AC/DC

Let's get one thing straight from the start: AC/DC rock. They rock hard, thoroughly and consistently. More so than nearly every other band. It also goes without saying that AC/DC's strength is also inherently their weakness. They rock, but they don't do much else. They are famous for basically putting out the same album for the past twenty years. Sometimes this gets conflated with the claim that they put out the same album throughout the entirety of their career. This, though, is erroneous. You see, for the first five years or so of their career AC/DC were also a relatively innovative and, above all, exciting band. And they still rocked.

Well, what's the reason for this period of artistic merit? It all comes down to the singers. AC/DC began their career with Australian hooligan Bon Scott who was the very epitome of rock'n'roll. (Legend has it his post-mortem report literally stated that he had "drunk himself to death" after he choked on his own vomit.) As well as living hard and playing hard Scott was also a witty, distinctive and charismatic vocalist. Geordie replacement Brian Johnson was not. He was a generic and wholly uninteresting vocalist, much like the music AC/DC subsequently produced, and where Bon was humorous and not without a bit of loveable macho swagger, jolly but with more than a hint of danger, Johnson just comes across as a dirty, dwarfish pervert. Paradoxically AC/DC's best album, Back in Black if you need it spelling out, was actually released during Johnson's era. For what it's worth I don't personally dislike Johnson, and it obviously wasn't his fault Scott had to be replaced, I just think his output with the band (one album aside) fails to match their energetic and interesting beginnings. And I guess I barely need to tell you that my AC/DC collection focuses, almost exclusively, on the Bon Scott era.

From: Anders Hedman

I read your AC/DC reviews. I'd just like to point out that not all of AC/DC's songs use the title as the chorus. "Love Song" from the Australian High Voltage album has a different chorus.

From: T&L Kunkel

I am not excatly sure "who" Jack Feeny thinks he is,,,,but an AC/DC critic he is not!!!!! You say you personaly don't have anything against Brian Johnson,,,,,hogwash,,,,tell the truth Jack!! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read your words and see that Brian doesn't have a chance!! Yes Bon was great but he was what was holding AC/DC back from obvious greatness,,,that's where Brian came in letting Angus and the boys let the music do the talking!!!! They always were, always have been and always will be the pinacle of classic rock and roll !!
Jack give your bias keyboard a break and let the people enjoy and find out about AC/DC the way it was meant to happen,,,,,,thruogh the music,,, not from some bias opinion from some obscure human in the middle of nowhere,,,,,,
Regards ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a true AC/DC fan who likes all there songs and both lead singers!!!!!

The early AC/DC releases are very confusing. Being that rarest of commodities, an Australian band (although Johnson's entrance meant three of the band were in fact born in Britain, the Young brothers having been born in Scotland), their early albums did not get an international release until they started to make it big. I think 1977's Let There Be Rock was their first album to achieve simultaneous international release. They originally released an album called High Voltage in Australia alone which contained tracks from their debut EP, Jailbreak '74, plus some others. The High Voltage available in CD remaster format is this one, though, which I think is an international release containing completely different songs from the Australian version. Whereas the Australian High Voltage isn't supposed to be very good, this one certainly is. Given they were basically a bar-band at this stage this album is certainly quite an accomplishment. It perhaps lacks some of the excitement of the later Scott releases but song for song this is a remarkably consistent album. It contains some apparent "fan favourites" and indeed some songs that still remain in their live set even now. Certainly "The Jack" and "T.N.T." are two of AC/DC's most famous songs. In both cases I think this might be slightly undeserved but I guess they are essentially AC/DC songs, "The Jack", in particular, which is virtually swimming in Scott's crude innuendo. In fact most songs on here are swimming in crude innuendo. I don't think Scott really hit his peak until Let There Be Rock. This is still a remarkably, and perhaps surprisingly, good album, though. The opening "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (and that's the last time I spell it out in full) is one of the superior cuts on the album and proof that even at the very outset of their career they were more exciting than when they were at their commercial peak. I don't think the bagpipes add much to the mix and I guess they are just there as a play on the Young's Scottish-ness (as if the first names Angus and Malcolm didn't give it away in the first place). Rod Stewart used to like doing that as well. Scots, eh? They make me sick. I don't mind if they keep it behind closed doors but when they come forcing it in my face is when I get annoyed. Scots is just plain wrong. I am the voice of common sense. Speaking of common sense, it also ensures that I am able to laud the energetic "Live Wire" and title track, "High Voltage". "Live Wire" is probably my favourite track on the album with Scott's brilliant, impassioned cry for the chorus. A lot of the songs on here go on for over five minutes which is perhaps a little unnecessary but then I guess this is 1976. Thankfully these sort of seventies rock excesses would get ironed out by their peak. It's hardly as if AC/DC produced varied and flowing songs that justified such a length. It is just the same riff for a further two minutes than is necessary. "The Jack" goes on too long as well. Thankfully "High Voltage" doesn't. I guess the instant reprise on "Little Lover" is actually quite a good touch. "Rock 'n' Roll Singer" is another favourite of mine and despite going on for just over five minutes I don't seem to mind. As for the album itself, the music isn't as varied as it would be on later Scott albums but the quality of the songs all but makes up for it. An excellent (international) start for the band.

For this album AC/DC certainly tried to make their routine more varied but, unfortunately, fairly unsuccessfully. Obviously I don't want to say that was always the case with their early albums but for this one, at any rate, a more varied approach does not make for a better album. Again there are release issues with this album. Either it was released in Australia alone as an album in 1976 or it was never originally released at all and is just a hastily put-together compilation. At either rate it wasn't actually given an international release until 1981, after Scott's death. Thankfully this is practically the last such issue that affects an album. Back to the music itself and precisely the failed variation. Well, it is not all failed and the songs are definitely evidence of a slightly more mature approach to songwriting. Well I did say slightly and I certainly don't mean mature in terms of lyrics. Indeed Scott's lyrics on here are at times almost repugnant in their crude innuendo. Witness the cleverly but repugnantly titled "Love at First Feel" or the entirety of "Big Balls". The latter's premise is entirely the ambiguity between "balls" as posh dances and "balls" as...well, you know. What a truly odd song, certainly the most different on the album, and not one that I really like. I guess if you like that sort of level of humour you might like it but personally I find it too ridiculous. "The Rocker" is taken at break-neck speed, probably one of the fastest songs you'll ever hear, and is a sort of perverted old-school rock'n'roll. It is better than "Big Balls" but it still doesn't quite hit the mark. The area where Scott's compositions are entirely superior to Johnson's is in the speed. Some of the songs to come are just bewilderingly exciting. As opposed to "The Rocker" which is just bewildering. "Ride On" is also a different approach and ends up as probably the most laid-back song they'd ever done - successfully, at least. It is actually the only Scott-era composition that appears on the later Who Made Who compilation although I couldn't tell you what that signifies. Like the other last three compositions, which it is sandwiched in between, it goes on a bit too long but it ain't too bad overall. The problem is these varied songs just don't match the consistent quality on High Voltage. They would get these things right on the next three albums, though. Well, what about this more mature song-writing I mentioned, that no doubt raised a smirk for some of you. The title track is a bit more mature. More polished anyway, with a more subtle riff to boot. And then there is "Problem Child": their first great song. That riff I could just hear forever, it is just sooooooo perfect. And Scott's vocal performance is about as good as it ever was. The macho swagger that he adopts for the song it just so befitting of the lyrics, which are also the best he'd penned up to this point. Superlative after superlative. My only minor criticism is that it is unnecessarily reprised which, unlike with "Little Lover", fails to really add to the song. Still they at least acknowledged that with its subsequent inclusion on the international versions of Let There Be Rock. For some reason the second half of the album doesn't really grab me as much as the first. "Ride On", which I've already mentioned, is fine and the climatic "Squealer" is crude but not without its worth. "There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'", and although it ain't their fault, just sounds far too much like Spinal Tap's "Tonight We're Gonna Rock" or whatever it's called. Think back, I'm sure you'll remember it. Although going on for almost seven minutes, which is far too long, "Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round to Be a Millionaire)" is probably my pick of the second half. I like its slow-building climax in particular. Oh and what do you know? Angus Young developed that tapping technique a good two years before Eddie Van Halen ("Love at First Feel") although it is fairly unlikely the latter would have been familiar with AC/DC's work at this stage. Anyhow, this album certainly shows what AC/DC were capable of. Unfortunately there are just a few too many creases that need ironing out. Still, at least they didn't just regurgitate High Voltage. They wouldn't be doing that sort of thing for at least another...ooh, four years.

An early peak for AC/DC and the things that made the Scott-era so great are firmly in place. Just witness the madcap rush of "Whole Lotta Rosie". Simply one of the greatest rock songs ever. Not to mention the fact that the rest of the songs on here are all at the very least good. It is still a little rough around the edges, Mutt Lang ain't producing yet, and the song-writing perhaps isn't at its peak but this album is still evidence of how great the original AC/DC were. Like I said earlier this is the first AC/DC album to receive an international release and therefore such catalogue problems are all but cleared up. There is still one sticking point on this album and that is the inclusion of "Problem Child" again when the Australian releases had "Crapsody in Blue" on them. Apparently "Crapsody in Blue" isn't a bad song (I've not heard it) but I don't really mind that much. Obviously if you have both this album and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap there is little point in having identical versions of the same song on both albums (although the unnecessary reprise is cut on this album) but it does mean this album is improved in its own right. As you might expect "Problem Child" is one of the best tracks on here, although obviously in better company, and therefore the album as a whole is improved. I guess "Crapsody in Blue" might be a better song, but I doubt it. Anyway, the variation is much more successful on this album. You only need hear the bizarre yet brilliant title track. A truly electric riff (the sort they wouldn't be doing post-Scott) finds Scott half-preaching/half-narrating the history of rock music. Utterly odd but an electrifying song. Thankfully they would reprise that riff on the next album; although some of you may regard that as a criticism. Speaking of electrifying how about "Whole Lotta Rosie"? Yeah, how about it? What a great song. Perhaps the very definition of an electrifying song. It is just so, so exhilarating. Again the sort of song that just wasn't matched under Johnson. The lyrics concern, of course, Bon's encounter with a vastly over-weight groupie or prostitute. In terms of simply great song-writing we turn to the superbly titled "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be". You can tell the group must have been pleased with this album by the way they keep recycling the riffs from it. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be", of course, being turned into the admittedly brilliant "What Do You Do for Money Honey" from Back in Black. When the riff first strikes up I half expect to hear Johnson's nasal whine; "you're riding in cars...etc." Well anyway "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" is a great song. Unusually, the beginning of the album is actually the weakest moment with the merely good "Go Down" and "Dog Eat Dog". Both are good songs and easily on a par with the material produced thus far but neither reach the heights of the rest of the album. I quite like the word-play on "Dog Eat Dog" ("...eat cat too") though. A couple of songs unmentioned? Well, let's mention them then. "Bad Boy Boogie" is essentially the same lyrical premise of "Problem Child" and done just as well. "Overdose" is maybe a bit slow-moving to start with but it soon gets going. I don't know about the first few lines, though: "I never smoked many cigarettes, I never drank much booze..." - who the hell are you trying to kid, Bon? Okey-dokey, here we have AC/DC's first great album. And little more needs to be said. Or at least I can't be bothered to say it.

Oh dear. This could have been so good, AC/DC's best album. Some of the songs on here are just so good. Unfortunately some of them just plain aren't. It is just a little bit too inconsistent to be ranked as high as the albums it is sandwiched between. I would venture, though, that this is the essential Bon Scott album. He is at his scintillating best throughout. His lyrics are also some of his best as well. My favourite couplet being on album opener "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation": "you say that you want respect, honey for what? - Everything that you've done for me...huh, thanks a lot" Truly brilliant. It is not often you're going to see AC/DC lyrics praised but I really think Scott excels himself on this album. And what about "Kicked in the Teeth"? TWO FACED WOMAN WITH YOUR TWO FACED LIEEEEEEEEEES. What an opening to a song that is. In fact "Kicked in the Teeth" is just one of the best songs AC/DC ever did. It just so amazingly exhilarating. If you need evidence for my claim that AC/DC with Scott are so much more exciting than under Johnson than look no further than that particular number. They make the well judged decision to re-use the "Let There Be Rock" riff for it, which propels it along at a fantastic speed. And while we're talking about recycling riffs they actually have the audacity to recycle riffs within a single album. "Riff Raff" also uses a derivative of "Let There Be Rock" and although obviously a good song (on riff alone) it fails to match the heights of "Kicked in the Teeth" mainly on account of Scott's ferocity on the latter. "Gimme a Bullet" and "Up to My Neck" are also similarly related although it does mean both are good songs. Stand out tracks no less although you do sort of wish they could have tried a few more riffs on the same album. I guess we shouldn't wish for too much variation, however, as the more tangential songs are what really lets this album down. None more so than the five minute bore-a-thon "Gone Shootin'". I just can't see the point of that song and alongside such gems as "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" and "Kicked in the Teeth" it really lets the album down. "Ride On", from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, is perhaps its inspiration but if they are going to insist on ripping themselves off they should at least stick to their best songs. "Ride On" is superior anyway. The sinister "What's Next to the Moon" I just don't get either. It sounds quite threatening, I guess, but where's the energy, the pace? The album really dips in the middle, actually. I'm not even wildly keen on "Sin City". It is pretty good but, again, the sinister vibe refrains the song too much. Not enough blood and guts. "Down Payment Blues" I quite like and is, for once on this album, a decent change of pace. It is actually quite similar to the brooding, metallic blues on the first album. I also quite like the idea of Bon Scott owning a cat. I bet that is one mixed-up moggie. Rather strangely the album actually begins and ends on a high. The middle bit is a little patchy at times. The closing "Kicked in the Teeth" I've already hyped ad nauseaum but I wish to make clear that "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" is also a real classic. What a number that is, another of AC/DC's best ever compositions. Unfortunately, though, despite the potential this isn't quite one of AC/DC's best albums. At times it is truly electric and Scott is most definitely on top of his game, unfortunately subtlety and variation aren't particularly AC/DC's strong points.

I suppose I ought to mention that a live album was released in between this and Powerage called, bizarrely, If You Want Blood. I say "bizarrely" because the actual song, "If You Want Blood (You've Got it)", well, the studio version anyway, doesn't actually appear until this album. I might buy the live album at some stage as I'm sure it is a pretty good compliment to the Bon Scott collection. Anyway, this album, Bon's last, is really the peak of their productivity. Mutt Lang is producing for the first time which gives the album a much more polished feel to it than the others, Let There Be Rock in particular, miss out on. To be honest I don't think it is a noticeably good or bad thing. What really stands out on the album is the quality of songs. I guess the backing vocals are perhaps a bit more prominent but there's nothing to really shake an angry fist at. It is also, as far as I can tell, the first overt reference to satanism although Johnson did up the Satanist quota a bit further. Scott was just in it for a good time. It is also wonderfully apt that Scott's swansong should start with the song "Highway to Hell". "I'm on the highway to Hell" - you can say that again. I'm not saying anyone deserves to die (apart from the likes of Hitler and Elton John) but with Scott's death it is almost as if it was his pre-determined fate. Anyway, a true rock 'n' roll star. As for this album I was originally in two minds whether to give it 10* as I desperately wanted to prove my "Scott is better than Johnson" point but, unfortunately, the slight dip in quality on the second half is enough to drag the rating down one. I would venture, though, that it is the best album they produced under Scott. And what about that immaculate first half? Well, the first four songs anyway; I'm not that keen on "Beating Around the Bush". The title track, you all know it, and you all know it is great. Maybe a little overtly commercial for the hardened fans however I can find no fault with it whatsoever. An AC/DC classic. Similarly, so is the irrepressible "Girl's Got Rhythm". I know some acca-dacca fans take issue with the commercial appeal of this album but I've always tried to argue that simply being played a lot on the radio does not necessitate that a song is bad. Some foolhardy people may even try to argue the opposite, although I'd never stretch that far. I actually think Bon Scott sounds a lot like Tina Turner on this album but that may just be because I heard "Private Dancer" a lot, at the same time of consuming this album. Well, in any case, you can't fault Scott's performance on "Girl's Got Rhythm", a really climatic performance. "Walk All Over You" and "Touch Too Much" are both more mid-paced efforts although the sorts of songs AC/DC were adapting their stride to, successfully at this stage. The power-chord intro to "Walk All Over You" is maybe a bit pompous and the band's backing vocals are most noticeable on that number. I probably prefer "Touch Too Much", although there ain't much in it. Again Scott's climatic vocals on "Touch Too Much" are a real treat. "Beating Around the Bush" is probably the last fast song they'd ever do and unfortunately it ain't one of their best. It is still a good song but "Kicked in the Teeth" it ain't. Like I said earlier the second half slips a little into slightly less, well interesting songs. "Shot Down in Flames" and "Get it Hot" do have the irrepressible Scott charm but as songs they are merely good. "Love Hungry Man" is the song I really have issue with as it definitely slips into MOR format. Thankfully the side is saved by the brilliantly energetic "If You Want Blood" complete with a blood-curdling scream from Bon for the chorus. The set also ends on a high with the threatening "Night Prowler". If you are interested in the lyrical premise I direct you to the Rolling Stones' "Midnight Rambler" as it seems to concern exactly the same person. Still, like "Midnight Rambler" it is a good song and the music more than matches the threatening atmosphere set by the lyrics. And here we come to the end. Unfortunately there are no more Bon Scott albums to enjoy as he was already "on his way to the promised land." In comes Johnson and AC/DC soon become boring behemoths. The funny thing is, though, it isn't exactly downhill from here.

So here's the story: Bon Scott dies a true rock 'n' roll death so the remaining members of the band waste little time (was he unpopular with them?) and recruit some dwarfish geordie called Brian Johnson and promptly turn into dull rock behemoths that make buckets of money by making the same boring album over and over again. Well, that's only half the story. Before they became boring rock behemoths regurgitating the same shit album over and over they released this album. And this album is a great album. Paradoxically their best album. Who woulda thought it? Some reckon that Scott had already written the tunes for this album and Johnson simply took the credit but, personally, tempting though it is, I doubt it's true. Maybe the odd song might have been a Scott number, "You Shook Me All Night Long" perhaps, but this album doesn't really seem that similar to the old material. I really can't explain why this album is so good when its successors are not so I won't even hazard a guess. Suffice to say, somehow, a substantially lesser incarnation of a band released their best album overall. Strange but true. I guess, to give a bit of credit to Johnson, his singing on here is all pretty good. He's not Scott, barely possessing a whisker of his charisma, but he is at least relatively distinctive on this album. Well, if I don't know why this album is so good what, at least, makes this album so good? Well, that would be the songs. All but maybe three ("Shake a Leg", "Have a Drink on Me" and "Given the Dog a Bone") are nothing short of great. I'm even pushing it by claiming "Given a Dog a Bone" isn't nothing short of excellent. "Shake a Leg", surprisingly, is the fastest song on the album but for some reason, like "Beating Around the Bush", it is still lacklustre. And "Have a Drink on Me" maybe edges towards generic and is also a rather tasteless "tribute" to Bon. But the rest? Jeeeeeeeeeeesus. Well, Sataaaaaaaaan, actually, in terms of religious exclamations. You see, with Johnson's arrival Satan has become a slightly more prominent role. No more is this true than the album opener "Hells Bells". A truly exceptional song. Beginning, and thus the album, with a bell toll (what else) the song is slowly pulled into life, almost deceptively as before you know it Johnson starts singing and we have a song on our hands. Not just any song either but an absolute real cracker. The intro is a similar, but better executed, idea to the intro of "Overdose". As if you'd own Let There Be Rock but not this album. Did you know this is one of the biggest selling albums of all time? It is funny but despite the public being generally idiots about art (well, music at any rate) they sometimes get it absolutely spot on. Dark Side of the Moon as well as being one of the greatest albums of all time is also one of the biggest selling and let's not forget the fortunes amassed by the likes of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones etc. And the Eagles. I guess it suggests that great music is often commercial but the implications of that are too deep to go into in an album review. An AC/DC album review no less! If anything I should be talking about booze and fucking and stuff. Fucking, eh? That's a rather glossy way of putting it as half the time it seems as if Johnson is alluding to rape. Well, truly great song aside, the title of "Let Me Put My Love Into You" doesn't leave much to the imagination. And the even better "What Do You Do for Money Honey" ain't about chastity or purity, that's for sure. Oh God, what about "Shoot to Thrill"? "Too many women and too many pills." What a great song and I just love that 7#9 riff as well. "Pull the trigger....!" I've gone on too long as it is but it barely seems worth mentioning "You Shook Me All Night Long" and the title track. I'm guessing you, dear reader, are already familiar with those particular classics. How could you not be? One last word, "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", despite being a big single success, isn't a favourite of mine. Put into the context of this album, though, it still means it's great. Better than anything on the following album at any rate. And let's leave it at that. You must own this album; "must" used in the ambiguous sense of either a command (eg. "you must own [ie. buy] this album") or a presumption (eg. "you must [already] own this album"). Are we clear? Oh and I guess, to be charitable, I should say at least once: Johnson's not all bad. Happy now?

From: Brian Spinner

I realize that this web site yours and what you think is all that truly matters. But Back in Black may have been released in the Johnson era but it was wrote in the Scott era. Johnson deserves credit for the bluesy ac/dc of Stiff Upper Lip but not from the rock of Back in Black and prior. Sorry for taking up your time with my opinion but you gave out your e-mail for this reason i assume.

From: William Pioda

Clearly not a true ACDC fan, you have an extraordinary inexplicable bias against Brian Johnson. You begin your review of Back In Black by branding Johnson as a 'dwarfish geordie' and that ACDC turned into 'dull rock behemoths' as soon as Scott 'drunk himself to death', a point that you glorify in the beginning of your reviews and seem to favor that to a sensible or conscious death. You claim that Johnson restrained the band. This would become obviously false if you actually tried to listen to ACDC after the death of Bon Scott. Instead, since your collection consists only of Scott albums, you immediately state that Johnson was 'not half-bad' then go on to discredit him further. The 'dwarfish geordie' description of Brian Johnson is senseless, and even if you did have an ounce of knowledge about ACDC, you would recognise the talent of Johnson and not focus on his physical appearance. Also, you focus on the sexual content of ACDC's "Let Me Put My Love Into You" as something to be shocked about. Since when is ACDC church-material and a moral standard? Also, you say that "What You Do For Money, Honey" is not about 'charity and purity'. Since all of the Bon Scott albums were about charity and purity, you would be shocked by this inappropriate title. That's funny, Bon Scott about chastity and purity. What the hell is so good about Scott anyway? His lyrics are immature and the guitar is almost lifeless throughout most of his career with ACDC. Some prostitutes are more discreet and about purity than the average Bon Scott song. You say that "My Love Into You" leaves little to the imagination and is about rape. How about one of Scott's songs,"Love At First Feel"? How much does that leave to the imagination? Or even worse, "Big Balls" which features the refrain 'Oh I've got big balls, I've got big balls, And they're such big balls, Dirty big balls, And he's got big balls, And she's got big balls, But we've got the biggest balls of them all'. How mature is that. I would expect that to come out of a compensating 14 year old and not a rock god as you obviously think he is.
Try listening to real ACDC
-A true ACDC fan

And so I'm bored with AC/DC. As the Clash might have put it: "I'm so bored with A.C.D.C." This is number one in a long stretch of uninspired albums. Over twenty years worth, unfortunately. I don't listen to this album very often and quite frankly it pales into insignificance compared with the albums produced under Scott. I'd like to give this 6*, or maybe even 5*, on account of it being boring, uninspired and generic but that would be allowing my personal feelings obscure the actual objective quality of the album. Although it is just a Back in Black rip-off at least Back in Black was a truly superb album. The real problems start arising when they do For Those About to Rock rip-offs. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and say this is still quite a decent album. The songs are, mostly, at least memorable and Johnson's singing ain't noticeably worse than on Back in Black, although he hardly has the songs to match. And so, after all my hyperbole, I end up awarding this the same grade I gave out to Dirty Deeds. Bear in mind, though, that whereas Dirty Deeds was a top-down album, that is an album below a usual standard, this is more bottom-up album in that it is a good album relative to a mediocre band. In other words, whereas Dirty Deeds was a semi-glorious-failure this is nothing more than an uninteresting play-safe venture. And enough with my made-up terms. And another thing why is the title track so popular? It bores me half to death. Well not entirely but it exactly exemplifies what is going drastically wrong for AC/DC. It is so mid-paced throughout and the silly title means the chorus sounds unnecessarily strained. And the cannon effects are just stupid. I guess it is kind of indicative that "For Those About to Rock" should be a wilful embodiment of the "new" AC/DC. Nu-AC/DC perhaps? Well, anyway it ain't a terrible song and there are definitely some noticeably superior ones. "Evil Walks" seems more than a little similar (Shock! Horror!) to "Walk All Over You" what with its pompous power chords but given it is a Bon Scott rip-off I like it. The chorus is pretty good and all in all is probably the best track on here. The album actually ends on a semi-high with "Night of the Long Knives" (an odd title, surely not actually concerned with the historical event?) and "Spellbound". Both have sufficiently hummable choruses. Actually one thing that this album actually gets right is hummable choruses. Half the time I don't remember which song is which until the chorus kicks in. Although that might just be because AC/DC insist on every song they ever write (and I mean every) using the title as a line in the chorus; usually just repeated a few times. I also admire the way they include an ode to a fish: "Cod". Oh no wait, that's actually "C.O.D.", short for Care Of the Devil. Very clever. Well no, actually, it is pretty half-brained to be honest. Still Johnson revels in his retarded satanism on that number. And "Snowballed" has me a bit confused what with the verses actually breaking out of their usual painfully slow stride. Still they successfully manage to sacrifice melody for pace. (That last sentence was sarcastic.) "Put the Finger on You" and "Inject the Venom" are both standard generic AC/DC. So's "Let's Get it Up", I guess, but a bit less generic. Well, you know the score. Given that they at least regurgitated a great album the songs on here are all half decent. It ain't even that dull. Actually...it probably is.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk