762. AC/DC / Rock or Bust. 2014. 3.5/5

Releasing just their fourth album in the past 24 years hasn't affected AC/DC's popularity worldwide, nor has it changed their style. As always, this either bothers you to the point that you can't listen to what is on the album, or it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, and you sink into it like a comfortable pair of shoes. There is a change of some description however. It's old man's easy listening rock now. The real trademark energy that used to punctuate their songs and performances has now settled back into stuff these guys could be playing in dressing gowns and armchairs.
That's not meant to be a cheap shot either - I mean, they ARE all old now, and you can't keep doing what you used to forever. Malcolm Young's retirement due to illness is the best indication of that.

But there used to be riffs and solos from Angus that transcended songs and albums, ones that immediately made you recognise the song as soon as you heard it. There's none of that here. The songs are tight and held together by the infinite and endless 4/4 beat on Phil Rudd's drums along with Cliff Williams' bass guitar. Stevie Young does a serviceable job on rhythm guitar, filling in his uncle's shoes. Brian Johnson's vocals are as recognisable as ever, with lyrics that cover the usual AC/DC song subjects. There is nothing out of place here, but there is nothing that is a breakout song, busting out of the speakers to take a hold of you. It isn't as though there is a lack of energy here, it's just that it is a slow fissure that is spread throughout the whole album, not changing all the way through. In the past there would be explosions of energy, making you look up and take notice of the song or riff or solo. Here it is more of a levelling situation, letting that tempo sit all the way through the album, hardly missing a beat along the way.

This album sits comfortably between the way I feel about Blow Up Your Video and The Razors Edge. Both of those albums start off with the money shots, the singles that was the momentum to those albums' sales. But whereas with Blow Up Your Video the rest of the album disappointed me and left me feeling unfulfilled, there are some great other tracks on The Razors Edge that keep me coming back for more. Here on Rock or Bust, there is no doubt that the opening two songs are where the promotion of the album comes to. "Rock or Bust"  is the title track and second single to be released, which followed the initial release of the second song on the album "Play Ball" which preceded the release of the album proper. Both are catchy enough to have already been used in sports promotions worldwide, so you know you are getting good album coverage when that occurs. Following these two songs, you have a collection of songs that follow the same formula as AC/DC songs do. Sometimes, as on Blow Up Your Video they don't really work, unable to keep the interest of the listener. For me at least, the remainder of Rock or Bust is closer to The Razor's Edge. There is enough here to keep you listening and rocking along, even if it is in an easy listening kind of atmosphere. They may not be outstanding, and they may not be memorable for anything out of the ordinary, but as a package they are still great to listen to.

There is every chance that this will be AC/DC's final album. But then again I've probably thought that of their last three or four albums. If it does become their last release, we can at least be happy that they ended it on their own terms, delivering an album that does very little different to what they have in the last two or three decades, and still delivering songs that have that foot-tapping, head-bobbing capability.

Rating:  Listen, drinks all around I'm in the mood.  3.5/5