On February 28, 2000, Malcolm and Angus Young had older brother George produce their 14th studio album; it would be the last AC/DC he did before his death in October 2017, which also one month later Malcolm would succumb to his ill-health in November 2017. 2017 – not a good year for those connected to this band. The album was hard work stretching back to the summer 1997; and first had Bruce Fairbairn on-board to produce the record known for his previously work on the highly successful “The Razors Edge” and “AC/DC Live” but sadly he passed on in May 1999.
The album starts with such a bluesy groove to mix well with the hard rock effort, starting out the gate with rocking track of ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ with Brian singing the low deep level for the first 25-seconds before the band brings their classic sound in to support.
The groove continues into ‘Meltdown’ with repeated chorus, but really has Rudd’s drumming blasting through, especially in the end. Cool, that third song pulls more blues into another solid song ‘House of Jazz’ the Young brother keep that blues tight, with Rudd contributing very well. ‘Hold Me Back’ just rocks! A song for those gearheads who go out cruising for pleasure though the repetitive lyric of “can’t hold me back” could work out over, but Rudd keeps a steady drumming.
Next up is ‘Safe in New York City’ before commenting on the actual song, let’s understand a few things it was recorded before the 9/11 terroristic attacks and murder. The song is primarily about the singer enjoy city-life of activities and the women galore. While Angus in an interview from May 2000 for Guitar World stated, “a great place to live with plenty unpredictability…” As for the song, I feel they tried to recreate ‘Thunderstruck’ throughout the track as often the title is repeated (total of 23 times) with music solos appearing after chorus chanting. Then another cool track ‘Can’t Stand Still’ something just hooks me for jamming to it followed by an average song ‘Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll’. Hey, just one thing, that got my eye, two songs on the listing back-to-back that start with ‘can’t’ a bit weird.
‘Satellite Blues’ just nailed it, while ‘Damned’ is solely about a solider serving likely in Vietnam, the lyrics clearly indicate that, the discipline of the rules all to help ensure safety against carnal or civilian attitudes. ‘Come and Get It’ gets right back to the bluesy groove heard earlier in the album and flat-out liked ‘All Screwed Up’ and ‘Give It Up’ has a fast sound different from the other songs and ramps the album to a great end.
Track Listing:
Stiff Upper Lip
Meltdown
House of Jazz
Hold Me Back
Safe in New York City
Can’t Stand Still
Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll
Satellite Blues
Damned
Come and Get It
All Screwed Up
Give It Up
Band Members:
Brian Johnson – lead vocals
Angus Young – lead guitar, backing vocals
Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
Phil Rudd – drums
“Stiff Upper Lip” does a solid job overall especially if you enjoy a true bluesy groove, however if you seek a more powerful rocking performance only the last song will carry you that very short distance. Otherwise, that style dates to Bon singing is still there a different tone but hell deep down you know why you still love this band.
Band Links:
https://www.facebook.com/acdc/
https://www.instagram.com/acdc/
Vincent’s Rating: 4.0/5.0