AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

American release duds the listener...7/10

I used to own this title on cassette, years ago. The other week I bought a new cd for $10 and after listening to it, I was wondering why it didn't seem the great album I remembered it being. Having just looked up this album on Wikipedia, I now know the reason...one of the all time great AC/DC songs, "Jailbreak" is NOT on the US version of this album that I have. If those interfering American suits hadn't meddled with the track listing, and the cover art, this would be up there with the best albums by the band.

Anyway, without "Jailbreak" it's still a pretty solid, if now unspectacular album. It comes with a little booklet which includes the nice, original cartoon artwork for the cover of the album and some notes by a critic of some sort. He mentions that it was released in the US in the wake of the mega success of AC/DC's "Back in black" album, which was released after the lead singer from this album, Bon Scott, died in unfortunate circumstances. It apparently charted higher than "Back in black"...reaching #3 in the US albums chart, compared to #4 for "Back in black". In my opinion, "Back in black" would be a contender for the greatest pop/rock album of all time, and it is the second biggest selling album of all time, with over 40 million units sold so far, and still counting.

The songs I like best from this album are:

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap: a classic track with a classic riff. Bon is in his "bad boy" persona, lyrics wise. He'd have you believe he's the guy to call if you want somebody out of the way. Has some very nice fretwork by lead guitarist Angus Young and Bon lets out a great roar at the end of the song.

Big balls: this song makes me laugh out loud. It's really the kind of song a school-boy would write and it shows Bon at his cheeky best, lyrics and performance wise. Vocally, he puts on the dog-displaying a cheesy, upper-class English accent. Good sing along lyrics. The other week I reviewed an album by US band Moldy Peaches. They too could write funny, school-boy humoured lyrics.

Ride on: an extremely rare foray into a slower tempo style. It's a true blues song, lyrics wise, I think. Has a nice, gentle strumming guitar sound, for the most part. Angus provides a bluesy lead guitar part at times.

Squealer: listening to this song a second time, it's actually grown on me as a song. This is another rare AC/DC song in that it has a noticeable bass guitar throughout that is often the star of the song. Features teen-age boy type lyrics, again, a tight rhythm section, good lead guitar from Angus Young, a nice rock groove and the kind of blokey backing vocals you expect from this band.

Those are the songs that do it most for me from this album, though the following tracks are not without interest:

Ain't no fun (waiting around to be a millionaire): the intro presages some latter work by this band, it seems to me (e.g. "You shook me all night long")

There's gonna be some rockin': bluesy rock'n'roll. Reminded me of Status Quo, re guitar work/sound. "Rocker", like this song, also has a 50's rock'n'roll feel. That song also features on their album "T.N.T" which I reviewed here a few weeks back.

Problem child: another example of Bon in "bad boy" mode. Angus shows some fancy singer work on the fretboard and gives the guitar an organ like sound...not unlike, say, Ray Manzarek of The Doors.

Really, I can't understand why the American 'suits' thought that they knew better than the band when it came to track listings on band...or cover art for that matter. The great Australian pop/rock band Mondo Rock also had the same problem, but worse, with American suits: their all time classic song "No time" was butchered by the suits...they cut out the awesome chant at the start of the song. That's like cutting out the heavy guitar sound at the end of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" or Metallica's "Fade to black". Just plain crazy.

Now that I know that the track listing has been messed with, I feel a bit ripped off with this album...where the Hell am I gonna get a good album with "Jailbreak" on it now? Anyway, if you like classic AC/DC (this band are the Kings or riff based rock), Status Quo, or bluesy, boogie hard rock and rock'n'roll, you'll like this album.

Would have given this album a good 8/10, but now it's just a 7/10. September 11, 2008

AC/DC Still Rules! Yeah!

Jammin on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. (Goes Good with Ice Cold Beer) Thanx Pepsi and Amazon, for bringing back so many good rockin memories (You wouldn't believe how many dumpsters I pick through looking for points, hope I don't get hepatitus or something like that, but a cat has to do what they gotta do, Yeah!) The 70's when rock was rock. Gonna get High Voltage next. Would be nice if you had the rest of the bands Killer albums. I've ordered quite a few of your items, you guys are quick and everything I've gotten so far is really nice stuff. Thanx June 28, 2008

AC/DC Rocks

Thanks to Amazon for making these albums available at a great price. Quickly shipped and high quality! June 25, 2008

AC/DC's best

I grew up occasionally listening to AC/DC, always in the background from friends playing it at school or in a car. It never stood out to me. Now at 41 I rediscovered this old band and like it a lot. I especially like listening to it while weight lifting. "Back in Black" and "Dirty Deeds" are both raw and raunchy (like the classic Mississippi Delta Blues these guys probably grew up listening to), but after listening to both several times I find that song for song, "Dirty Deeds" is better than "Back in Black". Both have AC/DC's signature sound and are milestones of the hard rock genre, but I just don't get tired of listening to "Dirty Deeds" which I can't say about "Back in Black". In rediscovering this band, I was a little surprised to later find out that next to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", "Back in Black" is the #2 selling album of all time. Okay, but I personally don't hear it in the album. But this is just the perspective of a straight white male with no tattoos whose favorite album of all time is Dire Strait's "Brothers in Arms".... April 9, 2008

Bon and the Boys Ride On

A fantastic piece of dirty, barroom rock n' roll, served up by the masters, AC/DC. This album has a lot of great tracks, from the title track, a tale of murder for hire, to the energetic "Rocker," to the albums real highlight, "Ride On," where the band emotionally plays some slowed down blues rock. A classic set of rock n' roll! February 2, 2008

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