Rock & Roll Aint Noise Pollution (Back In Black - AC/DC)

Member Name: mr blonde

Product:	Back In Black - AC/DC
Date:	11/12/03 (3093 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: true rock and roll music

Disadvantages: none

Well, I have just finished reading the section of reviews about this album, there are all of 2 reviews and neither of which go in depth enough and explain the power of this defining album in my humble opinion, so I feel it deserves something a little more in depth.

This is going to be a track by track review, so if these normally bore you, feel free not to read this, I am writing this one for my own sanity, not for the rest of the world, the album needs to be justified!!! The album was produced in 1980.

Band members:
Angus Young
Brian Johnson
Malcolm Young
Cliff Williams
Phil Rudd

I must comment at this point, AC/DC have been going since 1973, this lineup is merely the one for the Back In Black album, there have been so many changes and band members through the years (it seems unfair not to mention Bon Scott) that it would make the list stupidly long, and Dooyoo won't let me put a link to a website that has lists of them all!!

Tracks:

1/ Hells Bells.
A bell chimes in the distance, the suspense builds, then we hear the slow but meaningful sounds of Angus' guitar, the atmosphere for the opening of this album truly goes a long way to define this entire record. Then we hear the drums come into the fray, again, relatively slow building the song up, some bass comes in and then we hear Johnson's voice. This whole buildup gets faster as the song goes on, though never reaches speeds of what we now label as metal bands, but then, this band, was never metal, it was rock n roll all the way! I personally feel this is perhaps my favorite song on the album, maybe because of the intro, maybe just because it is an excellent rock song, who knows, I like it though.

2/ Shoot To Thrill.
This song basically picks up were Hells Bells finishes, and to be honest the album never really stops going from there on in. This one is more catchy, a bit quicker off the mark, and has all the charact
eristics of an AC/DC song, brilliant riffs from Angus, throat throttling vocals from Johnson, I do feel that the spotlight is always on Angus and Johnson, it seems unfair to leave the other band members out, but I do feel that AC/DC as a band front those 2 men in particular as being their main attraction so to speak. The song itself goes into what in many ways are the rock n roll lifestyle, sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Another excellent track.

3/ What Do You Do For Money Honey
This is one of my least favorite tracks on the album to be honest, as a song in its own right, it's not bad, but I don't think it is up to the standard most of the album sets for itself. It starts off with a few quick "twangs" of the guitar strings, followed by a pretty good riff, the vocals take hardly any time to kick in. maybe this is why I aint as fussed on this album, I generally like songs with longer intros that build more.

4/ Given The Dog A Bone
This has a little longer intro, although nothing spectacular, however, this song is really catchy, unlike the previous one. The usual Angus style riff carries through the song, and Johnson uses some backup vocals too to give the chorus a bit more emphasis. Overall this may not be as strong a track as say Back In Black, or Hells Bells, but it is certainly a fun track to listen to, and one that rarely gets skipped when I have this album on.

5/ Let Me Put My Love Into You
This to me is always a crude title, and I imagine it will be for anyone with a slightly crude sense of humour, in many ways that is also true of what the song is about, although I do think it is mainly based on the emotional side of things, such as trust, although I do think the play on words was intentional, let's face it, AC/DC have always been renowned for having fun and being serious over something like love doesn't really seem their style.

6/ Back In Black
Truly a rock anthem, often
described as defining and I would tend to agree with that statement. One of the few songs that starts with a drum beat as opposed to a guitar, although Angus soon mends that and kicks in with the main riff of the track. This is without doubt one of the most catchy guitar riffs I have ever heard, especially considering the pop group 5 used it in one of their songs (I dunno, pop stars these days, I am just glad they split up before they did any more damage to the rock industry (we all know that their version of Queen's We Will Rock You is nowhere near as good as the original, even with Brian May and Roger Taylor in accompaniment). The guitar solo in this song is also exceedingly catchy, as are the vocals. This song really is rock music in its purest form.

7/ You Shook Me All Night Long
The name gives it away what this one is about. Again, this really is a true rock n roll song, it also has a little more emphasis on the drum beat in this one, perhaps more so than in previous songs and it works a treat as it adds just a little something different to an album that is far from bland in the first place. This really is just one of those songs were you find yourself tapping your feet, nodding your head and singing at the top of your voice in the car when you are driving alone that is! Great stuff.

8/ Have A Drink On Me
Again, typical AC/DC riff to open up the proceedings, Angus is again accompanied by the drums of Phil Rudd. There isn't really much that is complex about this song, it is catchy, has good riffs and again, is one of those you can quite happily sing along too with minimal of fuss remembering lyrics. Although I don't personally think it is as good as You Shook Me All Night Long.

9/ Shake A Leg
This I would say is my least favorite on the album as regards lyrics, but I think it has possibly the most catch of all the guitar riffs on here, it is a bizarre combination, seems to work, but I think that is
more down to Angus than Brian Johnson. Not a bad song once it gets going, but I find the intro puts me off it a little, even though the guitar work is exceptionally intricate during the solos.

10/ Rock And Roll Aint Noise Pollution
My title track for this review, and how true it is!!! AC/DC knew it, millions of their fans know it, and now I am hoping that many dooyooers know it! Again this one starts off really slow, building all the time, although it doesn't really get going speed wise, as say Hells Bells or Back In Black do, it is truly one of those songs that sums a hell of a lot up about the music world. I have felt in the last few years that what I define as real music, namely people writing music, performing it live, writing their own songs, has been pushed aside in favour of commercially produced garbage such as Will Young and the whole boy/girl band phase. This song I feel although produced in 1980, is prevalent in the meaning of music. As the lyrics go:
Rock and roll aint noise pollution,
rock and roll aint gonna die,
rock and roll aint noise pollution,
rock and roll's just rock and roll

How true!

I don't really care what people think on this review, I haven't done this one for the money or to voice a particular opinion, I just felt that this defining rock album deserved more than the bare minimum word count allowed by Dooyoo for a review. If you have enjoyed the review, good stuff, that is a bonus I guess. Cheerio

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