This is a feature where each month Andy and I will select a veteran band and then will list which album by that band we think is the most overrated and which album we think is the most underrated. We will also tell a little about why picked those albums. Then if you like you can comment on your choices or just tell us we are nutty for our choices.
Mark's choices-
I very much prefer Bon Scott-era AC/DC to Brian Johnson's time in the band. However both my picks are from Johnson-era albums.
Overrated-
For those about to rock
1981
Following up the huge success of "Back in black" was this album. It hit number one of the charts and AC/DC were huge in 81-82. I like the title track and Let's get it up and Snowballed are decent. Beyond the rest of the album is mostly filler. I've heard this album many times and still find myself forgetting what some of the songs sounded like. Yes, I'm pretty sure it's the weak songs and not just my failing memory I think plenty of fans still hold this up as a very solid album while I consider it be overproduced and mostly forgettable.
Underrated-
Flick of the switch
1983
I don't if the band waited to long to release this one or maybe it was that heavy metal bands like Priest and Maiden had become more popular between 1981 and 1983. Whatever the reason this album didn't fair well at the time and largely gets dissed even by fans of the band. For me it's a pretty rocking album and one their best with Brian Johnson. I think they had their raw sound rolling on this one and I wore out my cassette copy back in the mid-1980's and I still like the album to this day.
Andy's choices:
I also prefer the Bon Scott-era AC/DC to the Brian Johnson one. That being said, AC/DC put out way more material with Brian Johnson than it ever did with Bon Scott (RIP) so it's only natural that there would be a wider pool from which to draw our conclusions. With talk of Brian Johnson being let out to pasture one does have to wonder if we might see a new frontman in AC/DC. How strange would that be?
Overrated*-
Black Ice
2008
AC/DC's first studio album in some eight years was hailed by fans and critics alike as a comeback album. It was supposed to mark AC/DC returning to the rock and roll sound of old as previous albums had heavier ties to the blues. Instead of kick ass rock and roll what I heard was a classic band that was way past the sell by date. With Brian Johnson's vocals sounding all but strained to the point of no return(!) AC/DC gave fans a album that way too long and had far too much filler! Maybe a new singer is in order?
Underrated-
Fly on the Wall
1985
I don't know why everyone dogs on this album. Besides featuring the killer "Shake Your Foundations" and the always cool "Sink the Pink" we have some underrated but still solid numbers such as "First Blood," "Playing With Girls," "Stand Up", "Hell Or High Water", "Back in Business", and "Send for the Man". While the title track is a bit of a wash for me I don't mind this album's third single, "Danger". In no way is this my favorite Brian Johnson-era album (as that would obviously be "Back in Black"!), but for what it is, "Fly on the Wall" remains a solid rock and roll release with a splash or two of the blues..
*At first I thought about doing "For Those About To Rock", but since Mark beat me to it the album "Black Ice" will have to do. In all honesty I haven't exactly cared for anything that AC/DC has put out since 1990's "The Razors Edge". While the band has managed to release a few choice singles since the early nineties I have heard far too much filler material from one of my all-time favorite bands!
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