Monday, November 21, 2016

AC/DC - Rock or Bust

It's been awhile since I've done anything with this blog. The itch to write about things I love, particularly music, has hit again. I have immersed myself over the last 4-5 years in collecting vinyl records. I've always loved records, but they were a dying format by the time I became old enough to really get into music. Most of my childhood experience comes from the albums my parents listened to. As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate much of their music, but at the time it was just that - "their" music. It wasn't "my" music. I was 10 years old when the Seattle grunge scene exploded, and that became the soundtrack to my middle school and high school years, along with the metal and hard rock my older brother had so kindly exposed me to. As the years have passed, my musical tastes have changed somewhat and expanded to include many different genres and styles. My philosophy is if I like a song, I'll listen to it, regardless of genre. That being said, most music put out today does nothing for me. In all honesty, I rarely listen to new music unless it's by an artist or band I am already acquainted with. Occasionally I'll come across new acts, but they're rarely ones played on the radio. Anyways, back to records. Collecting records has allowed me to broaden my horizons and listen to artists I probably would have never picked up on CD or digitally. That is one of the things I love most about digging for vinyl - you never know what you might find in that thrift shop, or flea market, or garage sale. 

My goal with this is to go through my collection and share pieces of it. I probably won't post every record I own, at least not in order. I'll share new ones as I pick them up. I might just feel the need to pull a certain album off the shelf and spin it. I hope whoever, if anybody, that reads these will enjoy them and perhaps find some new music to listen to. First up - AC/DC - Rock or Bust. Columbia, 2014.


This is the latest album from the boys Down Under - and possibly the last with Brian Johnson. Due to hearing issues he has been replaced with...Axl Rose. I know, it kind of makes me gag too. I loved Guns N' Roses back in the day but Axl in AC/DC? Come on. So perhaps this album will go down as Brian's last stand. My favorite AC/DC will always be the stuff with Bon Scott, but they've put out some great albums with Brian Johnson as well. I wasn't sure how I would like Rock or Bust because I wasn't a huge fan of their last few albums before this one, but I absolutely love this album. The title track and "Play Ball" are your typical AC/DC rockers, simple yet so much fun. My favorite track from the album, however, is "Dogs of War." AC/DC is not really known for writing songs about war or anything remotely political, and "Dogs of War" is certainly no "Disposable Heroes" or "Symphony of Destruction," but it stands out to me because it is a different subject material from what they typically write about. As of yet I don't have any Bon Scott era albums on vinyl, so this one and a few others will have to do for now.  




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