AC/DC: Family Jewels

(x-post alert thingie)

Fuckin' a! I don't need no best of (ok maybe of the Brian years). What I need is to finally see the video where, if rumor be true, Bon plays the bagpipes on the back of a moving truck! YEAAAAAAH

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006L0LM0/103-1692983-7487002?v=glance

Sound is great, and it looks like they tried to clean up clips when they could. Looking forward to disc 2, though more of that is familiar from my teen years.

Big bonus was my local record store having it on sale for $9.95. Sweet.

I'm watching it later tonight with a pal so I'm only letting myself look at the booklet...which is more than enough to tell me I'll be watching this for ages.

hey, what percentage of it is produced "videos" as opposed to concert footage?
(I am particularly curious about 'Dirty Deeds' and 'R&R aint noise pollution')

It was cool to see that the pattern on the prisoners clothes in the "Are We Ready" video is the same as the pattern on Angus' outfit in "Jailbreak."

I think it's entirely possible that Diamond Dave copped half his prowess and moves from Bon Scott.. seriously. (I stress "half". David Lee Roth did add some originality to his sing & dance here and there, of course -- especially in his choice of clothes, hair, and mouthbreather poses)

Then again, Bon Scott's campy eye-widening-into-the-camera thing on the TV appearances reminded me of Steve Priest from Sweet during their early 70s live TV appearances in the UK. (actually, good idea for a thread.). Either way, it COMPLETELY defined a major facet of Bon Scott's appeal, not to mention his laissez-sexy manner near the microphone.

And also seeing the footage of "Rock N' Roll Damnation" and "Riff Raff" has convinced me that, now, Powerage is indeed AC/DC's finest album, followed VERY closely by Highway To Hell. (It was the reverse until last night)

And the "Let There Be Rock" video. Holy shit! I remember, when I was 9 or 10, I saw footage of this on TV.. right when AC/DC became huge in the U.S. via Back In Black and then the following long-awaited somewhat-mangled U.S. issue of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (which was a strange hodge-podge of the original 1976 album, but replacing certain key songs with previously released later songs for reasons I know fuck all about, and replacing the cartoon cover with that cool-ass Hipgnosis cover art, to give credit where credit's due).

Anyway, they were doing a spotlight in AC/DC on some U.S. entertainment news program, and they only devoted about 30 seconds to Bon Scott a la "oh yeah this guy Bon Scott who was in the band but he died last year, but anyway"... BUT BUT they showed a brief clip of this Bon Scott era video, and I've been dying to know what it was almost ALL my life, because at that time, it made me realize a) there were two main lead singers for the band, and b) I liked this Bon guy A LOT more than this ogre in a hat that goes "GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!" named Brian something or other. And now I know it was the "Let There Be Rock" video! RELIEF!

And even though it's really rock-cheesy in that first generation DVD way, I love how each video clip is preceded by those digitally rendered silver balls that clang together, tell you in BIG FAT SILVER BOLD LETTERS what the next song is, then does a "CHUUUUNG CHAAAAAAAAAA" guitar sound.

Um, get The Family Jewels, guys. :)

Anyway, other than that, the segments are terrific. "Jailbreak" is amusing as is "Show Business." On the second CD, "Nervous Shakedown" from "Flick" kills and the mini-video opera for "Fly On the Wall" pretty much gives you everything you would like to have for that album if you thought it was one of AC/DC's weak links. Eighties cheese video glued onto a little noisier than usual AC/DC (Johnson was buried in echo in the mix and buried, the guitars come at you in fits and spurts, Simon Wright mugs whenever the camera is on him).

If you want to know where one of Bon's main influences lay, it was in Scottish singer Alex Harvey - or so I've been told by several Scottish acquaintances. The Scots are mad for him. My girlfriend's vocal teacher (also Scottish, also a hard rock style singer), who has played in a band with Bon, gave us a tape of the Alex Harvey Band which was a best of, spanning many years. He mentioned that Harvey was a major influence on the whole band, but especially Bon. Alex Harvey has the same cheeky, theatrical quality to his delivery - his influence is plain to see.

More thoughts on FT later this week, I think, but for now -- seeing raver glowsticks or the equivalent in the audience for "Dirty Deeds" was seriously blowing my mind. On top of everything else, as noted above.

its true the influence of the 70's pop show Countdown on the youth of australia is overwhelming. like col mentions above they still run repeats. it is a mystic realm for many of us.

i'm just surprised youse guys like it too. the legendary cultural cringe was in full sway in the 70's. we thought we were shit. our bands sucked but they were our bands.

Good thing there is not a trace of it in "Family Jewels."

Check your funny bone. It's all corroded and doesn't work anymore.

Phil Rudd: a God among men.

It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
Jailbreak
Let There Be Rock
Baby Please Don't Go
High Voltage
If You Want Blood

hahaha

i'm just surprised youse guys like it too. the legendary cultural cringe was in full sway in the 70's. we thought we were shit. our bands sucked but they were our bands.

-- mullygrubbr (fan...), April 13th, 2005.
was this the debut of michael hutchence's acting - he was good in frankenstein.

Good Greif

Holy shit! I still love Family Jewels but heavens, this looks like the motherload. I've been listening to tons of live boots lately (the Hammersmith '79 is a beast) so this is just the perfect capper. Whoo!

I want the complete vinyl box set soooooo bad!

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=12580

holy crap!

DVD 1 goes all the way back to 1975 and original singer Bon Scott

balls

Wow, that box looks incredible.

DVD 1 goes all the way back to 1975 and original singer Bon Scott

actually the original singer was Rod Evans

ha! make that DAVE Evans .. got him mixed up with the Deep Purple dood

yes, hence "balls"

there's even TV footage with him that they've left off. (possibly mimed though)

Makes me glad I pulled down that full 'Rock Goes To College' show from Dimeadozen.org a few months back - 'cause it'll be banned with the release of this set.

Man on man- Bon was a God among men, wasn't he?

Yeah - that was supposed to come out as 'Man, oh man' !!
I'm straight as a laser (nothing wrong with gay folk though) - but all us straight men can just about admit that Bon in a jail cell wouldn't be so bad, right?

Enlightening.