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Rating: The early '90s marked the powerful comeback of a band that many had considered finished, AC/DC.
After a series of mediocre albums in 1990, the band led by the Young brothers' guitars released "THE RAZOR'S EDGE", an album that, while not exceptional, marked a return to good form. Thanks especially to the single "THUNDERSTRUCK" and its accompanying video, the group managed to attract old fans and, surprisingly, made new inroads among teenagers. Since you have to strike while the iron is hot, the decision was made to take advantage of the favorable times to organize a massive tour: 153 concerts across almost two years, visiting 21 different countries. Among the various shows was a memorable appearance at the "Monsters of Rock" in Donington, before an enormous crowd, and a show in Moscow with an even larger audience, touted as the biggest crowd ever recorded for a rock concert. In short, the tour was a huge success and AC/DC's popularity reached its highest peak since "BACK IN BLACK".
In 1992, the album "LIVE" was released to testify to the two years on the road. It was the band's second official live album, fourteen years after the first (stunning) "IF YOU WANT BLOOD YOU'VE GOT IT", a period of significant changes, most notably the death of Bon Scott, who was replaced by Brian "vitriol" Johnson, and the temporary departure of drummer Phill Rudd, initially replaced by Simon Wright and then by Chris Slade, who didn’t remain with the band long but made an indelible mark on AC/DC's history with this live record. There were two editions of this album: a single CD with an obviously reduced setlist, but still excellent, intended for the broadest audience possible, and the 2CD edition, more expensive, but undoubtedly more comprehensive and appealing to long-time fans. I believe the complete version is actually the best, and this is the object of this review.
From the start, you can immediately perceive an excellent audio quality, well-balanced between the volumes of the instruments and the vocals. The performances are incredibly powerful, the sound is aggressive, yet enveloping, warm, and at times scorching. It feels like you're indeed facing a major event, pure arena rock. The performances are definitely excellent, even if at times Brian Johnson is a little too hoarse, but certainly, the passion, grit, and sweat are not lacking; he's not always perfect with Bon’s pieces, but no one ever really expected perfection from him — he puts his soul into it, and that's enough. He still confirms himself as a great frontman. The surprise for me is Chris Slade, who pounds the drums like a locomotive, his performance is excellent. Angus Young deserves a special mention, being in a state of grace; in over two hours, he practically doesn't miss a single note. In fact, almost all his solos are better than the original versions — excellent, truly. His brother and Cliff Williams play their parts masterfully. The setlist is worthy of a Best Of, covering their entire career from their beginnings to the last album. Most of the tracks are from the Brian era, but almost all the great classics from the Bon era are there: HIGHWAY TO HELL, T.N.T., WHOLE LOTTA ROISIE, LET THERE BE ROCK, SIN CITY, DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP, JAILBREAK, HIGH VOLTAGE, THE JACK. There's a lot going on if you consider that besides the listed tracks, there's the absolute best from Back in Black onwards. Among the best performances are a much-accelerated "YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG" and a monstrous "BACK IN BLACK". Notable also are the excellent and long instrumental improvisations in LET THERE BE ROCK and JAILBREAK. Perhaps the greatest emotion comes with the instrumental BONNY (an adaptation of a traditional song) dedicated to Scott and followed by a thrilling "HIGHWAY TO HELL". It beautifully closes with the cannons of FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK.
Compared to the previous live album, we are faced with a less rock & roll, less playful and light-hearted performance, decidedly more metal-oriented, but times have changed a bit and so has the band's sound, which still remains true to itself and its origins. In short, they are no longer the band from smoky pubs full of beer and whiskey, but one for large stages and stadiums packed with people eager to sing along to the group's various anthems. The spontaneity and freshness of the past are certainly no longer there, but back then, that was a band still trying to establish itself. Now, it's a band that has already achieved the peak of absolute success from which it can only go down. Noteworthy is also the role of the audience, which in many pieces interacts with the band, becoming a protagonist. Perhaps the only flaw is the editing, in choosing to separate the tracks from each other, which somewhat loses the concert feel perfectly conveyed by IF YOU WANT BLOOD. I can't say which of the two is better, but I think I can state that they are ultimately quite complementary to each other, and probably only by listening to both can you get a 360-degree view of AC/DC.
AC/DC's music is not for refined tastes; probably their tracks all sound a bit alike, not to mention the albums; critics have never loved them too much, but frankly, I can't think of any band that better embodied the essence of rock with its merits, excesses, and flaws. Their songs are simple, with few interesting technical insights, yet they are played with something I haven't found in any other band. At times it seems like tribal music, with those easy choruses, a primitive, no-frills rock that has the devastating effect of freeing the mind and making space for everything associated with the purest emotions, without filters and without prejudices, pure and healthy vent. Damn rock!
P.S. The 2003 remastered edition comes in a very appealing hard cardboard packaging, a nice photographic booklet with notes. For many, this might be a minor aspect, but in an era where even blood is downloaded from the web, the only way for original products to survive is to provide a minimum value-added that goes beyond the imperceptibly better audio quality. The first CD also allows exclusive access to a site full of interesting little things. Goodbye to all.
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