Vibrations From The Floor (Apocalypse Sound AS 172)
Total Running Time 1 hour 50 minutes
This exiting new release from AS is a welcome treat, the Uncut performance taped for VH-1 in England that contains some rarely played songs from the Bon Scott era, specifically Let There Be Rock and Powerage circa 1977 and 1978. Parts of the release have been officially released on the Plug Me In set and recently on a deluxe pro CD-R/ DVD-R set AC/DC – Complete VH1 Sessions 1996 (Lost And Found. LAF-460/461) and on silver Uncut Rehearsals (RTR label) and in the audio format on such titles as Studio Breaker (Studio B Records) and Uncut (SBC 015). I believe the Monsters Of Rock had an official release featuring all the bands that played that day including Metallica, Black Crowes, and Pantera.
VH-1 Studios B, London, U.K. July 5, 1996
Intro, Interview, Riff Raff, Go Down, You Shook Me All Night Long, Shoot To Thrill, Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution, Down Pavement Blues, The Jack, Whole Lotta Rosie, Gone Shootin, Ball Breaker
I have been wanting to see this footage for some time and I am not disappointed one bit, in fact I will say this is probably some the most interesting footage of the band this late in their career. They are in excellent shape and play phenomenally well. The entire band is tight and Brian’s vocals are top notch. The audio quality is excellent but the visual is just very good, it is clear and the colors are not bleeding but it looks to be a couple generations from the master and is presented in a letter box style picture. Riff Raff is a great opener and hits you like a ton of bricks, close your eyes and you are listening to the other live version from the official If You Want Blood record. They launch right into Go Down and I do not think there is a live version from the Bon Scott era circulating in the trade circles so this is a great treat. With the usual lyrics about dirty women and how they love to please its hard I cannot figure out why this was not a stage favorite. Scip a few more songs to the next big one, Down Pavement Blues, a track rarely played in the 70’s, the only version I know of is from the Old Waldorff in 1977 ( and a show that could use an upgrade in the silver cd market, hint hint) and is plain smokes from smart to finish, probably one of the strongest three tracks from the Powerage record and it flows seamlessly into The Jack. The band slows it down to give Brian some time to get the people in the studio to sing along. Great stuff. By the time the band swings into the boogie of Gone Shootin they are firering on all cylinders, again another highlight that was a regular part of the bands set list in 1978 and into 1979. A strong version of Ballbreaker closes the set but the video quality goes down a notch for this track. A pleasure to see this footage.
Monsters of rock Moscow, Russia September 28, 1991
Jailbreak, The Jack, Money Talks, Hells Bells, High Voltage, Let There Be Rock, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
The next footage is the famous performance in front of over 1 million fans, pro shot but again at lease a few generations from the master the picture is a little blurry at times and the audio is a little flat but overall defiantly watchable and enjoyable. I wonder what the source for this is, there is absolutely no crowd noise and if makes the striptease in Jailbreak kind of flat. I am guessing it is from the cameras used to feed the video screens as the screen go black or use a still shots between songs. It would have been cool to see and hear the audience reactions to this bell being lowered for Hells Bells.
ZDF Kultnacht Rockpop in concert, German TV November 23, 1979
Highway To Hell
Excellent quality footage of a short version of Highway to Hell live before a TV audience, video and sound are both excellent and I cannot believe this is not been officially released. Classic line up with Bon bare chested with a denim vest on, Lynyrd Skynyrd belt buckle. a great addition to the Brian Johnson era footage. Overall a great release from AS with the packaging we are familiar with, tri fold with picures from the 1991 to 1996 era, full color and black and white. A great way to get some excellent footage and recommended to the people who do not have a copy of the VH-1 footage in their collection, if only it came with a cd of the audio to listen to in the car.
