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'Rock N Roll Train' just keeps on chugging as Australian quintet rolls into Cleveland
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 07:12 a.m. EST, Jan 01, 2009
There are few sure things in rock.
Rock stars burn out and fade away, hot new bands wear out their welcome after a few albums and various subgenres and retro ''revivals'' that are sure to revive rock as the dominant pop music force flame out, leaving a few survivors and a bunch of wannabes floundering for the next ''new'' sound.
But if rock music is an ever-turning worm, one of the few true constants of the past 35 years is AC/DC.
The Australian quintet, which will perform Monday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, has been led by brother guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young since the beginning. The band's basic sound has been set in stone since High Voltage, its 1975 debut.
While phrases such as ''maturation'' and ''progression'' usually apply to bands that hang around for a decade or so, no one expects AC/DC to grow, and its fans wouldn't have it any other way.
On Black Ice, AC/DC's 15th studio album and first album of new material in eight years, the band gives fans what they want — single-minded, elemental, riff-based, foot-stomping, boogie-woogie rock.
The AC/DC blueprint was honed in Australia by the Young brothers, the youngest of eight children born to postwar Scottish immigrants. The brothers (Malcolm is two years older than Angus) grew up with the lure of rock 'n' roll as their older brother Alexander played German clubs with the Beatles, and brother George (who also produced their early albums) was a teen star with his band, the Easybeats, in the mid-1960s.
Neither brother found school rewarding and both quit at 15, taking up odd jobs and playing in various, separate bands (including one called the Velvet Underground that was unrelated to the New York legends).
Around 1973, the brothers started AC/DC, and after going through a series of rhythm sections and a singer named Dave Evans, they found another Scottish transplant, Bon Scott, with whom they recorded their debut. Scott's often shirtless figure and unique, strangled voice perfectly oozed lascivious rock 'n' roll excess.
Fan favorites
Unsurprisingly, the band's early records were generally met with antipathy from critics but quickly found an audience. Its next five albums established the AC/DC sound and its loyal following. By 1979's Highway to Hell, the group found its way onto the U.S top 20. But when hard-partying Scott died in 1980 after a night of heavy drinking, the Young brothers quickly moved forward, bringing Brian Johnson of Geordie into the fold.
Less than a year later, the band released Back in Black, AC/DC's most successful album, which has sold more than 22 million copies.
Since then, the band's output has waned. It released only two albums each in the 1990s and 2000s, but those albums sold millions, and the subsequent tours were smashing successes.
Black Ice, released in October, has received mostly positive reviews, but an AC/DC album is critic-proof because all most fans require is that it sound like AC/DC.
Black Ice, sold exclusively at Walmarts, fits snugly into the band's catalog. While it might not contain a future classic rock radio staple such as Back in Black or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, the album hits all the familiar AC/DC trademarks.
Simple formula
The lead track and single Rock N Roll Train rides a simple, catchy riff, while longtime bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd (easily the least flashy rhythm section in rock) bash out a straight 4/4 beat. Singer Johnson gurgles and growls in what's left of his gravel-gargling, cigarette-ravaged voice and Angus Young unleashes one of his typically sharp, biting solos.
Lyrically, the Young brothers, who wrote all of the album's songs, pretty much stick to what they know best, namely, the freeing power of rock and the lure of bold women (there are no demure wallflowers in AC/DC songs).
Three of the album's 15 songs contain the word ''rock'' in the title and other songs such as Spoilin' for a Fight and the mid-tempo Smash 'n' Grab touch on common themes.
While Black Ice doesn't stray far from the script, there are a couple of curve balls (or more aptly, sliders) in the arena-rock ready Anything Goes, a likely future single, and Decibel, a straight-forward, down-tempo blues tune.
There's really nothing new on Black Ice. The album debuted at No. 1 and has already sold more than 2 million copies in the United States and has surpassed 5 million worldwide.
The obligatory world tour began in late October and has received favorable reviews for its outsized rock grandeur, Angus Young's boundless energy and requisite school-boy uniform. The tour boasts a 21-song set list that includes as many as five songs from the new album and a sizable chunk of the band's career going back to its second album, T.N.T.
Additionally, the band of quinquagenarians (save Johnson, who is 61) still brings the energy and old-school, fist-pumping, chorus-singing rock 'n' roll vibe it's honed for three-plus decades.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Details
- What: AC/DC
- When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5
- Where: Quicken Loans Arena, 1 Center Court, Cleveland
- Tickets: $91.50
- Information: 330-945-9400, http://www.ticketmaster.com
There are few sure things in rock.
Rock stars burn out and fade away, hot new bands wear out their welcome after a few albums and various subgenres and retro ''revivals'' that are sure to revive rock as the dominant pop music force flame out, leaving a few survivors and a bunch of wannabes floundering for the next ''new'' sound.
But if rock music is an ever-turning worm, one of the few true constants of the past 35 years is AC/DC.
The Australian quintet, which will perform Monday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, has been led by brother guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young since the beginning. The band's basic sound has been set in stone since High Voltage, its 1975 debut.
While phrases such as ''maturation'' and ''progression'' usually apply to bands that hang around for a decade or so, no one expects AC/DC to grow, and its fans wouldn't have it any other way.
On Black Ice, AC/DC's 15th studio album and first album of new material in eight years, the band gives fans what they want — single-minded, elemental, riff-based, foot-stomping, boogie-woogie rock.
The AC/DC blueprint was honed in Australia by the Young brothers, the youngest of eight children born to postwar Scottish immigrants. The brothers (Malcolm is two years older than Angus) grew up with the lure of rock 'n' roll as their older brother Alexander played German clubs with the Beatles, and brother George (who also produced their early albums) was a teen star with his band, the Easybeats, in the mid-1960s.
Neither brother found school rewarding and both quit at 15, taking up odd jobs and playing in various, separate bands (including one called the Velvet Underground that was unrelated to the New York legends).
Around 1973, the brothers started AC/DC, and after going through a series of rhythm sections and a singer named Dave Evans, they found another Scottish transplant, Bon Scott, with whom they recorded their debut. Scott's often shirtless figure and unique, strangled voice perfectly oozed lascivious rock 'n' roll excess.
Fan favorites
Unsurprisingly, the band's early records were generally met with antipathy from critics but quickly found an audience. Its next five albums established the AC/DC sound and its loyal following. By 1979's Highway to Hell, the group found its way onto the U.S top 20. But when hard-partying Scott died in 1980 after a night of heavy drinking, the Young brothers quickly moved forward, bringing Brian Johnson of Geordie into the fold.
Less than a year later, the band released Back in Black, AC/DC's most successful album, which has sold more than 22 million copies.
Since then, the band's output has waned. It released only two albums each in the 1990s and 2000s, but those albums sold millions, and the subsequent tours were smashing successes.
Black Ice, released in October, has received mostly positive reviews, but an AC/DC album is critic-proof because all most fans require is that it sound like AC/DC.
Black Ice, sold exclusively at Walmarts, fits snugly into the band's catalog. While it might not contain a future classic rock radio staple such as Back in Black or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, the album hits all the familiar AC/DC trademarks.
Simple formula
The lead track and single Rock N Roll Train rides a simple, catchy riff, while longtime bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd (easily the least flashy rhythm section in rock) bash out a straight 4/4 beat. Singer Johnson gurgles and growls in what's left of his gravel-gargling, cigarette-ravaged voice and Angus Young unleashes one of his typically sharp, biting solos.
Lyrically, the Young brothers, who wrote all of the album's songs, pretty much stick to what they know best, namely, the freeing power of rock and the lure of bold women (there are no demure wallflowers in AC/DC songs).
Three of the album's 15 songs contain the word ''rock'' in the title and other songs such as Spoilin' for a Fight and the mid-tempo Smash 'n' Grab touch on common themes.
While Black Ice doesn't stray far from the script, there are a couple of curve balls (or more aptly, sliders) in the arena-rock ready Anything Goes, a likely future single, and Decibel, a straight-forward, down-tempo blues tune.
There's really nothing new on Black Ice. The album debuted at No. 1 and has already sold more than 2 million copies in the United States and has surpassed 5 million worldwide.
The obligatory world tour began in late October and has received favorable reviews for its outsized rock grandeur, Angus Young's boundless energy and requisite school-boy uniform. The tour boasts a 21-song set list that includes as many as five songs from the new album and a sizable chunk of the band's career going back to its second album, T.N.T.
Additionally, the band of quinquagenarians (save Johnson, who is 61) still brings the energy and old-school, fist-pumping, chorus-singing rock 'n' roll vibe it's honed for three-plus decades.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Details
- What: AC/DC
- When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5
- Where: Quicken Loans Arena, 1 Center Court, Cleveland
- Tickets: $91.50
- Information: 330-945-9400, http://www.ticketmaster.com
Comments
Click here to post your comments
barberton, oh
Posted 07:39 PM, 12/31/2008
WOW WHAT A GREAT STORY ... I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE SHOW MONDAY NIGHT, IVE SEEN AC/DC 3 OR 4 TIMES OVER THE YEARS, BUT I THINK THIS WILL BE THE FARE WELL TOUR.. THEY ARE GETTING OLDER, BUT HEY THEY STILL KNOW HOW TO ' rock-&-ROLL. THERE FANS... I HOPE THEY PLAY MY FAVORITE SONG.. " RIDE ON"!! THANKS FOR THE NICE REVIEW ON THESE GUYS.. MUCH LUV . WENDY AKA MACMAMA40
Posted 08:08 PM, 01/01/2009
Actually, that redundant album features four songs with the word "rock" in the title, not three.
hudson, oh
Posted 02:02 PM, 01/02/2009
Trailer rock rules!!!! Bon Jovi too! Joe Dirt's of N.E. Ohio, get your mullet on!
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 06:12 AM, 01/03/2009
7-24-1979-Cleveland Municipal Stadium-World Series of Rock-ACDC-JOURNEY-AEROSMITH-THIN LIZZY-TED NUGENT-ticket price $12.50-ACDC was on first,BON SCOTT ROCKED.
