AC/DC - Back In Black

Released 1980
Track listing

1.	"Hells Bells"	5:10
2.	"Shoot to Thrill"	5:17
3.	"What Do You Do for Money Honey"	3:33
4.	"Given the Dog a Bone"	3:30
5.	"Let Me Put My Love Into You"	4:16

6.	"Back in Black"	4:14
7.	"You Shook Me All Night Long"	3:30
8.	"Have a Drink on Me"	3:57
9.	"Shake a Leg"	4:06
10.	"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"	4:15

This is without doubt the greatest AC/DC album of all time in terms of sales alone. Musically I think its predecessor is better but it is a close run thing. Against the backdrop of the loss of Bon Scott and the arrival of Brian Johnson. The album nearly didn't get made at all. The album opens ominously with Hells Bells which has become a classic of the band's live show. The track is also featured in the soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. Next we have Shoot To Thrill which is another classic and has made it into film in Iron Man 2. What Do YOu Do For Money Honey is typical AC/DC fare. Given The Dog A Bone is the weakest track on the album for me. Then we have another cheeky innuendo laden song which would become the trademark of the Brian Johnson era. Let Me Put My Love Into You is yet again classic AC/DC. Then we get a set of the most famous guitar chords in history as we move into the title track. This is a genuine classic track. Then we have another saucy little number. You Shook Me All Night Long is a track about a night spent with a beautiful woman. The video which I saw on television which features the glamour model Corinne Russell was set in and around Huddersfield. We then have another couple of tracks in Have  A Drink On Me and Shake A Leg. To wind down at the end we have an unsung classic. Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution is an anthemic track which certainly states my opinion on the music.

Recommended track - You Shook Me All Night Long

You Shook Me All Night Long

(c) Jonathan Kirton

AC/DC - Highway To Hell

Released 1979

Track listing

1.	"Highway to Hell"	3:29
2.	"Girls Got Rhythm"	3:24
3.	"Walk All Over You"	5:11
4.	"Touch Too Much"	4:28
5.	"Beating Around the Bush"	3:57

6.	"Shot Down in Flames"	3:23
7.	"Get It Hot"	2:35
8.	"If You Want Blood (You've Got It)"	4:38
9.	"Love Hungry Man"	4:18
10.	"Night Prowler"	6:18

This album will undoubtedly go down as a classic rock album. It is the last album of the Bon Scott era and is in my opinion the best of the lot. The track listing is littered with tracks which have become classic AC/DC let alone classic rock/metal tracks. The album opens with the title track. From opening chords it grabs you and you are drawn along on the journey towards 'party time'.  The tempo picks up with the next track. Girls Got Rhythm just makes you want to get up and move. You then change down a gear with Walk All Over You. Then we have what is for me the best track on the album. Touch Too Much. It has a bluesy feel and the lyrics help convey the scene. "It was one of those nights when you turn out the lights and everything comes into view". This song oozes sex. It is then followed by the weakest track on the album. Beating Around The Bush is not a particularly great song. But then you get another classic with Shot Down In Flames. They keep the temperature theme going with Get It Hot. Then along comes another classic. If You Want Blood (You've Got It). This is a high octane track. We then move into Love Hungry Man. But the album finishes off with a track which caused controversy in America (but what doesn't). If this had been Mick Jagger and Keith Richards singing people would have said that this was fantastic. The song does have a feel of Midnight Rambler by The Rolling Stones.

This is a well put together album and is rightly a classic and don't shout it too loudly is arguably as good as the album that followed it and which is the 3rd bestselling album in history. How good could this line up have become is an unanswerable question but this album is a fitting epitaph to a great singer.

Recommended track - Touch Too Much

(c) Jonathan Kirton

AC/DC Powerage

Released 1978
Track listing

1.	"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation"	3:06
2.	"Gimme a Bullet"	3:20
3.	"Down Payment Blues"	5:40
4.	"Gone Shootin'"	5:22
5.	"Riff Raff"	5:14
6.	"Sin City"	4:45
7.	"Up to My Neck in You"	4:12
8.	"What's Next to the Moon"	3:42
9.	"Cold Hearted Man"	3:32
10.	"Kicked in the Teeth"	3:58

This album is caught between a rock and a hard place. Historically it sits between Let There Be Rock and Highway To Hell. arguably the two best albums of the Bon Scott era. It is not a bad album and is typical AC/DC in terms of musical style and content.  Unfortunately it is not as good as its predecessor or its successor. The album gets off to a good start with Rock N Roll Damnation. We then have Gimme A Bullet, Down Payment Blues and Gone Shootin. None of these are bad tracks they just aren't that memorable. Down Payment Blues is a song about people who are struggling in life and is very relevant in today's climate.

We then have another classic with Riff Raff. This isn't a song about a character from Rocky Horror. The rest of the album kind of merges into one and none of the tracks are particularly memorable.

Recommended track:- Rock N Roll Damnation

(c) Jonathan Kirton

AC/DC - Let There Be Rock

Released 1977

Track listing

1. Go Down
2. Dog Eat Dog
3. Let There Be Rock
4. Bad Boy Boogie
5. Problem Child
6. Overdose
7. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To be
8. Whole Lotta Rosie

This album is a real joy to listen to. From the very first track the class is apparent. Go Down is a belter and gets things off to a rockin start. Dog eat Dog is OK but not a patch on the Adam & The Ants track of the same name.  Then we have the anthemic Let There Be Rock. The thing I like about rock and metal is the fact is that the use of language in the lyrics and the scope of referencing is better. The song refers to the roots of rock n roll - a combination of Schmaltz and the blues. Tchaikovsky even gets a shout in reference to Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven. I have also long held the opinion that classical music has had a great influence on rock music. This song is a classic and there have been several covers but my personal favourite is by Bristol thrash metal outfit, Onslaught, on there album In Search of Sanity. Next up we have Bad Boy Boogie which just keeps the tempo going. Problem Child is featured again for some reason. Overdose is a song about having too much of one person. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be is classic AC/DC. The album ends with another anthem. Whole Lotta Rosie is about a one night stand with a well endowed woman from Tasmania. It has inspired cover versions. Guns N Roses famously used to perform it live. It has also been covered by W.A.S.P and Bullet For My Valentine.

This album is a classic and is a clear precursor to the great albums which were to come.

Track recommendation: Whole Lotta Rosie

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Released 1976

Track listing

1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
2. Love at First Feel
3. Big Balls
4. Rocker
5. Problem Child
6. There's Gonna Be Some Rockin
7. Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round To Be  A Millionaire)
8. Ride On
9. Squealer

This album probably qualifies as the tricky second album. The style, sound and feel is all there but it isn't quite as good as the first album or subsequent albums. That being said there is enough there for the fans. The opener is a classic. AC/DC never felt afraid to confront the nastier or seamier side of life and this song is a perfect example. Love At First Feel is not a great track but is followed by one of those 'Carry On' moments that AC/DC do so well. Big Balls on the face of the lyrics is about somebody who likes throwing parties but scratch not very far at the surface and you find that double entendre is alive and well. Rocker is a fairly ordinary track and Problem Child is alright . The album continues with There's Gonna Be Some Rockin and Ain't No Fun. Then we have possibly the best track on the album, Ride On. It is a slow, bluesy number and just oozes class. Last up we have Squealer.

Overall the album is not great but shows hints of what is to come. 

Track recommendation: Ride On

Listen with Jonathan: AC/DC - High Voltage (International Release)

Released 1976

Track listing

1.	"It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"	5:01
2.	"Rock 'n' Roll Singer"	5:04
3.	"The Jack"	5:52
4.	"Live Wire"	5:50

5.	"T.N.T."	3:34
6.	"Can I Sit Next to You Girl" (A. Young, M. Young)	4:12
7.	"Little Lover"	5:37
8.	"She's Got Balls"	4:51
9.	"High Voltage"	4:03

This album is another debut album. It is actually a combination of two Australian albums, High Voltage and TNT. Most of the tracks come from the latter album. The sound that would define AC/DC is clearly evident. The bluesy, ballsy rock n roll is very much to the fore. Bon Scott's vocals and Angus Young's guitar are outstanding. The album is not perfect but it is strong enough. The opening track is a cracker and is followed up by Rock N Roll Singer and The Jack. The album then becomes something of a rollercoaster. Live Wire is not great but TNT is brilliant. Can I Sit Next To You Girl is a bit if a filler but Little Lover is a bluesy highlight. She's Got Balls is typical of a lot of AC/DC songs but the album finishes off with a classic, High Voltage.

The album features bagpipes which for a rock album is a bit of a novelty. It is well worth a listen and some wannabe stars should listen to the opening number to see what it takes to get anywhere in the music business. Many years later The Four Horsemen would match this number with Nobody Said It Was Easy and Rockin Is My Business.  Choosing a track is difficult one. I am a fan of AC/DC but not a huge one. I could pick any one of half a dozen. If you like rock music this is a good introduction.

Track recommendation: It's A Long Way To The Top

Listen with Jonathan:- ABC - The Lexicon of Love

Released 1982. Version listened to 1998 remaster.
Track listing

1. "Show Me" – 4:02
2. "Poison Arrow" – 3:24
3. "Many Happy Returns" – 3:56
4. "Tears Are Not Enough" – 3:31
5. "Valentine's Day" – 3:42
6. "The Look of Love" (Part One) – 3:26
7. "Date Stamp" – 3:51
8. "All of My Heart" – 5:12
9. "4 Ever 2 Gether" – 5:30 [co-written by Anne Dudley]
10. "The Look of Love" (Part Four) – 1:02
11. "Theme from Man Trap" – 4:19*

Frequently debut albums are tricky things. Usually one of three things happen. You are lauded as the next best thing and you then hit the tricky second album (e.g. Rage Against The Machine). Alternatively it is a flop and you disappear into oblivion or it has some success but turns out to be the best thing you ever did. Rarely do bands have hit album after hit album. ABC came in towards the end of the New Romantics and at the start of electronic music. 

The thing that sets this album apart is that it doesn't really feel like it is either. ABC hailed from Sheffield along with bands like Human League and Heaven 17. The album opens strongly and the musical quality oozes from every pore. For me, a closet bassist ( I taught myself how to play bass as an intellectual exercise once), it is the bass lines which stand out. If to this you add the vocals of Martin Fry and the orchestration of Anne Dudley you have a work of immense quality. Anne Dudley can also be seen in Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra. The four singles - Poison Arrow, Tears Are Not Enough, The Look of Love (Part One) and All of My Heart are packed with quality. For me Tears is the weakest of the bunch. That being said I once met somebody who played on the demo version which can be found on the 2004 version of the album. 

There isn't really a weak track on this album the combination of Fry, Dudley and the bassline make this an outstanding debut. My personal favourite is the Theme from Man Trap which is a reworking of Poison Arrow on piano and vocals.

Track recommendation: Theme from Man Trap

Listen with Jonathan: Out of order:- Voulez Vous and SuperTrouper by ABBA

Over the Christmas break I was round at my in laws and my mother in law had the above two albums so I thought it would be stupid to overlook this gift horse and so I listened to both albums back to back.

These are among the later albums issued by the band. Their musical style has by now been well established and gone are the experimental tracks and the forays into genres other than pop. The sound and the layering of the vocals is obvious but the fractures between the band are there lyrically.


Voulez-Vous? (1997 remastered edition)

This album is crammed full of hits records. There are no less than 6 singles present. We start with a classic opener with As Good As New and then follow up with three classics (Voulez Vous, I Have A Dream and Angel Eyes). You feel safe at this stage feeling that you know what you are going to get. Then we have a hybrid track. The King Has Lost His Crown has hints of disco, punk and rock music and is an interesting listen. Then we have the next single, Does Your Mother Know? This song is predominantly delivered by Bjorn. He should stick to writing and guitar, he is no vocalist. The album then offers up a slightly Country & Western track with If It Wasn't For The Nights. This downward slope leads to utter schmaltz in the form of Chiquitita and sheer awfulness with Lovers (Live a Little Longer). The album closes with Kisses of Fire, Summer Night City and Love Light.

After a strong start this album loses its way somewhat. Albums rarely contain all cracking tracks and so that is not a fair criticism to level here. It is an album of two halves and the second is not as strong as the first.  It is worth a listen nevertheless.

Track recommendation: Voulez-Vous?

SuperTrouper (1997 remastered edition)

This album is not nearly as strong as Voulez-Vous? I loathe and detest the title track which opens the session. I am not sure why I dislike it so much but I always have. The second track is simply a classic. The Winner Takes It All is breathtaking in terms of sound and lyrics. According to Bjorn and Agnetha it was one of the hardest songs to sing given the backdrop in their personal life. We then have On & On & ON which for me is just new romantic rubbish. ABBA were never New Romantics. Andante, Andante is actually quite good and it might have been interesting if they had left it as an instrumental. Then we have an track which appears to be about multiple personality disorder and seems to have a Jean-Michel Jarre feel to it. The next single we come across is Happy New Year. I can imagine Julie Andrews singing this. I need to make it clear that that is not a recommendation. Our Last Summer is insipid and The Piper is not much better.

Lay All Your Love On Me is another ABBA classic. The rest of the album with the exception of Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (originally released on a compilation album) is tedious.

It is not their greatest album and the band appears to be on the wane somewhat.

Track recommendation: The Winner Takes It All

I may revisit the other ABBA albums later but I feel the need to listen to something else.

The listening experiment 2: ABBA - Waterloo

This is ABBAs second album. It kicks off with the title track. This song made ABBA huge as it was the one which won Eurovision.  However, unlike Ring Ring the tracks following the opener are different. Sitting In The Palmtree which follows has a reggae beat underlying it. At times the vocal style of the band is at odds with the beat but unlike with Ring Ring the contrast doesn’t great and it is an understated little number.

Next we have King Kong Song which has more of a glam rock undertone which is in keeping with the times.  This is followed by Hasta Manana. This is one of the singles from the album. It has a very Eurovision feel and I didn’t recognise the song until I heard the chorus. The song is very much of its time and has that ABBA feel to it. It is a well crafted song. My Mama Said has a rhythm which would come to be associated with disco in the following years.

Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) is another track which would only have come out of the 1970s and is another pop song. This is followed by the third of the singles which was released, Honey Honey. This is a bit of an ABBA classic. From the pop we move back to glam rock with Watch Out. The problem with this song for me is that it isn’t sure what it wants to be. One moment it is glam rock then pop. It would have been stronger if it had stuck to the glam path.

Then we have What About Livingstone. It is unclear whether this is about the town in Lothian, the Scottish explorer or if it is indeed about anything at all.  Next we have a ballad, Gonna Sing You My Love Song. It is pure ABBA but is still not particularly strong. Last we have Suzy Hang A-Round. It has a feel of something from the 1960s possibly The Mamas & The Papas.

Overall it is a much better album than Ring Ring. It didn’t do too well in the charts and only the title track made any real impact on the UK charts. That being said it is much more obvious to see where the band are starting to go. What they needed to do was define their style and decide what sort of music they wanted to do. This album shows the breadth of musical influence but is still not the finished article.

Track recommendation: Waterloo

Listening to albums 1: Ring Ring by ABBA

Well the experiment has to start somewhere and the letter A is as good a place as any. The first band in my Itunes library is ABBA. Many of my friends will be alarmed to hear this as I am something of a metalhead. However, as I have grown older and my senses of appreciation have developed I certainly understand better what made their music better than just about everybody else. It is also clear to see why ABBA became one of the few Eurovision winners to achieve very much success.

Ring Ring was the album before they became known as ABBA and the one before their Eurovision success. The first track is the title track. Unfortunately for the album goes downhill from hereon in. Ring Ring is a good track and you can see why it became a hit. Apart from Benny & Bjorn the track is co written by Neil Sedaka and on listening to it you can see where his style of writing comes through. However, the tracks from that moment on were bland and there was nothing that would lead you to the conclusion that this group would become one of the biggest on the planet and who would launch a thousand tribute acts.

The final track Rock N Roll Band is alright but no more than that. So having been disappointed by this album I returned to ABBA Gold which is their greatest hits album. My recommendation would be to stick to the Greatest Hits as you will not be disappointed by it. Ring Ring is a fairly weak album and for me I would not recommend it.

Track recommendation: Ring Ring