Posts tagged: Australian Artists

Buy The Razor’s Edge

AC/DC showed the world that they were still an energetic and formidable band as they commenced the 1990s with the successful album, The Razor’s Edge. The music is upbeat and strong throughout this record and all tracks were compose by brother guitarists Malcolm Young and Angus Young. The album helped the group regain its former glory and sold approximately ten to twelve million copies worldwide, putting it well within the top echelon in AC/DC’s collection of albums.

Following the tremendous success of 1980’s Back In Black, AC/DC had mixed levels of success through the 1980s. The group’s original drummer, Phil Rudd, was fired following a physical altercation with Malcolm Young in 1983 and session drummers were used for that year’s album, Flick of the Switch. The group’s next album, Fly on the Wall in 1985, was universally panned as one of the group’s worst. However, 1988’s Blow Up Your Video, which reunited AC/DC’s original producers, Harry Vanda and George Young, and was a commercial success.

The Razor’s Edge was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and is the the only studio album by the band to feature drummer Chris Slade. The Young brothers took on composing duties alone because vocalist Brian Johnson was unable to attend some of the early album sessions.

The Razor’s Edge by AC/DC
Released: September 24, 1990 (Atco) Produced by: Bruce Fairbairn Recorded: Windmill Road Studios, Dublin, & Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver, BC, 1989-1990
Track Listing	Group Musicians
Thunderstruck Fire Your Guns Moneytalks The Razors Edge Mistress for Christmas Rock Your Heart Out Are You Ready Got You by the Balls Shot of Love Let’s Make It Good Riddance to Bad Luck If You Dare	Brian Johnson Lead Vocals Angus Young Guitars Malcolm Young Guitars, Vocals Cliff Williams Bass, Vocals Chris Slade Drums, Percussion

With a long, building and catchy intro, “Thunderstruck” is the perfect opening track for The Razor’s Edge. The track is built on Angus Young’s fingerboard progression, which acts as an arpeggio that leads the rhythm for the entire track. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and remains a staple in the band’s repertoire. “Fire Your Guns” continues the feel as a rapid and spastic rocker with steady rhythms by Slade and bassist Cliff Williams, along with nervous riffs and desperate hooks.

The album’s second big hit, “Moneytalks” is another track built on a simple but rich riff and a catchy shout-along. Johnson’s vocals hit a sweet spot somewhere between a crier’s shout and an alley cat’s yowl with satirical lyrics about the economic ways of the world. The title track, “The Razors Edge”, starts with droning solo by Angus Young and eventually builds on the drum accents by Slade into a moderate and dark rocker. This song has more musical variety than preceding tracks but still sticks to a simple, anthemic theme lyrically. The farcical “Mistress for Christmas” is a bit of racy fun with Christmas tunes, while “Rock Your Heart Out” features a cool bass line by Williams. “Are You Ready” was another minor hit, reaching #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart with its building riff and strategic launch.

The album’s second half contains lesser known (and somewhat forgettable), tracks, starting with “Got You by the Balls”, a less tactful rendition in the line of the brilliant “Big Balls” from 1976’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. “Shot of Love” continues as another generic AC/DC track, followed by the slightly better “Let’s Make It”, with a nice riff by Malcolm Young. “Goodbye & Good Riddance to Bad Luck” has an interesting title above anything else, while the closer “If You Dare” finds a nice groove to end the album on a high note.

The Razor’s Edge reached #2 in the US and #4 in the UK, a level of commercial success that matched that of AC/DC’s glory years of the late seventies and early eighties. Following its release, the group embarked on a highly publicized world tour which spawned material for the group’s 1992 live album and sustained their popularity for years to come.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1990 albums.

Buy Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Australian rockers AC/DC produced their third album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap during the summer of 1976 and released it in their home land in September of that year on the Albert Records label. A few months later, an international version of the album was released on Atlantic Records in many markets around the world but not in the United States. It would not be released in America until 1981, a full five years later. This fact is rather incredible when you listen to the album and recognize its high quality and commercial appeal. When the album was finally released in the States soon after the breakthrough album Back In Black, it became an instant smash, reaching #3 on the Billboard album charts and propelled the band into super-stardom.

The original Australian version of the album differs from the international (and later U.S.) version, which include shorter versions of two songs and replace “R.I.P. (Rock in Peace)” and “Jailbreak” with “Rocker” and “Love at First Feel”. All songs on the album are original, with the music written by brother guitarists Angus Young and Malcolm Young and the lyrics penned by singer Bon Scott.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap also contains some material with controversial lyrics, much in an explicit sexual nature. The band originally entertained the idea of developing a “concept” centered around a classic mystery scenario. The title was derived from a character on the cartoon Beany and Cecil, which carried a business card that read, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays and Special Rates.”
 

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC
Released: September 20, 1976 (Albert, Australia) Produced by: Harry Vanda & George Young Recorded: January-July 1976
Side One	Side Two
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Love at First Feel Big Balls Rocker Problem Child	There’s Gonna Be Some Rockin’ Ain’t No Fun (Waiting Round To Be a Millionaire) Ride On Squealer
Band Musicians
Bon Scott – Lead Vocals Angus Young – Lead Guitars, Vocals Malcom Young – Guitars, Vocals Mark Evans – Bass Phil Rudd – Drums

The closer “Squealer” is the absolute raunchiest song on the album, as it steps right up to the line between purely explicit and something much darker and creepier. This asymmetrical tangent is lead by the driving riff by bassist Mark Evans and may be comparable to some of the material of the alternative era two decades later. “Big Balls” is simply brilliant. It is as risque as “Squealer” but done in a much more tactful way as the lyric is bold and almost vulgar while protected by the tremendous use of double entendre. Scott works this song tremendously using a very dramatic and theatrical telling that drives the song home.

The album kicks in with the title song, presented almost in the form of a commercial for a criminal for hire. Using an excellent play on words and an amazing sense of restraint by the normally maniacal Young brothers, this is also the first of several songs on the album to employ the child-like chorus during the refrain. “Love at First Feel” follows as a suitable complement to the opener, with an entertaining guitar riff and an introduction into the raunchy songs of Dirty Deeds.

Bon Scott died in February 1980, over a year before any of Americans heard his great work on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. At the time of his death, none of the surviving members of the band had yet heard their next singer Brian Johnson perform. However, Scott had heard him and compared Johnson favorably to a modern day Little Richard. This was a bit ironic, as Scott had obviously admired the classic performer as he replicated him as best he could in “Rocker”. This song, along with “There’s Gonna Be Some Rockin”, showed the band paying homage to traditional rock n’ roll. “Problem Child” goes the opposite direction in time, previewing the AC/DC style of the later Bon Scott years through the Brian Johnson era. “Ain’t No Fun Waitin’ Round to Be a Millionaire” starts with a really cool alt/chorus riff, adding a great dimension to this song, which is also well ahead of its time. The band stays on a repetitive riff for long time before finally giving way to the chorus break which repeats many times before breaking into an outtro section based on the verse riff sped up.

“Ride On” is simply a great song with the simplest of blues-based rhythm and a strong and steady beat by drummer Phil Rudd. The simple and calm riff, which displays nice restraint by the Young brothers, backs up the finest singing by Bon Scott. The song feels at times like it’s going to break into something heavier but stays within the bounds of its own structure accented only by a bluesy lead by Angus Young. The song contains good lyrics and a well-placed whisper in chorus hook, which Scott never actually sings, giving the song yet another edge.

The album is not only “dirty” and “raunchy” but also diverse. With a sense of satire and wittiness that rivals Frank Zappa combined with the unambiguous, straight-up rock employed by contemporaries like Aerosmith and Kiss, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap hits a unique groove like no other work. Not being released for five years may have actually placed the album in a more perfect slot for the American audience as it arrived after Back in Black as an even more mature album artistically.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1976 albums.