Album: '74 Jailbreak
Tracklist:
01. Jailbreak [04:41]
02. You Ain't Got a Hold on Me [03:31]
03. Show Business [04:46]
04. Soul Stripper [06:25]
05. Baby, Please Don't Go [05:00]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1975
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866582
Review:
'74 Jailbreak is an EP by Australian band AC/DC, comprising five hard rock/blues oriented tracks that had previously been released only in Australia. It was released in 1984 in the United States, Canada and Japan. The song "Jailbreak" was also released as a single and a video. The EP was reissued worldwide in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.
The first track is from the Australian version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), while the rest are from the Australian version of the band's debut album, the Australian version of High Voltage, recorded in 1974 and released early the following year.
Album: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Tracklist:
01 - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.flac
02 - Love At First Feel.flac
03 - Big Balls.flac
04 - Rocker.flac
05 - Problem Child.flac
06 - There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'.flac
07 - Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round To Be A Millionaire).flac
08 - Ride On.flac
09 - Squealer.flac
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1976
Recording Company: Albert Recordings.
Catalog Number: 82876866552
Review:
There's a real sense of menace to "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," the title song of AC/DC's third album. More than most of their songs to date, it captured the seething malevolence of Bon Scott, the sense that he reveled in doing bad things, encouraged by the maniacal riffs of Angus and Malcolm Young who provided him with their most brutish rock & roll yet. But for as glorious as the title track was, the entire album served as a call to arms from a group that wanted nothing more than to celebrate the dirtiest, nastiest instincts humans could have, right down to the insurgent anti-authority vibe that runs throughout the record. Take "Big Balls" -- sure, it's a dirty joke, but it's a dirty joke with class overthrow in mind. There's a sense on Dirty Deeds that AC/DC is storming the gates -- they're problem children sick of waiting around to be a millionaire, so they're gonna make their own money, even if they take down others as they go. That's what gives Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap its supercharged, nervy pulse; there's a real sense of danger to this record, something that can't be hidden beneath the jokes. Maybe that's why the album wasn't released in the U.S. until 1981, after Bon's death, after AC/DC had become millionaires -- if it arrived any earlier, it would have been too insurrectionist for the common good.
Album: High Voltage
Tracklist:
01 - It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'roll).flac
02 - Rock'n'roll Singer.flac
03 - The Jack.flac
04 - Live Wire.flac
05 - T.N.T..flac
06 - Can I Sit Next To You Girl.flac
07 - Little Lover.flac
08 - She's Got Balls.flac
09 - High Voltage.flac
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1976
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 8287866642
Review:
One of the perennial complaints about AC/DC is that they've never changed -- and if that's true, High Voltage is the blueprint they've followed all their career. Comprised of highlights from their first two Australian albums -- 1975's TNT and its 1976 follow-up, also entitled High Voltage -- the album has every single one of AC/DC's archetypes. There are songs about rock & roll, slow sleazy blues, high-voltage boogie, double entendres so obvious they qualify as single entendres and, of course, the monster riffs of Angus Young, so big and bold they bruise the listener upon contact. It's those riffs -- so catchy they sound lifted when they're original, so simple they're often wrongly dismissed as easy -- that give the music its backbone, the foundation for Bon Scott to get dirty, and rockers never got quite as dirty as Bon Scott. Scott sounded as if you could catch a disease by listening to him. He sounded like the gateman at hell, somebody who never hid the notion that lurking behind the door are some bad, dangerous things, but they're also fun, too, and he made no apologies for that. But for as primal as High Voltage is, it's also a lot weirder and funnier than it's given credit for, too -- those are bagpipes that solo on "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll)," and "She's Got Balls" is a perversely funny dirty joke. This is music so primal that it's enduring -- it feels like it existed before AC/DC got there, and it will exist long afterward. And if AC/DC did wind up bettering this blueprint in the future, there's no question that this original is still potent, even thrilling, no matter how many times they returned to the well, or how many times this record is played.
Album: Let There Be Rock
Tracklist:
01 - Go Down.flac
02 - Dog Eat Dog.flac
03 - Let There Be Rock.flac
04 - Bad Boy Boogie.flac
05 - Problem Child.flac
06 - Overdose.flac
07 - Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be.flac
08 - Whole Lotta Rosie.flac
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1977
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866672
Review:
Let There Be Rock, the fourth AC/DC album -- and first to see simultaneous international release -- is as lean and mean as the original lineup ever got. Shaved down to the bone -- there are only eight tracks, giving this a lethal efficiency even with a couple of meandering jams -- this is a high-voltage, brutal record, filled with "Bad Boy Boogie." It has a bit of a bluesier edge than other AC/DC records, but this is truly the sound of the band reaching its peak. There's the near majesty of "Let There Be Rock," there's Bon Scott acknowledging with a wink that "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be," and then there's the monumental "Whole Lotta Rosie." Which gets down to a key thing about AC/DC. If Led Zeppelin were celebrating a "Whole Lotta Love," AC/DC got down to the grimy details in their leering tribute to the joys of sex with a plus-sized woman. And that's AC/DC's allure in a nutshell -- it's sweaty, dirty, nasty rock, music that is played to the last call and beyond, and they've rarely done that kind of rock better than they did here.
Album: Powerage
Tracklist:
01. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation [03:37]
02. Down Payment Blues [06:03]
03. Gimme a Bullet [03:21]
04. Riff Raff [05:11]
05. Sin City [04:45]
06. What's Next to the Moon [03:31]
07. Gone Shootin' [05:05]
08. Up to My Neck in You [04:13]
09. Kicked in the Teeth [03:53]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1978
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866452
Review:
Powerage was a first in the sense that it debuted bassist Cliff Williams, but it really is more of a final curtain to the band's early years. It would be the last produced by Vanda & Young, the legendary Australian production team who also helmed hits by the Easybeats, and it was the last before AC/DC became superstars. As such, it's perhaps the most overlooked of their '70s records, also because, frankly, it is the most uneven of them. Not that it's a bad record -- far from it, actually. There are a few genuine classics here, most notably "Down Payment Blues" and "Up to My Neck in You," and there's a real appeal in how Bon Scott's gutter poems of excess are reaching a mythic level; there's a real sense that he truly does believe that rock & roll leads straight to hell on "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation." But overall, the record is just a bit too wobbly, one where the parts don't add up to a record as hard and addictive as before -- but there's still plenty worth hearing here. (allmusic)
Album: Highway To Hell
Tracklist:
01. Highway to Hell [03:28]
02. Girls Got Rhythm [03:23]
03. Walk All Over You [05:10]
04. Touch Too Much [04:27]
05. Beating Around the Bush [03:56]
06. Shot Down In Flames [03:22]
07. Get It Hot [02:34]
08. If You Want Blood (You've Got It) [04:37]
09. Love Hungry Man [04:17]
10. Night Prowler [06:27]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1979
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866682
Review:
Of course, Highway to Hell is the final album AC/DC recorded with Bon Scott, the lead singer who provided the group with a fair share of its signature sleaze. Just months after its release, Scott literally partied himself to death (the official cause cited as acute alcohol poisoning) after a night of drinking, a rock & roll fatality that took no imagination to predict. In light of his passing, it's hard not to see Highway to Hell as a last testament of sorts, being that it was his last work and all, and if Scott was going to go out in a blaze of glory, this certainly was the way to do it. This is a veritable rogue's gallery of deviance, from cheerfully clumsy sex talk and drinking anthems to general outlandish behavior. It's tempting to say that Scott might have been prescient about his end -- or to see the title track as ominous in the wake of his death -- trying to spill it all out on paper, but it's more accurate to say that the ride had just gotten very fast and very wild for AC/DC, and he was simply flying high. After all, it wasn't just Scott who reached a new peak on Highway to Hell; so did the Young brothers, crafting their monster riffs into full-fledged, undeniable songs. This is their best set of songs yet, from the incessant, intoxicating boogie of "Girls Got Rhythm" to "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)." Some of the credit should also go to Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who gives the album a precision and magnitude that the Vanda & Young LPs lacked in their grimy charm. Filtered through Mutt's mixing board, AC/DC has never sounded so enormous, and they've never had such great songs, and they had never delivered an album as singularly bone-crunching or classic as this until now. (AllMusic)
Album: Back In Black
Tracklist:
01. Hells Bells [05:10]
02. Shoot To Thrill [05:17]
03. What Do You Do for Money Honey [03:33]
04. Given the Dog a Bone [03:30]
05. Let Me Put My Love into You [04:16]
06. Back In Black [04:15]
07. You Shook Me All Night Long [03:30]
08. Have a Drink on Me [03:57]
09. Shake a Leg [04:06]
10. Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution [04:15]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1980
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866492
Review:
The first sound on Back in Black is the deep, ominous drone of church bells -- or "Hell's Bells," as it were, opening the album and AC/DC's next era with a fanfare while ringing a fond farewell to Bon Scott, their late lead singer who partied himself straight to hell. But this implies that Back in Black is some kind of tribute to Scott, which may be true on a superficial level -- black is a funeral cover, hell's bells certainly signify death -- but this isn't filled with mournful songs about the departed. It's a more fitting tribute, actually, since AC/DC not only carried on without him, but they delivered a record that to the casual ear sounds like the seamless successor to Highway to Hell, right down to how Brian Johnson's screech is a dead ringer for Scott's growl. Most listeners could be forgiven for thinking that Johnson was Scott, but Johnson is different than Bon. He's driven by the same obsessions -- sex and drink and rock & roll, basically -- but there isn't nearly as much malevolence in his words or attitude as there was with Scott. Bon sounded like a criminal, Brian sounds like a rowdy scamp throughout Back in Black, which helps give it a real party atmosphere. Of course, Johnson shouldn't be given all the credit for Back in Black, since Angus and Malcolm carry on with the song-oriented riffing that made Highway to Hell close to divine. Song for song, they deliver not just mammoth riffs but songs that are anthems, from the greasy "Shoot to Thrill" to the pummeling "Back in Black," which pales only next to "You Shook Me All Night Long," the greatest one-night-stand anthem in rock history. That tawdry celebration of sex is what made AC/DC different from all other metal bands -- there was no sword & sorcery, no darkness, just a rowdy party, and they never held a bigger, better party than they did on Back in Black. (AllMusic)
Album: For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
Tracklist:
01. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) [05:44]
02. Put the Finger on You [03:26]
03. Let's Get It Up [03:54]
04. Inject the Venom [03:31]
05. Snowballed [03:23]
06. Evil Walks [04:24]
07. C.O.D. [03:20]
08. Breaking the Rules [04:23]
09. Night of the Long Knives [03:26]
10. Spellbound [04:39]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1981
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866622
Review:
AC/DC must be slipping — their smarts are starting to show. Critically dismissed for most of their nine-year career as a band of simpleminded Australian thudmerchants, they long ago made the useful discovery that, when it comes to connecting with the large and loyal hard-rock audience, rock critics don't mean diddley. The average adolescent male may not know much about critical trends, but he knows bullshit when he hears it, and he knows he prefers the real thing — which is to say, landslide riffs, stuck-pig vocals and screaming guitar solos that sound like they were recorded in the grip of a grand mal seizure. He also appreciates a lyric he can relate to: "I can't do nothin' right/...I can't even start a fight," for example, a classic plaint embedded in the bone-crushing riff of For Those About to Rock We Salute You's "Spellbound." As should be apparent to everyone by now, there's a whole new generation of horny, hung-up James Deans out there — feeling isolated, out of it, often beer-addled or swacked silly on some tacky drug and yearning for expression. AC/DC are playing their song.
AC/DC are the real thing, perhaps the purest major practitioners of hot and snotty rock since Led Zeppelin lumbered off the boards. Other groups, from Van Halen to REO Speedwagon, may base their music on similar elements, but they inevitably emerge from the studio sounding cleaned up and rather too eager for AOR airplay. AC/DC, from the start, have always left the rough edges in. The rough edges are the point, much as they were part of the point of, say, Little Richard in the Fifties or the Rolling Stones in the mid-Sixties.
Until recently, this bareknuckles approach has tended to obscure the fact that, beneath all those enormous guitar riffs and gut-wrangling rhythms. AC/DC is an unusually expert songwriting band. This became particularly apparent on last year's Back in Black, the first LP on which the late Bon Scott, the group's semilegendary lead singer, was replaced by the more expressive Brian Johnson. On For Those About to Rock We Salute You, AC/DC's best album, the case for the band's talents is finally made with undeniable force and clarity. You want anthems? Here, they abound, from the title track's avalanche attack — complete with booming cannonades, of course — to "Night of the Long Knives," a rousing singalong reminiscent of the classic mid-Sixties Anglo-pop tradition. All ten tunes are aimed straight at the group's testosterone-plagued audience, but the music and lyrics transcend mere calculation. True, in "Put the Finger on You," the helplessly horny protagonist's sexual member seems to have a life of its own ("I can't control it, can't even hold it ... I put it right on you"), but "C.O.D." takes a more wizened look at the consequences of such inchoate lust ("It's the curse of love"). This marginally broader lyrical outlook may again be attributable to Brian Johnson, who writes the songs with band-leader-guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. Johnson's relatively wide ranging tastes are also apparent in the nicely nasty "Inject the Venom," in which he manages, rather charmingly, to sound like Lou Rawls with a beer gut.
But while Brian Johnson has added a more engaging vocal texture to AC/DC, the backbone of the band is still the enormous bass-and-drums barrage pummeled out by Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd, and the riff-manic brilliance of the redoubtable Young brothers, whose ferocious combination of hollow and solid-body guitar interplay has created a sound that's unique in the hard-rock field. It may seem difficult to take a droolflecked runt dressed in schoolboy shorts seriously as a guitarist, but if you listen closely to Angus Young's serpentine solo in "Let's Get It Up," you'll hear his unabashed blues roots shining through. Similarly, John Lee Hooker himself might want to take a good squint at the dark-toned guitar filigree on "Snowballed," just as Jeff Beck may be surprised to hear how strongly the final leads in "Breaking the Rules" recall his vintage flash-fingered artistry on the Yardbirds' Over Under Sideways Down. Malcolm Young is equally adroit at mongering meaty riffs, and with Williams and Rudd slamming home the message — basic though it may at first appear to be — what you've got here is one unbeatable rock & roll band.
AC/DC make no apologies, and they have prevailed. Their last LP sold 5 million copies, and this one gives every indication of eclipsing it. Be the first in your circle of sophisticates to find out why.
By Kurt Loder January 21, 1982
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...e-you-19820121
Album: Flick Of The Switch
Tracklist:
01 - Rising Power
02 - This House Is On Fire
03 - Flick Of The Switch
04 - Nervous Shakedown
05 - Landslide
06 - Guns For Hire
07 - Deep In The Hole
08 - Bedlam In Belgium
09 - Badlands
10 - Brain Shake
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1985
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866602
Review:
To many reviewers and the general public AC/DC’s popularity bubble had certainly burst by 1983 and the ‘’back to basics’’ approach of ‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ was the end of a creative periods lasting some five years.
Firstly out was John ‘’Mutt’’ Lange, out where the cannons and out was the Hells Bell. The phenomenal world wide success the band gained from 1979’s ‘’Highway To Hell’’ through the heady days of re-birth after ‘’Back In Black’’ to the riding even higher success of ‘’For Those About To Rock’’ where but a passing memory as ‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ was unveiled to a world, hungry for new Antipodean Rock.
‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ was also the first album that the band produced themselves and was also the last album the Young, Young, Johnson, Williams and Rudd group would record until meeting up again to record 1995’s ‘’Ballbreaker’’ album.
Poorly received, ‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ didn’t achieve platinum status Stateside until 2001, many AC/DC fans wanted more of the same big theatricals, big production and a return to the massive live spectacular of the 1980 to 1982 period all they got was a simple Hard Rock album (what else did they expect?) and a strictly dressed down live show.
‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ is perhaps AC/DC’s most underrated commitment to vinyl and easily stands up against the heavy weights previously mentioned. OK the production isn’t as slick as ‘’Back In Black’’ or as polished as ‘’For Those About To Rock’’ but nonetheless tracks as ‘’Rising Power’’, ‘’Flick Of The Switch’’, ‘’Guns For Hire’’ and the colossal ‘’Nervous Shakedown’’ are prime time ‘DC boogie. Johnson’s rasps his way across each track peppering the titanic riffing of Messrs Young and Young with a strained, dirty vocal attack that is a strong as ever. And the songs keep coming. ‘’Deep In The Hole’’ and ‘’Bedlam In Belgium’’ and the sleazy, laid back sweep of ‘’Badlands’’ are all nods to the Bon Scott days and without a shadow of a doubt Bon would have been delighted to have sung them.
Angus’s solos are still as breathtaking as is the consistent rhythm play of Malcolm and backed up with the tightest rhythm section on the planet Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd.
If you’ve forgotten just how Rock steady ‘’Flick Of The Switch’’ is then you’ve left a rough diamond sitting on the CD shelf. It’s the perfect album to put on in the car what with summer not that far around the corner and to let the world know that AC/DC Rock N Roll ain’t noise pollution. (Online April 12, 2004)
http://www.metal-observer.com/articl...=1&id=5972
Album: Fly On The Wall
Tracklist:
1. Fly On The Wall
2. Shake Your Foundations
3. First Blood
4. Danger
5. Sink The Pink
6. Playing With Girls
7. Stand Up
8. Hell Or High Water
9. Back In Business
10. Send For The Man
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1985
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866652
Review:
I listen back on FLY ON THE WALL with a lot of fond memories. The record came out in the summer of 1985 and I got it for my 13th birthday, not a bad gift! When I went back to school a few weeks later all my friends had the album too and it became one of the soundtracks of my last year of grammar school. The best songs were ‘Sink The Pink’ and ‘Shake Your Foundations’ and I remember rewinding that cassette back and forth to keep listening to those two tracks. These two singles were also the two big videos for the band on MTV but then the FLY ON THE WALL VHS came out and I started to get into ‘Danger’, ‘Stand Up’ and the title cut. Back in the day it was all about the videos. Another reason I got into the video songs a little more was that ‘Sink the Pink’ and ‘Shake Your Foundations’ were featured on the WHO MADE WHO (1986) album and that record exploded. I always got a kick out of the kids that didn’t know that those two songs were released a year earlier on a “real” album.
Listening to the album now, the same five songs stand out just as much as they did 23 years ago but I had forgotten that the other half of the album was also pretty good. Of the other five, ‘Hell Or High Water’, ‘Playing With Girls’ and ‘First Blood’ stand out a little more than they did. What is really cool about this album is that AC/DC still made their usual brand of Hard Rock at a time when a Glam look, sex-filled lyrics and faster guitar techniques were all the rage. AC/DC came out, did what they usually did, and made no excuses! Maybe that’s another reason I like this album, you could take a simple formula like this and make a solid record without all the frills and excesses.
Bottom Line:
A pretty good record with five songs featured prominently as singles/videos. The album is more of a trip down memory lane for me but it’s also a “lost” album because it’s sandwiched between ’83's FLICK OF THE SWITCH and ’86's WHO MADE WHO. When I get sick of hearing all the usual AC/DC radio hits, I put on FLY ON THE WALL and remember how exciting it was to have this record when it was a new album.
http://heavymetaladdiction.com/2008/...the-wall-1985/
Album: Blow Up Your Video
Tracklist:
01. Heatseeker [03:50]
02. That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll [03:45]
03. Meanstreak [04:08]
04. Go Zone [04:26]
05. Kissin' Dynamite [03:58]
06. Nick of Time [04:16]
07. Some Sin for Nuthin' [04:11]
08. Ruff Stuff [04:29]
09. Two's Up [05:20]
10. This Means War [04:32]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1988
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866432
Review:
AC/DC remained a popular concert draw throughout the '80s, although such albums as Flick of the Switch and Fly on the Wall failed to replicate their mass U.S. commercial success of 1980-1981 (Back in Black, For Those About to Rock, a reissue of Dirty Deeds). But the successful soundtrack for Stephen King's lackluster movie Maximum Overdrive, titled Who Made Who, put AC/DC back on the right track commercially. Their first new studio album of all-new material in three years, 1988's Blow Up Your Video turned out to be their most successful album since 1981's For Those About To Rock, even though it was chock full of filler. The driving album opener, "Heatseeker," turned out to be a surprising Top Ten single in the U.K., while the anthemic "That's the Way I Want to Rock n' Roll" proved to be another highlight (video clips were filmed for both songs, as well). But from there on (with the exception of "Kissin' Dynamite" and "This Means War"), it gets pretty unfocused. The album is glutted with such throwaways as "Nick of Time," "Ruff Stuff," and "Two's Up" -- completely missing the point of what made such previous albums as Back in Black so great (they simply did not contain a weak moment). Blow Up Your Video also marked the return of AC/DC's early production team, Harry Vanda and George Young, who man the boards for the first time since 1978's If You Want Blood.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/blow-u...deo-r90/review
Album: The Razors Edge
Tracklist:
01. Thunderstruck [04:53]
02. Fire Your Guns [02:54]
03. Moneytalks [03:46]
04. The Razors Edge [04:23]
05. Mistress for Christmas [04:00]
06. Rock Your Heart Out [04:07]
07. Are You Ready [04:10]
08. Got You by the Balls [04:30]
09. Shot of Love [03:57]
10. Let's Make It [03:32]
11. Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bad Luck [03:14]
12. If You Dare [03:18]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1990
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866662
Review:
The Razors Edge is the 13th Australian and 12th international studio album by hard rockers AC/DC, released on September 24, 1990. It is the only studio album to feature drummer Chris Slade, and includes "Thunderstruck" and "Moneytalks," which are among AC/DC's most well-known tracks. The album reached No. 2 on the United States Billboard 200 and No. 4 in the United Kingdom. A smash commercial success that returned the band to the popularity of its glory years between the mid-1970s and early 1980s. The album has been certified quintuple platinum (5 million copies sold) in the US, and was re-released in 2003 as part of AC/DC's remasters series. The album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn. Malcolm Young, having completed his rehabilitation for alcoholism, once again played rhythm guitar and co-wrote (with his brother Angus) all the songs on the album.
Album: Ballbreaker
Tracklist:
01. Hard as a Rock [04:31]
02. Cover You in Oil [04:32]
03. The Furor [04:10]
04. Boogie Man [04:07]
05. The Honey Roll [05:34]
06. Burnin' Alive [05:05]
07. Hail Caesar [05:14]
08. Love Bomb [03:14]
09. Caught With Your Pants Down [04:14]
10. Whiskey on the Rocks [04:35]
11. Ballbreaker [04:31]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1995
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866392
Review:
Ballbreaker is an album by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1995. It was the band's first studio album in five years, since The Razors Edge (1990). The album also featured the return of former drummer, Phil Rudd, who had been fired from the band in 1983 as a result of problems with rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young. The three singles released from this album were "Hard as a Rock," "Cover You in Oil," and "Hail Caesar." The album was produced by Rick Rubin. Rubin had previously worked with the band to produce the song/single "Big Gun," which was released two years before on the soundtrack to the movie Last Action Hero. The album was re-released in 2005 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series. The album is currently certified Double Platinum by the RIAA in the US, for sales in excess of 2,000,000.
In over 20 years, AC/DC never changed their minimalist, bone-crunching hard rock. During their first ten years, that wasn't a problem, since they were still finding ways to expand and subvert the pattern, but ever since For Those About to Rock, they had trouble coming up with consistent material. Consequently, their performances tended to be a little lazy and their records didn't deliver a reliable knockout punch. Released in 1990, The Razor's Edge showed some signs of life, and their comeback culminated in the Rick Rubin-produced Ballbreaker. What makes Ballbreaker different than the albums AC/DC churned out during the '80s is simple — it's a matter of focus. Although "Hard as a Rock" comes close, there aren't any songs as immediately memorable as any of their '70s classics, or even "Moneytalks." However, unlike any record since Back in Black, there are no bad songs on the album. Surprisingly, Rubin's production is a bit too dry, lacking the muscle needed to make the riffs sound truly earthshaking. Nevertheless, Angus Young's riffs are powerful and catchy, showcasing every element that makes him one of hard rock and heavy metal's greatest guitarists. Throughout the album, the band sounds committed and professional, making Ballbreaker the best late-period AC/DC album to date. ~allmusic.com
Album: Stiff Upper Lip
Tracklist:
01. Stiff Upper Lip [03:34]
02. Meltdown [03:41]
03. House of Jazz [03:56]
04. Hold Me Back [03:59]
05. Safe in New York City [03:59]
06. Can't Stand Still [03:41]
07. Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll [04:02]
08. Satellite Blues [03:46]
09. Damned [03:52]
10. Come and Get It [04:36]
11. All Screwed Up [04:31]
12. Give It Up [03:53]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 2000
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866422
Review:
Stiff Upper Lip, AC/DC's 15th studio album, may not reach the heights of Back in Black or Highway to Hell, but it delivers strongly and satisfyingly. It's the record that the highly touted, Rick Rubin-produced Ballbreaker should have been: a simple, addictive, hard album, bursting with bold riffs and bolstered by a crunching, thrillingly visceral sound. Sure, there are absolutely no new ideas, but that's the point. AC/DC know their strengths and they embrace them. And why shouldn't they? Nobody writes a better riff than Malcolm and Angus Young; each song has a riff so catchy, it feels like you've heard it for years. Is there anything earth-shaking? Hardly, but it's largely terrific nonetheless, just because AC/DC are so good at what they do. It's simple music, to be sure, but it's unassumingly musical and, in a way rather smart. If making music like this was really that easy, why can't anybody else do it this well? Some bands are capable of knocking out one record like this -- one, maybe two. AC/DC do it nearly every time out. They've never really stretched, yet that's why they have one of the most reliable catalogs in rock & roll. When you put on one of their records, you know what you're in for, and they always deliver. With Stiff Upper Lip, they're not at classic status, but they're still top-notch. This may not be the first AC/DC record for a collection, but once you're into their scene, it's a fine place to be.
Album: If You Want Blood You've Got It
Tracklist:
1. "Riff Raff" 5:10
2. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" 4:02
3. "Bad Boy Boogie" 7:35
4. "The Jack" 5:43
5. "Problem Child" 4:32
6. "Whole Lotta Rosie" 5:20
7. "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" 3:30
8. "High Voltage" 5:05
9. "Let There Be Rock" 8:15
10. "Rocker" 3:00
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1978
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866592
Review:
AC/DC was fast becoming one of rock's top live acts by the late '70s. Few others could match the band's electrifying live performances: Angus Young's never-ending energy and wise-ass antics, Bon Scott's whiskey-soaked vocals, and the rest of the band's penchant for nailing simple, yet extremely effective and memorable, riffs and grooves. While most other rock bands of the era were busy experimenting with disco or creating studio-perfected epics, AC/DC was one of the few specializing in raw and bluesy hard rock, as evidenced by 1978's live set, If You Want Blood You've Got It. Recorded during their world tour in support of their Powerage album, If You Want Blood contains many of AC/DC's best compositions up until that point: "Bad Boy Boogie" (complete with the break-down section in which Young would "strip"), "The Jack," "Problem Child," "Whole Lotta Rosie," "High Voltage," "Let There Be Rock," and "Rocker." Strangely, their early anthem "Sin City" was not included, and there's a slight sense of studio enhancement on certain tracks. While the first disc of the 1997 box set Bonfire is the best document of live Bon Scott-era AC/DC ("Live From the Atlantic Studios"), If You Want Blood You've Got It is highly recommended. (ALLMusic)
Album: Who Made Who
Tracklist:
01. Who Made Who [03:27]
02. You Shook Me All Night Long [03:31]
03. D.T. [02:54]
04. Sink the Pink [04:13]
05. Ride On [05:51]
06. Hells Bells [05:13]
07. Shake Your Foundations [03:54]
08. Chase the Ace [03:01]
09. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) [05:54]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1986
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866482
Review:
Who Made Who is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1986 as the soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive. King would allude to the album's title song in the 1990 revised and expanded edition of his novel The Stand, where a survivor of the novel's flu pandemic changes the lyrics to "Who Made Flu." Three tracks on the album — "Who Made Who" and the instrumentals "D.T." and "Chase the Ace" — were newly written and recorded by AC/DC. The rest were taken from the band's previous albums. Only one song, "Ride On," is from the Bon Scott era; all of the others feature Brian Johnson. The album reached #11 in the UK and #33 in the US, and has sold 5 million copies in the USA. Who Made Who was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.
Along with the album, the band released a video tape which contained music videos for the songs "Who Made Who", "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Shake Your Foundations", "Hells Bells", and footage from a live performance of "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" which was filmed in Detroit in 1983.
Album: Live
Tracklist:
01. Thunderstruck [06:34]
02. Shoot to Thrill [05:21]
03. Back in Black [04:28]
04. Who Made Who [05:15]
05. Heatseeker [03:37]
06. The Jack [06:56]
07. Moneytalks [04:18]
08. Hells Bells [06:01]
09. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap [05:02]
10. Whole Lotta Rosie [04:30]
11. You Shook Me All Night Long [03:54]
12. Highway to Hell [03:58]
13. T.N.T.[03:47]
14. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) [07:18]
Digitally remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound.
Year: 1992
Recording Company: Albert
Catalog Number: 82876866632
Review:
Despite the fact that the band's best days were obviously behind them, a live album for AC/DC was all but completely necessary. After all, the group's first live release, If You Want Blood You've Got It, was recorded at a time when AC/DC was nothing more than a cult act that had yet to produce many of its future rock staples. Though recorded well into their career on the Razor's Edge 1991 tour, AC/DC Live surprisingly captures the hype and excitement that made AC/DC such a hit in their heyday. The set list wisely overlooks the songs from the band's mid-'80s slump and concentrates on hard rock hits such as "Hells Bells," "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell," and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap." Brian Johnson's voice may not be as strong as in the early '80s, but he still sounds competent in his role. All too often, a live album is a cheaply made, rushed recording that only serves as a testament to a band's decline. AC/DC Live, however, shows what makes this band different from their peers -- here they are still entirely capable of pulling off a great live show. This ranks among the best live metal albums of the '90s. [In February 2003, the American distribution rights to AC/DC's back catalog transferred over to Epic, their new label. Epic reissued the band's catalog as remastered digipacks containing lavish, expanded booklets with plenty of rare photographs, memorabilia, and notes. Although the digipacks may wear a little too easy, the sound is terrific -- clean and muscular, enhancing the raw qualities of the original record -- and the packaging is loving, making the reissues necessary for collectors.
