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Come Saturday, I’ll be up at Erina to grab my copy of Black Ice. Sure, I know what I am in for but I am excited. And to get y’all excited, here is my track by track review. Rock’n'Roll Train This song has been kicking around for a few months now. A great opening track that reassembles Highway to Hell and has all essential AC/DC elements. Read this post for a great breakdown on why the track works and some tips for budding rock’n'rollers.  A good choice for the first single. Skies on Fire To be honest, the first dud. A mid tempo tune that doesn’t really rise to any great heights. I’ve tried to like it but the lads coulda left this one off the album. Big Jack Now this is more like it. Big Jack hangs off the back of Phil and Cliff pushing the rhythm along. Listen to the way Phi opens his hi-hat before the chorus to give the song a little extra oomph as Malcolm and Angus finish their call and response riffs and start playing in unison. One of the secrets of AC/DC is how they understand and use small changes to make a big impact. Angus gets a nice solo away here. Anything Goes Lots of talk about this song before it was released. It little unusual in that it is basically a power pop gem albeit with a little more power than usual. Very catchy and fun tune. Not really a big surprise given past songs like Rock’n'Roll Damnation, You Shook Me and Money Talks. They’ve always had this ability with melody. This song could be one that we hear a lot of over summer period. War Machine This song was also released ahead of time and it still remains a cracker. It is amazing how Cliff Williams steady, eight note rumble has various moods. On this song, it is menacing during the intro that builds nicely, a crashing drum fill leads into a great riff, not that far from Given The Dog A Bone but with its own flavour. Angus is on fire during this one.  The chorus is great on this one. AC/DC may be light hearted but they always good add some menace when needed. Smash N Grab Another mid-tempo tune. Angus’ guitar in the chorus almost sounds as if it has been processed. The background vocals are not dissimilar to that old chestnut Thunderstruck. This one sneaks up on you. A song that is greater than the sum of its parts. It keeps getting stuck in my head which is a good sign. Spoiling for a Fight Angus opens with some Chuck Berry riffage and we are off. Some interesting guitar parts in this one that pop up during the verses. Just little things that you don’t usually hear in an AC/DC song. But they sound good. Another song I wasn’t initially all that enamoured with but it has grown on me over repeated listens. Wheels A rocking start but the chorus just doesn’t do it for me. I know some fans like it but this one is to be filed under filler. Decibel Solo guitar, a bit of bass and then a stuttering drum intro brings this song into being. Great rhythmic feel to this song. And the pre-chorus bit works very well. Angus lays down a short but fiery solo. So far he hasn’t really stepped out into a lengthy chorus. Very economical so far but that works. Stormy May Day Angus pulls out the slide, gives a nod to Zep’s In My Time Dying and away we go. There is a very foreboding feel to this song. Brian’s vocals are really up for it as well and puts in a great show on this one.  Interesting end to the song. No solo. Just Brian repeating the chorus over Angus playing some slide.  Short and sweet but one of the stand out tracks. She Likes Rock’n'Roll You want rock’n'roll and we need rock’n'roll. Not the deepest lyrics but there are worse philosophies. Cliff gets to play something more than steady eight notes and the verses get some syncopated action. A big chorus on this one. Angus delivers a classic solo as well. Money Made An excellent track. The lads show they can get funky and Cliff again gets to have some fun with the bass. Great chorus with Malcolm’s guitar playing on the beat, Angus doing an interesting, percolating riff with Cliff getting very busy. Some bluesy vocals from Brian and a very catchy chorus. I’d like this one to be on the tour’s set list. Rock’n'Roll Dream What this? Slow, almost introspective intro. Brian bringing out the bluesy, world weary, worried vocals. Closest thing the lads have done to a ballad since Love Song back in ‘75. Have no fear, the chorus has the familiar muscle. But a nice change of pace that shows the band have thought about doing some things different without compromising their identity. Rockin’ All The Way Brian is again is good voice on this track. The title tells you all need to know about how the song sounds. Not a stand out track and another one that coulda been left off the album. Black Ice A touch of minor funk to the riff that is broken nicely by the big chords on the chorus. A short but very sweet solo from Angus. The song builds as it goes along on top of the main riff modulating through the keys. The verdict is that Black Ice is a mighty fine album. Easily the best since Flick of the Switch and that was 1983. Now some won’t understand why we want another AC/DC album given the song pretty much remains the same. But it is such a raw sound, an elemental sound that doesn’t tire or even age. AC/DC’s integrity in not compromising their sound to suit the times means their music lives through the decades. They’ve seen off punk, disco, glam metal, grunge, nu-metal, house and every other musical trend over the years and survived. Black Ice is a strong, consistent album on which the lads show they have still got it. Brendan O’Brien deserves a lot of credit. He coaxed a great performance out of the band and added a few nice touches without compromising what is AC/DC. The album sounds so crisp. All the instruments are clearly defined and no “mushiness” and distortion apart from the guitars (as you would expect). The lads have bucked a few industry trends on this album and they seem to have thumbed their nose at the excessive compression that ruins a log of recordings today. The one weakness of Black Ice is the number of tracks. The band’s rationale for 15 songs was that it has been a while and they wanted to reward patience. But if Black Ice was 10 tracks it would have been all killer, no filler. Other fans will have their own idea of what songs to leave out but my “director’s cut” would be: Rock’n'Roll Train Big Jack Anything Goes War Machine Smash N Grab Spoilin’ For  A Fight Stormy May Day Money Made Rock’n'Roll Dream Black Ice That would have been one killer of an album. But as it stands, Black Ice is a great return to form and if indeed as some hint, it is the final output for the lads, a fine way to seal their legacy. Now for the tour!