Travels with Dinno

Following the defeat of Old Brods at the end of the last episode our next opponents were Nottingham Corsairs.  It was a comprehensive drubbing. It was almost as if they had forgotten how to play rugby. Judgment was lacking and no matter what the lads did they just couldn't match the rugby played by Nottingham.

The following week the lads went to Sandal for the Yorkshire Cup semi final. The day felt slightly odd but when it came to the game yet again judgment and luck seemed to desert the team. The forwards played out of their skins and were comfortably controlling the set pieces. At one try to nil down the backs tried a kick through but unfortunately the bounce of the ball didn't favour them. This put an idea in the minds of the players and they tried it again. This time a decision didn't go in their favour and Sandal got away with it again.

In the second half the forwards spent ten minutes camped on the Sandal line and through unselfishness missed the chance to put a try over. Ultimately Sandal came out 15 - 0 winners and went on to win the trophy. It was a game that we could have won and on another day would have done.

Next up Harrogate. I can't actually remember the score on this one.

Next Mansfield and a win in spite of some dodgy refereeing. I saw something unique in this game - a referee penalising one of his own officials. Despite that we won 36-27. Tries by Tom Woods, Trav, George and Angus helped the starting 15 dominate the opposition.

Last up was a 'tournament' featuring Paviors and Dronfield. Dinnington won but the day was bad tempered and the development team played well but didn't get the rewards that their play deserved.

The squad is still a work in progress and some tweaks are needed for next season. There may be one more to come this season.

AC/DC - The Brian Johnson years

As part of the process of listening to albums I have been listening to the albums following Brian Johnson joining AC/DC. What did I learn by doing this you ask? I learned that I preferred Bon Scott. There is nothing wrong with Brian Johnson's vocals but overall I preferred Bon's voice. Lyrically Bon always had a mischievous grin and a slightly darker edge and I like that in my music.  Brian Johnson is more from the 'Carry On' school of lyric writing.

The tragedy is that Back in Black which I have previously reviewed is actually very much in the Bon Scott vein and so it shows that he can produce that sort of music. The first album after Back in Black was For Those About To Rock. The title track is rightly a classic. My favourite track on the album is Inject The Venom. The problem the album has is that it has to try and live up to its predecessor. Unfortunately it isn't as good by some distance. There are still hints of the Bon Scott era. Evil Walks could easily have been from that period.

Next we have the album Flick of the Switch. I don't know what it was but the spark was definitely not here on this one. I struggled to find a track and if pushed would go for Badlands but the album just didn't work for me.

Fly on the Wall comes next and is slightly better. Shake Your Foundations and Sink The Pink are now classics but even so the album is not a classic. I recall at the time that during this period the band didn't seem to quite be hitting the right note.

The next original studio album is 1988's Blow Up Your Video. The opening tracks set a good standard. Heatseeker and That's The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll are great tracks. The problem is that the rest of the album isn't great.

The Razor's Edge feels like a better album. Yes all the Johnson era stuff is there. Thunderstruck is a great opener. The title track is full of menace. It is not perfect by any means. I first heard the album at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham whilst waiting to hear Queensryche and Lynch Mob in concert. It managed to keep the fans happy.

Next we have Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip neither of which are great albums. The most recent album is Black Ice and it is a better album.

My recommendation go and put on Back In Black.