Live albums used to mean something. Back when music was music, and video was video, and neither was a half-assed companion of the other, live albums represented a rare glimpse into a special moment in time; and at their best, they boasted highly original performances that added something new to the original studio tracks. But in the post-MTV era of visual overkill, the live album is more often than not (ab)used as a quick means of fulfilling contractual obligations, or padding the record label's fourth-quarter budget. Though hardly an overnight revolution, this sad trend was certainly brought home to many by the unimaginatively entitled
Live, a disjointed double-disc set from the world's biggest little rock & roll band,
AC/DC. After delivering one of the format's undisputed classics with 1978's If You Want Blood You've Got It, the Australian titans' second concert recording barely raised a pulse. "Bonny," the only unfamiliar track, turns out to be little more than a one-minute solo based on the traditional sea shantey, and even the "improvised" Angus Young solo that introduces "Jailbreak" is an obvious cut-and-paste job. At least the album serves as an impressive highlight reel for the band's hit-and-miss '80s output (1980's
Back in Black and 1990's
The Razor's Edge providing the bulk of the material) while making room for the
Bon Scott-era essentials. By and large,
AC/DC on a bad night are still usually better than most bands on a good one, but
Live feels more like a greatest-hits album with crowd noise than a true live album. Still, a better buy than the edited, single-disc version. [In February 2003, the American distribution rights to
AC/DC's back catalog transferred over to Epic, their new label. Epic reissued the band's catalog as remastered digipacks containing lavish, expanded booklets with plenty of rare photographs, memorabilia, and notes. Although the digipacks may wear a little too easy, the sound is terrific -- clean and muscular, enhancing the raw qualities of the original record -- and the packaging is loving, making the reissues necessary for collectors.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia