Good Solid Record
It must be well over twenty years now since AC/DC went into the semi-retirement phase. This is the period where they only release
on album every five to ten years, usually with minimal effort. The last release before this was the enjoyable but not great Black Ice.
It had been eight years between that album and its predecessor. This time it was six years between albums.Thankfully, the results
were a lot better wit 2014's Rock or Bust.
The general consensus on Rock or Bust is that it is simply more of the same and you'd have to be an idiot to disagree. The difference
between this record and the previous though is that it is considerably more focused.The band have kept all the songs to three minutes
or less, and the album around the thirty five minute mark. This means that the album not only feels satisfying but it doesn't feel overly
long and tedious. You'll hear influences from the likes of Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix through out this record. The way the band utilise
these different sounds and limited the overall album length is a very wise move from the band and it definitely plays to their strengths.
The one thing that has been bugging me about AC/DC for a VERY long time is their sheer lack of variety. They don't write any fast songs
any more and instead prefer to plod along like the rock dinosaurs that they are. It's a bit of a shame really and this really showed on Black
Ice. Rock or Bust was a little different however. There is a few more up beat songs than the previous record and it makes all the different.
Granted, it isn't exactly Riff Raff but it's a lot better than what we got before.
The band themselves sounds great. Angus Young as expected is still one of the top rock n roll guitar players in the world. He is backed
up by his relative and mean sounding guitarist Stevie Young, replacing the late great Malcolm Young (R.I.P.). You've got to give the bloke
credit here. He does a damn fine here, really holding his own. Like a lot of previous AC/DC albums, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams play the
songs in their own simplistic manner. It's a trademark sound that only they can get away and sound great doing it. Brian Johnson's coarse
voice is in all its glory here. The man hasn't changed for so long, there is no point in doing it now.
The sound of Rock or Bust is great. The album really rocks when cranked up to unreasonable levels and that's the way it should be. The
Instruments all have their space in the mix and there are no traces of loudness anywhere. This is a great sounding record that will age very
well. At this point, it is always so cheap that most rock fans can take a safe gamble on it. I doubt they're going to be disappointed as this is
a good solid short but sweet effort that has no real drawbacks.
amazon short-review 2 (by luhäsin, Germany, 11-2015)
AC/DC - Daumen hoch !
Entweder man mag sie, oder man mag sie nicht - die Fangemeinde der alten Haudegen wird sicher nix Revolutionäres erwarten. Aber sie
haben uns jahrzehntelang begleitet, und obwohl der eine oder andere ausgewechselt wurde bzw. werden musste - es ist unverkennbar
AC/DC. Dafür lieben wir sie doch.
CD Tracking List (11 tracks):