Power Up

Great.

Spot on.

Great album

So, with rumour control casually continuing to suggest a new album and the odd recent sighting of band members in Vancouver adding weight to the claim, you would have thought October's early hints of band activity and sound clips wouldn't have been a surprise but I think to many of us it was. Pow! Mid November - PWR UP smashes into the UK charts at number one and around the world for that matter and the AC/DC campaign smooths through the gears reaching maximum exposure in days not weeks. Would I call it a comeback? I'm not so sure as like many fans, I kinda got used to having only two albums per decade from the band. What do I think of PWR UP?The first single 'Shot in the dark' took a couple of listens to adjust and get used to, but it's quite a ballsy mid tempo effort from Angus and great gang vocals from the rest. Brian Johnson sounds in good form which was promising for the album proper. It sounds like AC/DC because it is, just like supping your favourite pint or eating that medium jalfrezi, you choose it because you like it.'Realize' opens the album and I've got to say it sounds sinister and broody with added swagger. Great guitar work and Brian sounding in top form. This is a great opening number and one I hope will eventually be played live. 'Rejection, 'shot in the dark' and 'Kick you when you're down' follow on and keep a mid tempo pace before 'In the midst of time' slows the pace down slightly. There's plenty written about the latter and what it means to the band. In my opinion, it's pretty subtle and the lyrics are open to interpretation. I won't dissect every song, so other highlights include 'Demon Fire' with its up tempo boogie akin to a ' Caught with your pants down' groove and great vocals from Brian who surely must be over the moon with his own efforts. 'Witches spell' is a mid album highlight, again great riffs from Angus and a sense of urgency with its execution. Every track a foot tapper so far and as we near the end, we get 'Money shot'. I love this track which I feel runs Realize close to being the stand out track. It's catchy, filthy and very singalong-able! Overall, Angus and Co have a winner from start to finish. The riffs are chunky and made my cheeks glow, Brian sounds amazing, Stevie fits like a glove whilst the rhythm section do what they do extremely well. You kinda know it's Phil and Cliff which is reassuring. This album fits nicely with Brian's first three classic efforts (together with Black Ice) and is worthy of the praise it's getting. I can listen to this whole album multiple times with a smile - something not always achieved on previous efforts. The song titling differs from previous recent albums and is devoid of 'Rock' anywhere; but that couldn't be further than the the truth. This album rocks from start to finish, it's new but familiar without ever being complacent. Brian is on top form and Angus has hit pay dirt. Enjoy it!

Wow, this is certainly a turn up for the books. With Johnson having to quit the band through loss of hearing & then having all contact with Angus & the AC/DC management cut off & being replaced by Axle Rose (it’s a shame there isn’t a live album from his tenure with the band, I image that’s down to Mr Rose), Rudd under house arrest for drug possession & attempting to hire a hit man (you could not make this up!), & Williams leaving because his felt the heart & soul had been ripped out of the band. A lot of fans would have thought that the curtain was finally coming down an a illustrious career.But then Johnson gets a special hearing aid that allows his to hear the guitars & patches things up with Young The same things happens with Rudd & Williams after attending the funeral of George Young.Produced once again by Brendan O’Brien (third time in all) who gives the band & good contemporary rock feel.Once again the tracks are taken from the “Black Ice” sessions, with quite a good mix of song moods (for AC/DC that is, there’s no Jazz Fusion or Euro Techno,)but it's nice to hear them mix it up a little. The album has a more confident feel than “Rock or Bust”, I Imagine the shock of losing Malcolm was still in the fore-front of their minds when recording that album.If I was going to offer an criticism it's that the record loses a little momentum during the latter part, but "Power Up" is still a strong album, it’s just a shame Angus couldn’t bring Brain back into the song writing fold (Johnson last contributed lyrics on the band 1988’s “Blow up your Video” album, he claimed that he’d stopped because he was going through a divorce), but if this is going to be their last album, obviously never say never with this band, then AC/DC are defiantly going out on a high.