GTS-Time Stood Still

Avenue Of Allies
2012

This was album number two for GTS and what a difference from album number one to album number two! Yes, this is still nothing more then glorified AOR and, truthfully, nothing more then recycled AOR at that, but at least the song writing and playing seem greatly improved. While I had not intended to review "Time Stood Still" it was a last minute impulse as I attempt to clear out the promos that are clogging up my inbox. When we last saw GTS they were treading along doing their best to sound like Airrace. Here we find the band looking to adapt a style closer in nature to groups like Whitesnake or Bad English. That isn't to say they have completely forgotten the Airrace roots as they do a cover/remake of the Airrace track "Caught In The Game". With guest song writers on board like Mike Moran (Queen, Survivor, Ozzy Osbourne) and Bob Mitchell (House Of Lords, Fiona, Cheap Trick) the album comes across as slicker & smoother with ballads like "Fight To Survive" (co-written by Moran) and "I Remember" (co-written by Mitchell) sitting comfortably next to the "rock" numbers. Does it make this album a must-own for AOR fanatics? That is debatable. What is clear is that this was a step-forward for the band even if it was a hair light for 1996. 

AC/DC-No Bull:The Director's cut

Columbia/CMV
1996/2008

This concert was filmed on the Ballbreaker tour at a bullfighting arena in Madrid, Spain back in 1996. Now I will have to admit that I have never seen the original release of this DVD and this completely due to the fact that almost every review I read mentioned that it had poor sound quality. Apparently some people involved with the film were not entirely satisfied with the original results either as they have now re-edited the film and remixed the sound for this Director's Cut version. So the show opens with a giant wrecking ball knocking down a prop wall which results a huge wave of cheers form the crowd and the band emerges to start off with "Black in black". The set includes a few songs from the "Ballbreaker" album, but the huge majority of the material is comprised of Bon Scott-era tracks and several off of the 1980 "Back in black" album of course. Not a lot of surprises in the set list, but at this point in their career they were beyond creating anything that new so the fans were largely clamoring for greatest hits and the band obliged. The sound quality is really just okay as the band sounds a little low and the vocals can't always be heard like they should. The picture is of fairly high standard as well, although maybe a little grainy at times. I did however think that the camera worked very well in keeping up with the action, not too many really quick cuts and it contained enough scenes of the audience. Although AC/DC give us a lot of their classics and the fans are really into it, I still got the impression that the band was running a little sluggish throughout the show. Yes, I know they were not exactly spring chickens then, but they seemed far more energetic on the Stiff Upper Lip DVD that was filmed like half a decade later. Angus goes through his standard routine and is soaked in sweat before long yet the fire seems a bit subdued throughout their entire set. So really it's a fair enough DVD and die hard AC/DC fans will likely be into, but not exactly the best AC/DC DVD that I have seen.