Album Review: AC/DC - Rock Or Bust

Victims of their own success, AC/DC long ago passed the point where anyone expected them to ever again reach the heights of their late ‘70s, early ‘80s heyday.

The best part of any new album from the last 30 years has been that it’s an excuse for the band to tour and play those ‘70s and ‘80s favourites, while the audience grudgingly puts up with whatever two tracks they insist on playing off the latest release. It’s those last three decades of disposable filler that makes Rock Or Bust such an awesome surprise.

This is a looser, more organic, authentic sounding AC/DC than anything since Back In Black. Don’t let first single, Play Ball fool you. While it might sound like it came straight out of the AC/DC-o-matic computer program that has given us so many interchangeable singles over the years, it’s a rare dip on an album that reaches frequent and impressive heights. Songs like the opening and title track and Miss Adventure embrace the dirty blues that helped define the band all those years ago. They also add a new groove and cocksure strut to the guitar sound that embraces that classic Young brothers sound, while evolving more in one album than they have in decades.

There’s still the odd track of formulaic clichés, but when Rock Or Bust hits, it hits hard. While it’s easy to take AC/DC for granted, this latest collection is proof that these old boys still have plenty of life left in them.