AC/DC Album Reviews - Cilantro Milkshake

AC/DC is the epitome of good old fashioned American hard rock … from Australia.

Talk about a band that found their groove and never let it go. AC/DC has released about a thousand albums and they’re all the same. Ninety percent of their songs have a simplistic mid-tempo groove with rough riffs and a ripping solo and bombastic vocals, all placed into the same structure. The other ten percent are hard-edged blues ditties.

How do they get away with it?

THEY KICK FUCKING ASS!

They’ve always looked the same, sounded the same, and Angus Young has been wearing the same hat since 1975. Singer Bon Scott died in 1980, and the band brought Brian Johnson in from England to do nearly the same exact style, just a bit screechier.

They did have some drummer changes along the way, and I can only imagine the argument that led to that.

Drummer Phil Rudd: “I’m sick of playing the same fooking beat. I’m out of here, mate.”

Lead Guitarist Angus Young: “You gotta be fooking kidding me, mate!”

Singer Brian Johnson: “You can’t leave, No! Yeah!”

Drummer Phil Rudd: “Every fooking song is the same! Aren’t you tired of it?”

Bassist Cliff Williams: “No.”

Rhythm Guitarist Malcom Young: “No.”

Drummer Phil Rudd: [storms out]

The simple difference among their songs is that some stand out as hits and others don’t. I can basically look at a list of AC/DC songs, read a title out loud, sound out the title how it’s sung in the chorus, and think, “Oh yeah, that’s a good one” or, “Oh no, that one is just okay.”

The nice thing about AC/DC is that after years of listening to them, I’ve become extra fond of some of the non-hits, so they’ve become hits to me. I really like my “Gimme a Bullet” and my “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” to go along with my “Back in Black” and my “T.N.T.” You know?

High Voltage

1975
8 royal flushes out of 10

Maybe I lied about every song being the same, because the very first song on here has some brilliantly simple bagpipes. (Yes, bagpipes!) I suppose if you never listened past the first song, you’d think AC/DC was a bagpipe rock band. Also, there’s more bluesy stuff on this album than most. And also, the sound quality is slightly low-fi, which I enjoy, but I’m also glad they spruced up their sound later.

Beside that, the band sticks to the formula and puts forth a highly entertaining set of mean, head-banging tunes. We learn valuable lessons about explosives in “T.N.T.,” electricity in “High Voltage,” transvestites in “She’s Got Balls,” how it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll in “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” and how your sexy girlfriend is probably a major slut in “The Jack.”

Listen to it. Just don’t give it to your 10-year-old daughter.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

1976
7 red light nightmares out of 10

Can this band resist putting the word “balls” into a song title this time? No, indeed they can’t, so we got “Big Balls” and the greatest lyric ever, “My balls are always bouncing to the left and to the right. It’s my belief that my big balls should be held every night.”

This album’s best song is “Problem Child,” with its sharp riffs and sharp vocals and a great guitar solo. My dark horse fave is the solemn “Ride On,” one of the few long-ish songs in the library at 5:50 (not that it has a lot of parts; it just moves slow).

Otherwise, this one was never a standout album to me. Solid fun, but not great.

Let There Be Rock

1977
8 touches that I need so much out of 10

Wait, “Problem Child” is on this album too? We’re already getting repeats? (It’s a shorter version, according to good ol’ Wikipedia.)

This album doesn’t start off too promising, but it picks up steam in its second half, with two dark horse asskickers “Overdose” and “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be,” which sounds like all other AC/DC songs chopped up and put back together. And the closer “Whole Lotta Rosie” kicks ass all up and down the street, goddamnit, bursting with energy and taking some awesome twists toward the end.

In the life lessons department, we learn what the instruments in a rock band are, that French people eat frogs, how a bad boy is actually good in the right context, that a lickin’ stick is sticky and sweet, and why it’s not necessarily a bad idea to sleep with an unpretty woman (and if that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right).

Powerage

1978
9 pussies so wet out of 10

Holy cow testicles, the guys are really cooking now! This bad boy sounds perfect and the songs all rock! While it doesn’t have any of the big-time hits, there’s a bit of a newfound sing-along sensibility going on. A lot of the guitar work shimmers with brightness, but there’s also some nice warm-toned parts.

“Sin City,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation,” “Kicked in the Teeth Again,” they all rip! “Riff Raff” is jagged-edged and speedy. The groovy “Gimme a Bullet” is criminally underrated. “Gone Shootin’” slows things down and rides a delightful melodic riff. Top to bottom this album delivers.

Hey, have I not mentioned a key ingredient in the AC/DC sound? The bass player often just hits the same note over and over … boring for him, great for the songs. What a team player! This is usually where I’d mention ridiculous life lessons from the lyrics, but I had to do something else because the lyrics on this album aren’t even that stupid!

If You Want Blood You’ve Got It

1978
8 toys for a boy out of 10

This is a live album, simple, no frills, just 52 minutes of AC/DC songs played loud as an airplane and straight as an arrow. Sound-wise, the cover art gives you a hint: the blaring lead guitar and enthused vocals are turned way up, the rest of the band is down lower, leading to a very harsh, high-treble mix. But guess what? It works! I mean, I don’t think these versions sound better than their studio counterparts, but there’s something to them.

The setlist isn’t exactly the best the band could offer at this point in their history, but it’s pretty damn good. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” “High Voltage,” “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation,” “The Jack,” yet another rendition of “Problem Child.” They’re all blowing the roof off the joint (which was in Glasgow, Scotland, in case you care about that kind of thing).

Some may think of AC/DC songs as being simple to play, but I for one am impressed with the performance here, the band in rhythmic lockstep at the right tempos, the guitar solos all tearing holes in your ears, Bon Scott belting out lines like a madman. It’s good stuff, man.

Highway to Hell

1979
9 backseat rhythms out of 10

It’s another perfect sounding album, in that sweet spot right between “pristine, polished studio recording” and “sounds like a band just playing in a room.” And hell, the songs, they’re great! You’ve got the iconic “Highway to Hell” with its hella catchy sing-along chorus. You’ve got “Girls Got Rhythm” with a hell of a chugg-chugg, “Walk All Over You” slowing down a bit but hitting hard as hell, “Night Prowler,” another slow but hellishly rocking song, and a couple of shreddy hellraisers in “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” and “Shot Down in Flames.” There’s a couple less memorable songs too, but this is mostly unrelenting AC/DC goodness.

In Bon Scott’s last hurrah with the band, he gets a lot of help from backing vocals, bolstering the sing-along quality of the choruses. Bon shares tales of getting loved so much he loses his legs, tells us he’s too old to fall for his girlfriend’s melodramatic bullshit, assures us that Barry Manilow isn’t in the band, and admits that, yes, the rumors are true, he sleeps all day and will break down your door at night.

Back in Black

1980
9 American thighs out of 10

Move along, guys, nothing to see here, just a fucking rock solid gold plated and served hot and ready classic album that unlike many so-called classic albums delivers big-time with memorable lovable hit songs and a bunch of other damn good songs, yeah!

Brian Johnson is the new guy on the mic and he’s not shy. In fact, he’s louder than Bon Scott, a bit screechier, and all up on top of the mix. Whereas Bon used to get screamy here and there in sort of a “now I’m REALLY pissed off and here’s some screaming to prove it” kind of way, Brian screams more like it’s what he does first thing in the morning as a matter of habit because he’s a goddamn screaming machine. His performance on this album is iconic.

The iconic songs he sings would be “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” and “Hells Bells,” all of which are distinctly down-tempo and downbeat, the AC/DC formula boiled down to its simplest ingredients. “Back in Black” has sort of a hard-nosed vibe, “You Shook Me All Night Long” sounds more celebratory and it’s so damn deliciously catchy, and “Hells Bells” is a bit eerie but still winds up in a big bad rocking place in its chorus.

Some of the faster moving songs include “Shoot to Thrill,” “Shake a Leg,” and “Have a Drink on Me,” all catchy and fun tunes themselves. We’ve also got “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” and it’s catchy too but definitely feels a bit cheesy compared to the rest of the album.

Production-wise, there’s a slightly more cleaned up sound here. As a kid, it was no question that I preferred this version of AC/DC sounding a bit more professional with their more powerful singer, but as time has gone on I’ve preferred the Bon Scott days. Even so, I can’t deny the greatness of this here album, I tell you. It’s great! If somehow you need to introduce AC/DC to somebody, this album is your most solid bet.

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

1981
6 batteries for hire with guitar fires out of 10

The 80s, man. What the hell was up with that decade? We’ve got another slight uptick in the production quality, more toward a thick, glazed, distinctly 80s-style sound. On top of that, a few of the vocal lines feel quite “anthemy” like Brian is trying to out-Poison Poison a couple years ahead of time.

Now, keep in mind, this album sounds this way compared to the older AC/DC sound. It’s not like the band suddenly frizzed up their hair and put on leather pants. It’s like 97% normal AC/DC and 3% 80s hair metal. And a handful of riffs and vocal melodies sound a note or two away from earlier riffs and melodies, but it’s just enough to make them a lot less catchy. Funny how music works that way, huh?

The title track is the gem of the lot, with a really cool, epic-sounding opening, riding a pretty guitar line and dramatically slow drums, and they fire off goddamn cannons before the thing is over. Good song, if slightly cheesy.

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Stay tuned for like 700 more AC/DC reviews.

Published October 2021