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AC/DC - "Family Jewels" two-disc DVD
set (5/2005)
I had to get it, I
just had to. You know, I go into my local electronics bazaar to
purchase my latest CD releases, and I always take a quick gander at
the DVD section while I'm there. Well, just a couple of weeks back,
I came upon this 40-track two-disc set of some of the greatest tunes
I've ever heard. I had seen the commercial on late night TV, and
being an obsessed AC/DC fan all of my life, I was naturally
intrigued. I think you got a set of AC/DC Ginsu knives or a sticker
or some crap when you ordered from the telly, but I guess I can
live without the small things this time. I'm not crazy about the
concept of short form, MTV-type music videos usually, but this
sucker was loaded with 40 killer songs and had a sweet price tag of
$14.99. Having heard on the television commercial that there were a
lot of early Bon Scott clips too, I was sold.
DISC
1
As the first
disc spun up and the menu came to life, there was an explosion of
the "Rock 'N' Roll Damnation" riff to keep me company while I chose
to "play all" or pick a specific clip to watch. Of course, I chose
to play all, and sunk back into my couch for the next hour or
so.
Like the band,
this thing is a stripped down, bare knuckle presentation. No
narration, not a second of spoken word, just kick ass, t-shirt and
jeans, boogie woogie hard rock clips. Ironically, in the very first
clip, singer Bon Scott trades his t-shirt and jeans in for a
milk maid dress. That's right, Bon in a dress, pigtails, and full
makeup doing "Baby, Please Don't Go". This alone is worth the
fifteen bucks admission. This is definitely the highlight of
the early Bon moments that are promised on the television ad, but
the other clips are great eye candy also. Seeing him in a ragtime
carnival-type getup, complete with hat and cane, for "Show
Business" is nice; along with all of the live performance clips from
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) being a real
treat. A lot of the live performances seem to have the instrumental
parts on tape, with a live vocal over them. A little "American
Bandstand"-like, but nostalgic all the same. I think
another big Bon highlight on this first disc is the video clip
for "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)", where
the band is being rolled down Swanston Street in Melbourne on the
back of a flatbed truck while they jam one of my favorites. They
share the back of that flatbed with three bagpipers, and lots of
Marshall stacks, and the whole thing is just plain cool. In a real
cheesy clip for "Dirty Deeds", Bon's caught singing the wrong words
at the wrong times, while also getting mugged by a couple of
females. Also on this first disc is the video for "Let There Be
Rock", and it's an awesome one. This one finds Bon Scott as a
preacher, and guitarist Angus Young with a halo following him
around. The rest of the band act as choirboys, as the whole thing is
filmed at a church altar. Dare I say, it's a religious experience.
Later in the disc we see the trademark of Angus soloing while
atop Bon's shoulders, along with the beginnings of the band's
male following. Early on we saw mostly females up in front, now
we start to see the head thrashing males.
So, all in
all, this first disc is a winner. Even with the corny stage
performances, and the out of synch dubbing that goes on in a lot of
it, there's a great amount of novelty and nostalgia to this
stuff. And you can also just listen to it as a CD (as I am right
now!) if you choose to do so. If you're a die hard, this is a
must-own. If you just casually listen to this band, watch this disc
and go enroll yourself in the die hard club.
DISC
2
Welcome to
the Brian Johnson era. As this disc spun up, the menu kicked on with
the riff from "Hell's Bells". We got our large dose of Bon Scott in
the first disc, now it's time for the more recent Brian Johnson age
of AC/DC.
The disc
starts off with with some of the greatest AC/DC songs in their long
history by pulling four tunes from "Back In Black", and two from
their excellent follow-up "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)";
but, ironically, these are no thrill to look at really. They are
just dubbed over live clips that acted as promo clips for their
respective albums back in the day. When you have something where you
can hear songs like "Hell's Bells" and "For Those About To Rock (We
Salute You)", it could never be called bad, but it's just not
terribly exciting to look at that's all. These six songs are
followed by two more from the poorly received "Flick Of The Switch"
record. The title track from the record (which I thought was pretty
darn good, actually!) and "Nervous Shakedown" are much like the six
before it, in the fact that they are simple performances. These two,
instead of being live performances, are on a soundstage with the
band surrounded by their amps and road cases. Not a lot to look at,
but again....the tunes rock! Now, in the first disc we got some
corny stage performances, this disc gives us the corny MTV music
video thing. For those of you who have the out-of-print "Fly On The
Wall" VHS tape at home, you know what I'm talking about. We see this
footage for the first time on DVD here, and it's pretty darn cool.
Alright, you got an animated fly buzzing through at times, and a
cast of cornball idiots galore in this concept piece, but it's
sheerly intentional parody and schlock that's just a delight to
revel in. It's a little story of the band playing a smelly dive
bar to an audience of about 10 people, and how they end up bringing
the place to its' knees. The whole mini-movie uses five songs
from the "Fly On The Wall" album to tell the story, and it's just a
bundle of silly fun. The sci-fi "Who Made Who" video is up next,
with all of the Angus clones, followed by the classic "You Shook Me
All Night Long" video, which finds Brian Johnson bathing in a wash
basin with a loofa. The band pushes the bounds of silliness again
with their video for "That's The Way I Wanna Rock 'N' Roll", a song
from their feeble lp, "Blow Up your Video". As the disc
wraps up with three videos from "The Razor's Edge", another
out-of-print VHS tape, "AC/DC Clipped", is treated to a DVD
healing.
So, all in
all, this second disc is just decent. The tunes are great, of
course, but the visual aspect is pretty boring most of the time
here. It is at this point that I remind you of the price again
though. This two-disc set is a measly 15 bucks! With all of the
great songs, the classic Bon Scott clips, and the little booklet
that includes liner notes from Rolling Stone writer David Fricke,
this thing is a steal. A real no-brainer for any fan of this
band. Even as I cut my steak tonight with my regular set of knives,
I don't regret missing out on the TV offer of this thing that
included the Ginsu set, or the sticker, or whatever. As a matter of
fact, for the price I paid, I'm thrilled that I could afford the
steak. |
