You pretty much know what you're getting when you hear rock legends AC/DC have a new album coming out.
'Power Up', their 17th studio album, has long been in the making, and fans worldwide have eagerly awaited its arrival amidst teasers from the band's Twitter page.
The single, 'Shot in the Dark', lifted off the album, has been available for several weeks. It's a typical Acca Dacca, catchy riff (thank you, Malcolm). The high-pitch vocals, harmony, and solid thud-on-the skins with the familiar short bursts of Angus Young's bluesy influenced lead breaks.
'Power Up', their 17th studio album, has long been in the making, and fans worldwide have eagerly awaited its arrival amidst teasers from the band's Twitter page.
The single, 'Shot in the Dark', lifted off the album, has been available for several weeks. It's a typical Acca Dacca, catchy riff (thank you, Malcolm). The high-pitch vocals, harmony, and solid thud-on-the skins with the familiar short bursts of Angus Young's bluesy influenced lead breaks.
'Realize', their second single, follows the same successful formula. AC/DC doesn't add synths or orchestral versions; it's just straight down the middle, in-your-face rock n' roll.
Forty-two years ago, I first heard 'Rosie' blasted out at my local youth centre disco. Standing on the side of the dance floor, listening to Olivia Newton John, the Bee Gees, and other poppy bands of that era didn't cut it for me. Given I have two left feet when it comes to dancing, no music could get me on the dance floor. That was, of course, until I heard AC/DC. First, it was the right foot tap. Next came the left leg acting as a piston, keeping in time with the drumbeat and rhythm guitar. I joined a posse of guys and gals in a circle shaking their heads and playing air guitars. They knew the licks, and I wanted to know them, too.
A year or so later, armed with a golden ticket (£4), I was at Stafford Bingley Hall for my first concert. What a baptism! Bon Scott belting out songs from Highway to Hell and the back catalogue (which I now had). I went to see them again a few months later at Birmingham Odeon. It was a unique concert, and to my knowledge, the only time AC/DC had strippers dancing on stage to 'The Jack'.
I've since seen AC/DC countless times and appeared in two of their videos, 'Are You Ready' and 'Rock or Bust'. Well, three if I include 'That's the Way I Wanna Rock N' Roll', where I was down the front at Birmingham NEC, armed with a cardboard cut-out of a cherry-red Gibson SG. I was also expelled from school, in part, because of them, but that's another story.
I love this band and their 17th offering. Some highlights include:
'Demon Fire', 'No Man's Land', 'Witch's Spell', 'Systems Down', and the unbelievable 'Through the Mists of Time'.
Brian Johnson and the rest of the band are in top form. Stevie Young is the only man that could ever fill the boots of Uncle Mal; nobody else should ever take that role, ditto Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams.
I once shared a pint with Stevie in a Birmingham bar when he played rhythm guitar for a local band called 'Starfighters' and had previously filled in for Malcolm during the American leg of a world tour.
'Power Up' is available on most media platforms, including Spotify and iTunes and online outlets. Do record stores exist anymore?
It's a welcome break and defiant middle-finger message to the invisible monster that has plagued us all in 2020. 'Power Up' proves that regardless of our age, we are never too old to rock, be it accomplished guitarists or, like me, air guitarists.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Bob Fiddaman
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