AC/DC - PWR/UP (album) | Grapeswriting2

AC/DC - PWR/UP Album November 2020

AC/DC have had more than their share of misfortune and controversy in recent years. When the ill-fated ‘Rock or Bust’ tour ended in Sept 2016 the prospect of another album seemed unthinkable. With Brian Johnson’s apparent retirement after he was told to stop touring or face “total hearing loss” resulting in Axl Rose finishing the tour with the band, Cliff Williams also announcing his retirement after the tour and Phil Rudd’s ongoing legal and drug problems, all following Malcolm’s fight with dementia which he ultimately tragically lost in November 2017, it seemed inevitable and unavoidable that the 21 gun salute had fired for the very last time.

But the band are nothing if not survivors having been rocking our world for almost fifty years and after recording in Vancouver in 2019 and one of the worst kept secrets in rock and roll, November 13th 2020 saw the release of 'PWR/UP'; their 17th studio album. Overcoming all their difficulties, the album incredibly features four-fifths of what many consider the classic post-Bon line-up: Brian, Angus, Cliff and Phil, with Malcolm’s nephew Stevie continuing on rhythm guitar duties.

Now I am a huge AC/DC fan, but in truth it is a long time since they made a ‘great’ album. Since 1981 their output has been quite a mixed bag; undoubtedly a number of fantastic songs, but not many whole albums that have the consistency of their earlier releases. ‘Razors Edge’ is probably the last one that holds its own. It says everything that at the band’s very last concert at the Wells Fargo Centre, Philadelphia, on 20th September 2016, only four of twenty five songs played were recorded after 1981 and two of those were from the new ‘Rock or Bust’ album that was being promoted. So while I was excited at the thought of new material, if I am honest my hopes weren’t that high.

But I was wrong. Let’s say it straight away; ‘PWR/UP’ is a cracking album. 41 minutes and 9 seconds of crunching rock and roll that doesn’t let up. 12 solid tracks with some stonking tunes destined to become classics in amongst them. Highlights for me are the opener - ‘Realize’, the first single - ‘Shot in the Dark’, the anthemic - ‘Kick You When You’re Down’ and the truly moving - ‘Through the Mists of Time’, which pays more than a passing nod to Malcolm and the band’s happier times. The majority of songs are well written and catchy, with maybe only two or three of the final tracks feeling anything like filler. Incidentally, Malcom is given a song writing credit on every one of the tracks; Angus having gone back to the unused material from the ‘Black Ice’ album as material to work with for ‘PWR/UP’.

There are a few reasons why this album is elevated over previous offerings. Firstly, Brian’s voice sounds absolutely bloody fantastic. Whether it is the new innovative device that has allowed him to hear again, or whether it is simply a case of someone saying, “you know what mate – you are a great singer, dial the screaming back and sing a bit more” it matters not, what counts is that this is probably his best vocal performance since ‘Back in Black’. His range seems to have improved - hitting those higher notes with ease and then, unusually, dipping right down to the lower register on occasion. It's a real 'feel' performance, ranging from the 100% 'balls out' Brian vocal that we all know, to reigning it right in and almost sounding bluesy, it really is a masterclass in how it's done. It is hard to imagine that he is an amazing seventy-three years young!

The production needs a mention too. Too many post ‘Mutt Lange’ albums were blighted by poor production, none more so than ‘Fly on the Wall’ which included some belting songs, but was utterly ruined by the decision to completely bury the vocal in the mix (I would love to hear a properly mixed version of ‘Playing with Girls’). Not here. It doesn’t quite have the sparkle of the Mutt Lange albums (to be fair, not much apart from other Mutt Lange albums do), but everything is powerful, tight, bright and nicely knitted together and that makes so much difference. The drums are crisp, the Gretsch and Gibson SG crunch just as AC/DC guitars should, the bass thumps along and the vocals are well recorded and sit on top beautifully like a cherry on a rather fine rock and roll cake. Backing vocals are more prominent too, again with a greater range on display. There are plenty of powerful chanting type backing vocals that we are used to, but also some parts that are sung more than shouted with even the odd harmony thrown in, adding real depth to some of the arrangements. It works well and sounds great.

Finally, there is a really good variation of pace in the tracks with some upbeat numbers like ‘Demon Fire’, ‘Realize’ and the mischievously named 'Money Shot' which really kick along to balance some of the slower tracks such as 'Witches Spell' and 'Through the Mists of Time'. One noticable issue with the band’s previous couple of albums was that the songs were all much the same pace, all a bit of a plod. AC/DC has always been about energy and on ‘PWR/UP’ there are certainly tracks where they crank it up and sound like they are having a lot of fun.

For balance I ought to highlight some minor negatives. Firstly it is quite noticeable that they do stick pretty rigidly to the ‘verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/chorus to end’ format and it would have been great to hear a little more imagination with some of the song structures. I would suggest that one of the many reasons that ‘Back in Black’ became one of the highest selling albums of all time (and certainly the band’s best album) was that there was real variation within the songs, both in tempo and structure. Including little middle-eight or bridge sections just to break the verse / chorus pattern or adding in some light and shade can really lift a song. My favourite AC/DC track is ‘Shoot to Thrill’, which includes a lovely middle section where everything drops out and then slowly builds up again to a fabulous crescendo. Another favourite; ‘Sin City’ (from 'Powerage') does much the same. You don’t always have to race to the end of the song. Have a play with what you have. Be inventive. Take a risk. Add some variety. ‘Shoot to Thrill’ is 5:17 long. ‘Sin City’ is 4:45. The longest track on PWR/UP is ‘Rejection’ at 4:06 and the shortest is ‘Wild Reputation’ which clocks 2:54. All of the other ten songs are three minutes something long. This doesn’t make them bad songs of course and maybe they were recorded with radio play in mind, but I can’t help but feel that a little more variation in song structure could have lifted this album to even another level.

It is also noticeable that Angus’ lead work seems a little dialled back. Many of the solos seem little more than four bars of holding lead fills before the chorus kicks in again (see my above point regarding track lengths). Maybe he is slowing up with age (who could blame him?!) and it is very true that sometimes less is more, but it would have been lovely to hear him really let rip on occasion.

But I don’t want to end this review on a negative. These are, in reality, minor niggles. Overall this is a very impressive album, doubly so when you consider the adversity each of the band had to overcome to make it. This is an absolute return to form, one that is long overdue. Well written, punchy, with great production and Brian’s vocal sounding so goddam good, this is simply AC/DC doing what AC/DC do best.

I genuinely didn't think I would hear a new AC/DC album this good again, but as a wise man once said: “it’s not over ‘till the fat lady sings” and on this evidence Rosie won’t be doing that any time soon.

Highly recommended. 8/10.

Grapes 16/11/2020.