Even though it’s been a bit since AC/DC has released an album of new material, they haven’t missed a beat maintaining their core audience with re-issues and a constant touring schedule. Black Ice (Columbia) is their first album of new material since 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip, and the wait is worth it. It’s not close to anything groundbreaking, but it is simply plain old-fashioned guitar rock and roll.
With AC/DC you know exactly what your going to get, and after all these years they’ve yet to disappoint.
True, some of their albums have been better than others, but recording for the first time with veteran producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) has definitely helped with the band’s approach toward their material.
Nothing was broken, so nothing was fixed – think of it as getting the dings taken out and everything shined up a bit.
“Anything Goes” is a song, in the past, that the band would never have approached doing. With its friendly chorus and arrangement it now still fits in with the trademark AC/DC sound, as does “Rock ‘n’ Roll Dream.”
Other good ones include “War Machine,” “Skies on Fire,” “Spoilin’ for a Fight,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” and “Wheels.”
Another band that we haven’t heard from in a while is Cleveland’s own Pretenders. Break Up the Concrete (Artist First) is their first album of new material since 2002’s Loose Screw. Led by Chrissie Hynde, lately the band has had a revolving door of musicians coming and going, but she’s a strong leader and still the face of the band.
Penning 10 of the album’s 11 songs, Hynde’s presence is obvious. Self-produced, it runs the gamut from hectic rock to controlled simplicity. The material is rehearsed, yet still spontaneous sounding.
The quieter stuff like the acoustic “The Nothing Maker,” or “You Didn’t Have To” are a tad stronger than the rollicking material such as “Don’t Cut Your Hair” and current single “Boots of Chinese Plastic.”
In between those extremes lay the heart of the album. The bluesy “Don’t Lose Faith in Me,” the country-ish “Love’s a Mystery” and the Bo Diddley-influenced title track “Break the Concrete” are what separate this from every other album.
In fact, it’s what separates this from every other Pretenders’ record.
A winner in every sense, Breaking Up the Concrete is a welcome return for both Hynde and her Pretenders.
Until I played Live at Shea Stadium (Epic), I guess I forgot how much I miss The Clash. The Sex Pistols might have been the first punk band, but without a doubt The Clash was the most important.
They were only together from 1977 to 1986, but they were the ones who changed music forever, mixing punk with reggae, rockabilly, funk or with whatever they wanted.
This show was recorded in New York while they were the opening act on The Who’s farewell tour in 1982. It was an interesting stadium show, mixing old and new genres. The Clash came out and dominated which isn’t easy with a stadium full of fans who didn’t necessarily come out to see you.
Performing at a neck-break pace, the band’s in full control dotting every i and crossing every musical t. If this would’ve been released at the time of its recording, nobody would have appreciated it as much as it is now.
Today, Live at Shea Stadium is a very powerful statement and the only legit live recording of The Clash.
Standouts include the obvious stuff like “Rock the Casbah,” “Train in Vain” and “London Calling,” but “Police on My Back,” “Clampdown” and “I Fought the Law” are brilliant. Man, do I miss this band.
Next in the continuing series of unreleased Bob Dylan gems comes The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs – Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 (Columbia). Whew! If you thought that was exhaustive, wait till you listen to the music.
The stuff here are unreleased takes, demos and live versions of the material released from the above mentioned years. Most of the time, the reason this type of material is left laying around on the cutting room floor is because it blows. In fact it usually blows hard.
Dylan is the only exception. These tracks offer a unique insider’s look into his recording process. Pretty much nothing here is the same as how it appeared on their respective albums. This leads one to wonder how he goes about choosing which version to use, a daunting task at best.
Besides the standard two-cd set, there is also a more pricey $100+ Expanded Deluxe Version that includes a third cd of unreleased stuff and a hard cover book. The set hardly is worth the extra money, but the third cd is just as strong, if not stronger than the others.
Standouts include “Mississippi,” “Can’t Escape From You,” “Red River Shore,” “Tell Ol’ Bill,” “Cocaine Blues,” “Someday Baby,” and from the third cd a killer live version of “Cold Irons Bound.
(Bob Hanson)
