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Album Review
by SashaS
30-3-2005
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| AC/DC: 'Family Jewels' footage ROCKS! |
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AC/DC: 'Family Jewels'
(SonyBMG)
AC/DC: rock-monstrous double DVD
It was 3 decades ago last January of AC/DC’s releasing their debut long-playing record: ‘High Voltage’; this album, and the one that followed it in December of the same year, ‘T.N.T.’, were not issued outside Australia. A selection of tracks from the above two would make a global bow under the confusing title of ‘High Voltage’ a year later.
Twenty-seven years from the maiden platter the most famous Australian-originating rockers were inducted into the Rock’N’Roll Hall Of Fame. The same year, 2003, the band did some dates with The Rolling Stones, several own headlining show, promised a new album and have all but disappeared ever since. Supposedly working on a new album which is yet to be scheduled.
We now have a ‘Family Jewels’ DVD that gives each of their singers a disc: Bon [i.e. Ronald Belford] Scott’s takes us back to the earliest Aussie TV Days with tracks such as ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ and ‘Show Business’, all the way to ‘Highway To Hell’ filmed for Spanish broadcaster just 10 days before Scott’s death [19 February 1980, in London].
This is an ultra treat for AC/DC fans and people interested in harder rock: 'Family Jewels' is the ultimate visual collection on DVD of their videos and early/rare/not-seen-before TV performances. AC/DC have never had a ‘Greatest Hits’ album and 'Family Jewels' is certainly not designed to be a substitute because it is a collection of titles shown on TV and clips that have never been commercially released. It shows the band and the changes within the band.
Disc 2 covers the Brian Johnston period, up to 1993, and traces the 80's and 90's clips that include ‘Hells Bells’, ‘Back In Black’, ‘Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution’, ‘For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)’ as well as - for the first time on DVD - the home video titles ‘Fly On The Wall’, ‘Who Made Who’ and ‘Clipped’. Duration of both discs is over 90 minutes.
‘Family Jewels’ is less of a stop-gap release and more a salutation to the history of one of the most consistent hard rocking bands on the planet. Regrettably, it has been low on the new material front with the last studio album ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ dating back to 2001. Its ‘Tour Edition’ [bonus disc of 6 live cuts and 3 promo-vids] appeared in January 2002, followed by 4 multi-CD box-sets in meantime but no new album.
Fashion, looks, age, everything changes but the songs remain as good as ever. ‘Family Jewels’ is a great fun and top collection but it simply restates the obvious: AC/DC are Rock titans bar very few…
Family Jewels is indeed a rare glimpse of this giant band on the small screen.
8/10
SashaS
30-3-2005
AC/DC’s DVD ‘Family Jewels’ is released 28 March 2005 by SonyBMG
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