Blow Up Your Video [Original recording remastered]

This album isn't as uniformly strong as "Back In Black" or 1990's "The Razor's Edge", but the hit singles "Heatseeker" and "That's The Way I Wanna Rock n' Roll" are great, and several of the "lesser" songs are very good as well, with only a little bit of filler ("This Means War" and "Go Zone").

I always liked "Nick Of Time", with its descending wail of a chorus, and "Ruff Stuff" and "Some Sin For Nuthin'" are great as well. This album will be a fine addition to your AC/DC-catalogue once you've got "Back In Black", "Highway To Hell", "The Razor's Edge" and "Let There Be Rock".

So, in the car this morning, I picked this under-rated gem to listen to to get my AC/DC fix, and I was not left wanting. The first time I heard this record, I thought "huh?" But after repeated listenings, it grows on ya. This was accomplished on a cross country drive across Canada: I bought the cassette in Kingston, Ontario, but by the time I left British Columbia and drove into Washington, we were like old friends.

One of the things that threw me for a loop was Brian Johnson's vocals; It sounded as though he were singing in an echo chamber, the miking was so far away. Good vocals, nonetheless, but too distant to grab you by the throat.

Angus and Malcolm's twin guitar attack is honed sharp as, well, a razor's edge, and I especially love the quintessential AC/DC pentatonic blues scale when employed on this album. Cliff's bass is thumping, and even though I'm a Phil Rudd fan, I like Simon Wright's drumming -- clean, somewhat jazzy, but it is a bit out of place on an AC/DC album; he's too free and loose with the notes, particularly on the ride and high hat cymbals. Phil, on the other hand, is a human metronome, but he's got a sweet sound, particularly when in sync with the bass guitar.

Here's some of the killer tunes on the album:

Kissin' Dynamite: Just a great power trip.

Some Sin For Nothin': Excellent solos, ensemble playing and cool double entendre of the "blatant subtlety" variant that sets AC/DC apart from D.H. Lawrence or Walt Whitman.

Ruff Stuff and Two's Up: Really dirty blues backbeat (both) and driving go-go beat (latter).

Meanwhile, it may surprise listeners that I think "Heatseeker" is one of the weaker songs in this mix. The rest are just reliable meatgrinders, and once you get a third or fourth hearing, you'll be hooked.