With the exception of Hell's Bells I actually prefer AC/DC when they play major chord scale harmonies. Stuff like You Shook Me All Night Long. Their minor stuff usually isn't dark enough for me as coming from the Judas Priest school of things. (Priest otoh sound a bit awkward when they are in major rather than minor mode. Living After Midnight always sounded silly and the minor breaks in it forced.)
I always felt the same! I really like AC/DC, but during my teen years I had a brief but intense Priest period. Some of their songs (and lots of their guitar riffs/solos) are great, but I guess i was too puzzled by how one album could be so uneven. After hearing ´realms of death´, you dont´t want to flip the LP over and listen to Smokie...
As for the new AC/DC album, well I´ll probably want to see them if they tour again, but I pay little attention to the recent recordings. I know it´s a silly thing to say, but there is too much riff recycling. I don´t blame them, I have had a great time following them since 1985, by when people already thought the new albums were recycled old ones.
After back in black, their albums have a couple of good songs and sounds like good rock overall at best. Even the albums that sold well, they only take one or two tracks of it to play live. Last time I saw them, they didn´t even play ´ anything goes´which I guess was a single going good at the time. Fine with me, I buy the new album, play it once with a beer, have a good time. If a Smokie song arrives (moneytalks, anyone?) I just go and make a sandwich or just skip it.
I do like that they have that live recorded feeling, but must admit that the two - three last albums sounds somewhat more sterile than (don´t shoot me) flick of the switch and flly on the wall, which, although maybe not their finest moments, packs a decent amount of identity. I listen to them, and I´m immediately put back to the mid 80´s.
Cant imagine myself listening to black ice in 20 years, close my eyes and think : yeah... 2008 - those were the days..
But who knows..
