Review of Black Ice (2008) by AC/DC
BY JOSHUA A.D. I OCTOBER 26, 2008
The first thing a person has to remember when listening to a new AC/DC album, or let alone reviewing a new AC/DC album is: "Am I an AC/DC fan?" That is to say, if you've never really cared for the band, then you have no business dispensing opinions about their newest output. Hard rock bands have a way of sparking slavish dedication from their fan bases, and that magnifies the further back in time the band reaches. AC/DC has been around now for thirty-five years, so that's almost three generations of stubborn loyalty and a whole lot of albums sold.
Fortunately enough, I fall into the category of hardcore AC/DC maniacs who has every right to digest the band's latest offering, Black Ice. Most rock journalists will draw up comparisons to the band's 70s output with ill-fated lead singer Bon Scott. Even worse, they will start musing on the excellence of the band's biggest success, Back In Black. That's all well and good, but that was just about thirty years ago, and AC/DC has done a great deal since then. Forgotten are the 80s' gems Flick of the Switch and Fly on the Wall, the commercial reemergence of 1990's The Razor's Edge, or even the last two studio albums Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip. The general public collectively tuned out after For Those About to Rock and that was it.
Kicking off with the single "Rock 'n Roll Train", it's clear that Black Ice is the most well written, performed, and produced album in twenty years. Producer Brendan O'Brien has rescued the band from the dull Rick Rubin travesty (even Malcom Young admits that choice was a mistake) Ballbreaker and the slightly better but still tame George Young produced Stiff Upper Lip. As the listener rolls through the next tracks, "Skies on Fire", "Big Jack", "Anything Goes", and "War Machine" it becomes blindingly apparent how bad the previous production jobs were. Somehow, O'Brien has worked lead singer Brian Johnson's voice back up to par, and everything is as it's supposed to be. The guitar licks come in the natural Young brother's style, the choruses are booming, and Angus' solos sound appropriately Angus.
Artistically, the shortcomings are obviously playing it safe and sticking to what they do best. However, if you have a sincere problem with that, you have no business listening to AC/DC in the first place. When Brian Johnson screeches the chorus to the menacing "Spolin' For a Fight" you know you've heard it before, but it still sounds good. It's almost sweetly reassuring that a band pushing their sixties (actually, Brian is 61) can still pump out music that stirs up that age-old spirit of causing trouble and having a good time. Fans are certainly responding to this. The hype around Black Ice has proved that, and first week SoundScan reports are hovering around 800,000 units in its first week. Not bad for a bunch of geezers.
Don't let dour reviews or the fact that the CD version of Black Ice is only available at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club dampen your interest. This is the best AC/DC album any fan could have hoped for in 2008. Enjoy it.
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