DC Vinyl & CDs

Review: If you want blood... well, we all know what comes next. AC/DC are among the most marmite of stadium-sized rock bands, their consistency over the past six decades seen by some as relentless homogeneity. In reality, it's an auteur signature. We know, within three chords of school uniform-clad Angus Young's iconic Gibson, whose song, it is yet to the trained ear there are huge differentiations at play. From drawly blues through to seismic main stage energy. Highway To Hell is one of the group's seminal early outings, and any self-respecting fan should own it already. Although perhaps not in this stunning gold edition, released to celebrate the LP's 50th anniversary. Newcomers can expect an insight into the barrooms filled with sweat and spilt drinks from which this mega group came out of and a clue as to why Bon Scott, the lead singer who tragically died as they really hit fifth gear, will always have a place in our hearts.

Review: Celebrating half a century of rock legacy, AC/DC's Back In Black gets a special edition release some 44 years after its original unleashing. The iconic album is well known for its thunderous riffs and anthemic choruses and though it is very much of its age, it solidified AC/DC's status as one of rock's greatest bands, despite the appearance of flat capped Geordie Brian Johnston in place of Bon Scott, who died tragically in 1980. With hits like 'You Shook Me All Night Long', live favourites 'Hells Bells' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' and the title track, the album reached all-new heights of rock energy and big riffery and now this anniversary edition offers a fresh perspective on a timeless classic while showcasing AC/DC's enduring influence on the rock landscape.

Review: Following up the worldwide smash Back In Black was going to be a tough job for anyone, but AC/DC brought the big guns in - more specifically, the big gun on its cover, which we also get to hear in full explosive effect on the album's title track, the kind of epic most bands save for their closer but here designated the opening tune. While it's fair to say not as many of the tracks here made it into AC/DC classic territory as on its predecessor, the sound of the now Brian Johnson-fronted team in full power mode dishing out groovers like 'Let's Get It Up' and 'C.O.D' is pretty irresistible, while 'Breaking The Rules' marks new ground for them - a slow motion, headnodding anthem with the band's long running anti-authoritarian stance writ large upon it.

Review: The Australian rock gods' third album is one of their most varied in moods and displays a new found confidence in their sound, with songs like 'Squealer' and 'Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round to Be a Millionaire)' containing rolling instruemntal section where the band hit a trademark riff and interlocking groove and simply let it ride. From the title track, with its sleazy tale of cash for violence, to the Stones-esque 'Problem Child' and the frenetic 12-bar closer 'Rocker', the band's closing song in their live set for many years to come, this is the sound of a legend being forged.

Review: It's 1977 and AC/DC are not-so-fresh after a spell as the support on Black Sabbath's tour. Looking for a new bassist, after a disagreement over whether to pick Manfred Mann's Colin Pattenden, the band agree on Cliff Williams, who would remain in place until 2003. Recording what became Powerage, their fifth studio album, Atlantic Records soon complained there wasn't a sellable lead single. 'Rock 'n' Roll Damnation' took form, one of the group's outliers, which comes without standard guitar solo but with maracas and hand claps. While this proved divisive among die hard fans, the album itself has gold waiting to be discovered deeper down. 'Gimme A Bullet', for example, has been cited as the finest track the late Bon Scott would write, his lyrical flair and deft metaphorical wit shining through on a tune that won't let up. This was his final LP, and tragically three years later he was no longer with us, marking an end to the group's iconic first chapter.

Review: The Best Of AC/DC, Live At The Nippon Seinenkan, Tokyo, Japan 4th February 1981. Renowned by some as one of the best live bands in history, this one hears the group during their Back In Black Tour, celebrating their most successful and rewarded album of the same name.It was the first time AC/DC toured with their new singer Brian Johnson, as well as the first time they toured the Far East. Pulling out all the stops during this stopoff in Japan, the band breaks out all the hits here; be that 'Back In Black', 'Highway To Hell', 'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'Whole Lotta Rosie' and 'Let There Be Rock'. This new edition from The Vinyl Champ is not to be trifled with.

Review: Live from the now closed down Hippodrome at London's Golders Green on October 27 1977, Problem Child offers an unadulterated earful of the Aussie rock giants in their earlier sonic heyday, complete with the legendary Bon Scott on vocals. Captured during their expansive run in promotion of their fourth Scott era LP Let There Be Rock, the set boasts some of the record's most timeless and bombastic cuts, from the iconic title track to the banging 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be' to the quintessential 'Whole Lotta Rosie', but there's still enough energy to pump out the frenetic closer 'TNT' in all of its original, raw abandon.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.