FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE REVIEW YOU
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 12:00pm by Sammy O'Hagar
When Michael Jackson released his “comeback” album earlier this decade, the first single from it – the tepid “You Rock My World” – managed to overshadow its crushing mediocrity by the sweet relief of hearing Jackson’s familiar, glorious voice in material that hadn’t yet been played to death. And in an example much more appropriate for this website, upon hearing the leaked Chinese Democracy “demos” over the last few years, one cannot help but feel a moment (even brief) of sweet nostalgia hearing Axl Rose’s gravelly falsetto, even if they are over arguably questionable songs. That sliver of the celebrated past over music otherwise in the present vernacular is often enough to keep artists relevant and thus selling records. And while this usually leads to hacky retreads of prior success, that moment in itself is undeniably pleasurable. So the first few moments of “Rock and Roll Train,” the opening track on AC/DC’s Black Ice, that feature the dirty start/stop guitar pecking of bona fide rock legend Angus Young are heartwarming even despite being mired in Brendan O’Brien’s overblown production and the small but persistent (and not to mention douchey) voice in the back of one’s head wondering if the band are finally creatively bankrupt after doing the same exact thing for almost thirty years. If you like AC/DC, you already know you’ll like Black Ice, even if only a little. The question, though, is whether there is a reason for it to exist. If you already heard this album before when it was called For Those About to Rock, The Razor’s Edge, or Back in Black, what point does a new AC/DC album even serve in the 21st century besides a reason to see AC/DC live?
The answer, I suppose, is more fodder to skip and more jewels to find amidst that fodder to ideally be packed into the next Best of AC/DC comp. And there are plenty of jewels on here. Though the album by no means contains a clunker, some songs stand out more than others: the aforementioned “Rock and Roll Train” is a great album opener, with the same AC/DC riff almost militaristically constructed to never sound tired or contrived; the Generation Y rendition of “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” that is “War Machine,” right down to the sinister troll gang vocals; “Skies on Fire,” which, in a bizarre turn, lifts the main riff from Led Zeppelin’s “Royal Orleans” off of Presence; the even more bizarre turn of “Anything Goes,” in that it is an honest-to-God pop song that makes “You Shook Me All Night Long” sound like Misery Index. The latter song is one of the many on Black Ice that make subtle nods at new ground for AC/DC: it’s a song anchored by vocal melody instead of Brian Johnson screeching over whatever Angus Young is plucking out. It’s an interesting turn that, in the case of “Anything Goes,” works well. Other songs, like “Decibel,” “Money Made,” and “Rockin’ All the Way” delve deep into the band’s blues influences, much like on their last album. This, of course, isn’t to say this is a massive or even significant departure for AC/DC. At it’s core, Black Ice is the same shit they’ve always done. But if that shit is good, should it matter?
The answer, to be honest, is subjective. Would popular music as we know it be different if Black Ice didn’t exist? Absolutely not. AC/DC’s well-worn classics are classics for a reason, as well as there being a reason kids won’t be talking for years about Blow Up Your Video, Flick of the Switch, or Fly on the Wall in the same superlatives reserved for Back in Black or the Bon Scott era.
But is Black Ice a boring retread of what drew us all to AC/DC to begin with? Again, absolutely not. It’s not even a pathetic attempt by a bunch of skuzzy old men to stay in the limelight. The same balls you’ve come to know AC/DC for are here in full, smelly force, and the album, taken on its own, is a lot of fun. Is it necessary? I suppose not. But in a time when hallmark rock acts like AC/DC put out winded dreck to partner with Ameritrade for an overpriced cash grab at the salty haired fogies that came up in the 70s and their children (and, um, possibly grandchildren), AC/DC still sound grimy and hungry. Deep down, we don’t want our favorite bands to change. AC/DC are the literal interpretation of that desire. Nothing’s changed, but nothing’s shitty now, either.
(3 out of 5 horns)
-SO
AC/DC sound like AC/DC. Story at 11.
Dateline: Any white trash Wal-mart you can think of
White trash fans around the world failed to show up to purchase the newest release from venerable rock stalwarts AC/DC, thinking the album was called “Black Guys” instead of its actual name. AC/DC, being from Australia (and Scotland) miscalculated in their effort to sell to their long-standing American demographic.
haven’t heard the song but i’m willing to take a stab here and say that “Rock n’ Roll Train” probably has a line about something going off the tracks yadda yadda
@TTPP: Ha! I just looked up the lyrics:
Chorus:
Runaway Train
(Running right off the track)
Runaway Train
(Running right off the track)
Runaway Train
(Running right off the track)
Yeah the Runaway Train
(Running right off the track)
Metallica should take a few lessons from AC/DC.
@ Sammy: damn, maybe i should buy lottery tickets today? probably at one of those automatic lottery machines at Walmart while i pick up “Black Ice”!? btw doesn’t the cover kinda look like the label for Smirnoff Black Ice (minus the red logo)? is that a coincidence or sneaky product placement?
AC/DC is one band that I’ll never understand.
They wrote one damn song and have been remixing it their entire fucking career.
So basically they’re the Dragonforce of an older generation.
lol @ giving this a better review than Death Magnetic.
Go listen to more scenester bands.
So, what? AC/DC reinvented the AC/DC album?
dthrasher said it best. There is never anything surprising on an AC/DC album but that said they still rock. Brian Johnson still belts it out with that “I just drank a bottle of Jack and smoked a carton of smokes” vocal not having really lost anything from his debut on Back in Black. That’s amazing after thousands of shows. AC/DC only prove that they can still rock and that hasn’t changed since they began.
Nice review – I really don’t think more can be said. AC/DC sounds like AC/DC – which is also to say they really don’t sound like anyone else. Yes, they have been releasing the same album repeatedly, but does it really matter? We don’t want AC/DC to change, and why should they? It would reek of pretension if all of a sudden the Young brothers wanted to put out a all-acoustic album, or record with a symphony. We like AC/DC for the same reasons we like Slayer, or Kiss, or shit even Megadeth. Those bands do one thing really well – and we don’t like it when they do anything else, nor do we expect them to.
The most you can ask for from an album by a band that’s been around for 30 years is, does it suck? In the case of Black Ice, it definitely does not.
Mahkiavelli, no one could of said it better. They just enjoy making music, they have the money already so there is no need to change their sound to try scrape in a few extra. If you listen to the 74′ Jailbreak album and Black Ice, they still sound very much the same and who gives a fuck, because it is fucking awesome.
nailed as usual
Great post, thanks for the info
ACDC Is good and everything, but the new black ice, not the cats pajamas at all. i going to see them at the canad in stadium in winnipeg on august 22nd and im pumped, im just not so pumped for theyre new stuff, things like highway to hell, i can sit and listen to that album all day and it never gets old. black ice? well lets just say i get to rock ‘n’ Roll train and i wonder ” what the hell happened here ?”
look..they even made blankets fro AC/DC this year.. http://rockworldeast.com/store/ACDC
i thought they were one of the ones who didn’t sell out.. only made the same song over and over on every album since bon scott died.
that fucking album fucking sucked so fucking much! i regret ever wasting 5 bucks for that piece of shit at walmart