New AC/DC with almost Classic Line Up

[The Walrus]

I went to Wal-Mart first thing this morning to pick up a couple CDs, one for me and one for my dad (ACDC is his favorite band), but... Wal-Mart had no CDs. Amazing. Or, more accurately, they had a tiny handful of CDs, and a small collection of vinyl from big bands (Metallica, Steve Miller Band etc.). No Power Up CDs, but plenty of Power Up vinyl... so I bought one!

Great album.

[Stadler]

If I had known that there was an Aussie on board... I might’ve just arranged for some sort of mail in option. Just to make sure I was getting the real thing. As it is, these are coming from New York City, but they were only 15 bucks each which seems suspicious. most of the original Albert production Australian releases go for over $100 or sometimes more

They probably aren't any easier to find even over here anymore. At some point between Stiff Upper Lip and Black Ice they reissued everything again and replaced the original releases here with the international versions. I remember buying Black Ice from a store in 2008, and those were all that was there.

Well the good news is that my CDs arrived yesterday and they are in fact the real deal! I couldn’t be happier! They are all the older (non-remastered) Albert CDs with the Australian versions of all the songs and they sound fantastic. I’m starting to wonder if the seller even knew what he had.

The one bummer is that a little bit of research caused me to discover that my version of TNT that I had found in a CD shop a couple of months ago was a newer remastered version, which has some extremely minor differences in the ending of Rocker and High Voltage. Namely, they used the international versions which fade out slightly earlier. I know this is almost completely insignificant, but I still decided to go hunting for an older version of TNT that uses the original versions. I found one used for 10 bucks and decided to go for it. How freakin OCD is that? 

That means the only studio albums that I don’t own a physical copy of are Flick of the Switch, Who Made Who, and Rock or Bust, all of which should be easy to find and have no alternative or rare versions. FOTS and WMW I’ve heard a kajillion times, but ROB and the new one will both be new to my ears when I go to do the album discussion.

And speaking of the new one, my limited edition is arriving on Monday. Which is a bit of a bummer considering that I did pre-order it, but at least it has shipped.

Depends; the digipak remasters from... 2003 I think it is, are a lot hotter.  I have both for FOTS and WMW, and while it isn't deal-breaker territory (it IS on the earlier work; the High Voltage and DDDDC in particular are so much hotter it ruins some of the feel/vibe/tone of the original) it IS noticeable, so if that matters to you, get the original Atlantic versions.  You ought to be able to find them relatively cheaply on Discogs.

[jammindude]

Good to know.

One other thing, the really really rare find is the 1994 remaster of let there be rock. Somehow they got their hands on a longer version of Go Down. The international version also fades out early. I don’t even think the Australian version has that. It was only on the 1994 remaster from Atco and was reverted back to the fade out version on the later remasters.

[Cool Chris]

Gave most of the new songs a listen today, enjoyed most of them quite a bit. Current favorite, the song with the most un-ACDC like title: Through the Mists of Time.

[jingle.boy]

By AC/DC standards, this is a very nice album.  Think I might binge-listen to them today.  It's been a long time since I went back to the lesser beloved albums from the 70s and 80s.

[TAC]

I didn't realize it was out already. Looking forward to hearing it. I thought Black Ice, though too long, was pretty good, as was Rock Or Bust.

[Stadler]

By AC/DC standards, this is a very nice album.  Think I might binge-listen to them today.  It's been a long time since I went back to the lesser beloved albums from the 70s and 80s.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.   High Voltage is a personal favorite with a LOT of nostalgia.  Not to go deep, but if I'm ever in sort of a funk, or in a "pity potty" mood, I put that on and it just makes me happy.   It's silly (bagpipes!) fun but with a dark side, and there's some really good music buried in there.  Dirty Deeds is close ("get your fucking jumbo jet off my airport!").

[jammindude]

By AC/DC standards, this is a very nice album.  Think I might binge-listen to them today.  It's been a long time since I went back to the lesser beloved albums from the 70s and 80s.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.   High Voltage is a personal favorite with a LOT of nostalgia.  Not to go deep, but if I'm ever in sort of a funk, or in a "pity potty" mood, I put that on and it just makes me happy.   It's silly (bagpipes!) fun but with a dark side, and there's some really good music buried in there.  Dirty Deeds is close ("get your fucking jumbo jet off my airport!").

Good timing folks.   I've got some whirlwind stuff going on right now...but later tonight after all my running around is done, I plan on starting the Album Discussion/Listening Party thread.     Still debating on whether to make the pre-album days its own discussion, or just include it as a prologue to the discussion of High Voltage '75.   

As stated before, I will be going by the Australian releases.   While many of you may not own these releases, most of the songs were eventually released in other forms in the US, and the handful of songs that didn't are fairly easy to find and make for a more interesting discussion of the band's history and growth (IMO opinion anyway).   

I'm going to take a page from Orbert's book and not give an in depth review or "song by song" outline, but I will try to rip some highlights from Wiki and dig more into the making of the album and my general thoughts about the album.   

I will say that hearing the songs in their original format and release order is a very different experience and felt much more like an organic path forward than some of the patchwork releases that we are so used to in the states.   Short version, I instantly liked the Australian releases better, in spite of my nostalgia for the releases I'm used to.

[TAC]

Listening Party™ is, as you can see, trademarked.....but I'll let you use it!

[jammindude]

Listening Party™ is, as you can see, trademarked.....but I'll let you use it!

 

You’re too kind! Thank you!

[TAC]

I will say that if this new album was Brian, Angus, Stevie, Chris Slade, and a session bassist, I'd probably ignore it. But having Phil and Cliff there authenticates it for me.

[jammindude]

I will say that if this new album was Brian, Angus, Stevie, Chris Slade, and a session bassist, I'd probably ignore it. But having Phil and Cliff there authenticates it for me.

I completely agree.

[TAC]

Power Up is actually pretty decent. Brian Johnson sounds amazing, and I like that you can clearly hear the rhythm and bass guitars.

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, I was really impressed with Brian's performance.

I ran thru a bunch of AC/DC yesterday... almost all of the Scott-era stuff, as well as Black Ice and Ballbreaker.  I'll save my thoughts for the Listening Party^TM

[emtee]

I listened today. This is a much better album than Black Ice. Lots of good riffs. It instantly made me feel upbeat. A perfect album for Covid relief.

[TAC]

Yeah, I was really impressed with Brian's performance.

I heard Moneytalks on the radio yesterday,, and Brian sounded like absolute shit.

[jjrock88]

Yeah, I was really impressed with Brian's performance.

I heard Moneytalks on the radio yesterday,, and Brian sounded like absolute shit.

This sentence drops you down a few notches in the classic rock world, sorry Tim

[TAC]

That album blows anyway.

[The Walrus]

Yeah, I was really impressed with Brian's performance.

I heard Moneytalks on the radio yesterday,, and Brian sounded like absolute shit.

This sentence drops you down a few notches in the classic rock world, sorry Tim

No shit. I don't think I've ever heard that combination of words in a sentence before. What the fark, Tim? Perfect use of Spongebob though

[TAC]

Jesus H. I didn't think that would be so controversial.

[jjrock88]

Tim’s drunk as f@&k (Jim Lahey level), cut him some slack

[TAC]

Who in the hell is Jim Lahey?

[jjrock88]

Who in the hell is Jim Lahey?

Chad and myself are rolling our eyes big time

[The Walrus]

Jesus H. I didn't think that would be so controversial.

It's Moneytalks ffs!!

Tim’s drunk as f@&k (Jim Lahey level), cut him some slack

 

Who in the hell is Jim Lahey?

 

[TAC]

It's Moneytalks ffs!!

No kidding! Who are you people?

[The Walrus]

A French maid, foreign chef! 

[IDontNotDoThings]

I could understand finding Brian Johnson's vocal style annoying in some songs. Moneytalks is not one of them.

[jjrock88]

It's Moneytalks ffs!!

No kidding! Who are you people?

Tim dress up like Indianapolis Jones and get ready for the community play while listening to the Razors fkn Edge 

[jjrock88]

All kidding aside, I’ve always thought the title track to The Razors Edge is one of the coolest Brian era songs.

[bl5150]

All kidding aside, I’ve always thought the title track to The Razors Edge is one of the coolest Brian era songs.

 

Brian and Angus were on the Aussie version of 60 Minutes last night and were in very good form. Good to see them so happy (the loss of Malcolm aside)

[TAC]

All kidding aside, I’ve always thought the title track to The Razors Edge is one of the coolest Brian era songs.

It's a cool song. Other than Thunderstruck, the only song I remember really liking. But I found that album extremely disappointing. Been ages since I have heard it.

[jjrock88]

 Maybe one day concerts can happen again and they can tour the new album 

[jjrock88]

All kidding aside, I’ve always thought the title track to The Razors Edge is one of the coolest Brian era songs.

It's a cool song. Other than Thunderstruck, the only song I remember really liking. But I found that album extremely disappointing. Been ages since I have heard it.

For me, the albums after The Razors Edge were disappointing

[Kotowboy]

Maybe one day concerts can happen again and they can tour the new album 

Also - they're successful enough that they can film one of their stadium shows - and show it in as many cinemas as they are able to globally.

I'm unsure why more bands don't do this. I know cinemas generally take 50% of the gross but still. . .

If you sell out the stadium AND all the cinemas showing the gig ( proshot obviously ) - that would be even more money.

You could even sell merch in the cinema foyer. Go the whole hog.

I saw David Gilmours Return to Pompeii concert in the cinema and S&M2 ( and Foo Fighters Wasting Light live from 606 ) - and they were all great. You get to see a full concert without the

ballache of having to travel to the gig etc etc and you get a nice comfy chair and can still have snacks and everyone gets the best view...

[jingle.boy]

All kidding aside, I’ve always thought the title track to The Razors Edge is one of the coolest Brian era songs.

It's a cool song. Other than Thunderstruck, the only song I remember really liking. But I found that album extremely disappointing. Been ages since I have heard it.

For me, the STUDIO albums after The Razors Edge were disappointing

Fix'd.  I'm with Jay on this.  I felt they lost the plot a little after For Those About To Rock.  Fly and Flick aren't terribly memorable for me. Who Made Who/Shake Your Foundation were pretty good singles.  Then Blow Up Your Video and Razor's Edge brought them back on course.  After that, I lost them again - I was at Uni, and didn't buy a whole lot of any music for four years - and then shortly after graduating, discovered Dream Theater.