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By Mike Porciello
"In a Rock-n-Roll
world, where floor is pronounced flow"
I remember seeing AC/DC, in 1996, on the "Ballbreaker" tour, at
Jones Beach, and seeing and hearing, not once, but twice, Brian Johnson
belt out "Helllloooooooooooooooo Joneses Beach"!, and thinking
it was the funniest thing I've ever witnessed live. This is a man who says
flow-a instead of floor, gid instead of good, uses the doe-a instead of
the door, and his constant reference to "Rock-n-Roll", I
believe, has all of AC/DC believing that it's the best
medicine................................; it is! Say what you want about
Johnson, he's the only one who could EVER replace Bon Scott. You damn well
know it, and even though his range is limited, nobody can deliver a tune,
and carry a stage presence quite like him! The music of AC/DC will always
be one the easiest to identify in the business, a little on the simple
side, but cranked up beyond 13, one of the most enjoyable; a common bond
shared between the masses. They may have thrown us a few curveballs as of
late, but it still finds a way to fall in for a strike.
For those who believed
the hype, that "Black Ice" was to be a harder edged, tougher,
more aggressive toned effort, stop now. Not to give away the theme of the
narrative, but take "Black Ice" for what it is. Give 'em the
senior's discount! This isn't the same AC/DC who brought you "Fly On
The Wall", and "Blow Up Your Video"; two underrated,
aggressive, enjoyable bangups, okay? This is the same group who single
handedly changed the face of Rock, Hard Rock, and Heavy Metal, with
"Back In Black", the bar at which albums are measured against,
as well as 1 year later with it's follow up, "For Those About To Rock
(We Salute You)". A lot older, a little slower out of the gate, but
full of just as much enthusiasm, are "the lads from Down Under",
so we salute you now! The only song to even remotely recall the bands
early Johnson era, would be "Stromy May Day", featuring slide,
and sounding reminiscent of "Badlands". After 8 years, the guys
took their time (obv), and made sure that the outcome would be truly the
best they could give us, at this point in their advancing years.
Damn, that "Rock-n-Roll Train", is a catchy little number. On
that song, and basically throughout the entire album, drummer Phil Rudd
keeps a solid backbone, really risking nothing, just laying down a good
steady beat. It works all the time! Tremolo king Angus young leads us
along for the ride, while Malcolm Young, and Cliff Williams, provide a
rhythm section like no other. Those two guys, literally drive this band,
with Angus doing the steering, and Brian as the ship's captain. This is
AC/DC, at what the band has evolved into, ever since "The Razor's
Edge"; a 3 quarter paced, lead guitar led, toned down rhythm section,
bluesy Hard Rock band. No more, no less.
"For Those About To Rock", this cannon shoots 7 "Big
Balls", on a 10 scale! Again, it's not a heavy AC/DC album, but it
does have plenty of hooks, and the likes of "Big Jack",
"War Machine", "Smash-n-Grab", and "Wheels",
should fulfill a large wet portion of your "Rock-n-Roll Dream"!
I too want a heavy AC/DC to return, but Brian Johnson's voice has matured,
and they just can't go down that road again, without sounding like a train
wreck. The proof is in the pudding, all the way back to a song called
"Borrowed Time", from "The Razor's Edge" sessions,
which didn't make the cut. What they've done since is reinvent themselves,
go with works, AND what worked in the way past; that is, a return to the
pre "Highway To Hell" sound, with modern technology, and NO
keyboards! Again, not heavy, but full of hooks. At this stage of the game,
we should just be glad to still have them around. Keep it coming lads!
www.sonymusic.com
www.columbiarecords.com
www.acdc.com
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