. I would put him in a minority of singers who actually are better now than ever, as they now really are how they were always trying to be. Power Up is a great balls to the wall album, but personally I like the stripped down feeling of Rock Or Bust better & thus would recommend that album first. This album had a bit too much filler & the songs started to blend. On the other hand, if songs sounding alike is the worst I can say about an AC/DC album than we're likely already off to a good start.

AC/DC ~ Back In Black (album review) ... The greatest album of mourning ever!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal, blues-rock
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1980
Home: Australia

Members: Brian Johnson ~ vocals
Angus Young ~ lead guitar
Malcolm Young ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Cliff Williams ~ bass/b. vocals
Phil Rudd ~ drums

 

There are certain songs that have a distinct opening, often a guitar riff, that is so well known it'll turn the head of an entire crowd. For a band with a bassist that moving through four notes never varying the rhythm, with an equally predictable rotating drummer, a singer that has a worse rasp than Rod Stewart or Melissa Ethridge, a rhythm guitarist that's appreciated as much as that guy in Aerosmith who does the same thing, songs that are basically rocking blues & a guitarist who at nearly 60 wears school boys clothes, there are at least two tracks on this album that will have the audience moving, shouting & singing along in pure metal joy. I've actually seen it happen a couple times. It might just be luck cause the songs are relatively simple & don't immediately appear to be hits. On the other hand, it might be the fact that they are so simple compared to every other band that they hit the core of what music is all about across the board, from the sing-a-long memorable lyrics, lots of sexual energy, a head-banging beat & lots of crazy solos. AC/DC have it all, though when they made this now classic album they were debuting a new singer & might have felt that they were on the verge of losing all they worked for. Some albums are so classic it's impossible to touch them. This is one of them. Even if I tried to find something not good about it I don't think I could or at least the act would freeze me with sacrilege. Personally I prefer Brian Johnson over predecessor Bon Scott. For me this is the highlight of the band. What came after was good but never as solid overall as this initial release that was raw, questioning, a bit restrained & a tribute to a late singer. They made some good albums but no classic like this one. For me, the free-spirited wildness of the earlier stuff all came together here into something tempered & addicting. I hate to say this, but I can't imagine the zany Bon Scott singing these songs with the same effect. But, rest his soul.

The Firm ~ The Firm (aka debut) (album review) ... With a firm place in music history!

Style: hard rock, blues-rock
Label: Atlantic Records
Year: 1985
Home: England

Members: Paul Rodgers ~ vocals/guitars
Jimmy Page ~ guitars
Tony Franklin ~ bass/keyboards
Chris Slade ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Steve Dawson ~ trumpet
Paul "Shilts" Weimar, Willie Garnett, Don Weller ~ sax
Sam Brown, Helen Chappelle, Joy Yates ~ b. vocals

This is one of those albums everyone has in their vinyl collection ... & probably don't want to part with it but neither listen to it much either. Even when Paul Rodgers joined Queen ... the album probably got pulled out, looked at nostalgically & maybe Side A listened to ... & well, that says it all about this wanna-be powerhouse. This is one of the legendary supergroups of the 80's, up there with Asia & GTR, staying together long enough to release 2 albums, but the idea is stronger than the outcome as became particularly obvious to the follow-up to this debut Mean Business. It's got all the pieces there for something great - all the recognizable musical bits that forged their own legacies decades earlier - but something just never clicked for The Firm. The foundation just wasn't ... firm enough. Paul Rodgers of Bad Company & Free on vocals is in fine form as always, albeit, as demonstrated in his work with Queen, it's the limited range of a blues belter who doesn't always let loose enough that is his weakest trait. Led Zeppelin guitar god Jimmy Page creates his trademarked layered riffs & arrangements that at moments are reminiscent of later Zeppelin, albeit few of the songs ever really seem to rock out or even dig deep into his blues roots that laced so much of the Zep repertoire. Putting this together with his later reunion with Robert Plant one begins to realize how much John Paul Jones affected Plant's arrangements giving them a spice he seems to often miss & pushing Zeppelin to the forefront of music. Steady beats are laid down by famous bald-headed drummer Chris Slade of Manfred Mann & Uriah Heep & later AC/DC. The relatively unknown Tony Franklin from Roy Harper is on bass, his largest credit being the introduction of the fretless bass into metal, playing a thick & funky bass that gives the album a definite 80's feel. The Firm largely plays it safe, almost too safe at moments. It's an enjoyable listen & Page is always a pleasure, but his joining with David Coverdale a decade later would be far more exciting. Perhaps one of the problem is that this smells of its obvious commercial appeal, something Led Zeppelin never did, proof being that in Britain they refused to allow the release of singles, while Bad Company & Uriah Heep both existed in the shadows of prog-rock that believed in the art of music over pretty much everything else. Albeit, it should be said The Firm is better than I'm probably describing it & there's a reason somewhere why it appears in everyone's collection. It's just that these musicians are put up to such high expectations that one imagines that the album should be better. These guys came from good bands & would return to them in various ways. The Firm just wasn't meant to be, though it did nothing to damage any reputations.

Hell's Belles ~ We Salute You (EP) (album review) ... AC/DC with balls!

Style: Hard Rock, Tribute
Label: self-released
Year: 2005
Home: Seattle

Members: Adrian Conner ~ lead guitar
Jamie Nova ~ vocals
Mandy Reed ~ bass/backing vocals
Lisa Brisbois ~ rhythm guitar/vocals
Melodie Zapata ~ drums

   I bought this album after seeing in concert this tribute band of 5 girls doing their best AC/DC imitation. & when I say best imitation I mean it was so good I was willing to buy a CD of songs I already had done almost note-per-note perfect by imitators. & when I say note-per-note perfect I mean that I've played this EP, the only release by this creatively named outfit, back to back with the original. Tribute bands are funny. You don't listen to them for creativity, you listen to them for duplication skills of bands you can't see live otherwise. If they imitate well they're good. Interpretation can be a death sentence or a bad joke if it goes to far. When you have 5 girls imitating the husky-voiced blues music of an Australian band of nearly 40 years interpretation is hard to avoid. But, these girls do well. The lead singer wears a cap & shakes her fist like Brian Johnson, the lead guitarist dances across the stage with all the right moves with a schoolgirl's skirt while the rhythm section stays immobile in the background. It's a perfect gender bending reinterpretation that stays series & not falling into a joke. There is a slight difference in the singing, of course, but what's here is gruff & closer to Johnson's rasp than I've heard with any other band. The female vocal chords might just be the best for imitating AC/DC. This band has been officially recognized by AC/DC & deserves the accolades. What more can be said? The only funny thing about the group is the overly masculine nature of so much of AC/DC lyrical output. But, if you don't mind a girl singing 'Big Balls' or 'You Shook Me All Night Long' than be prepared to rock all night long. Though, I'll confess that I've always wanted to be in a tribute band. There's something alluring about playing fav songs & imitating a fav artist. I once saw an Adam Ant tribute band advertising on Craig's List for a singer - they even provided the costumes - but I'm way too tall & I'm not that big of a fan. Oh well, maybe the Talking Heads cover band might take me.