AC / DC Back In Black CD

AC/DC's 1980 album digitally remastered and reissued in a special digipak plus a 16 page full color booklet containing all original album art, many unpublished photos, classic memorabilia and new 2003 liner notes. Epic.

This is a Hyper CD, which contains regular audio tracks and also provides a link to the artist's website with the help of a web browser.
AC/DC: Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Cliff Williams , Phil Rudd, Brian Johnson .
Personnel: Brian Johnson (vocals); Malcolm Young, Angus Young (guitar); Phil Rudd (drums).
Audio Mixer: Brad Samuelsohn.
Audio Remasterer: Ted Jensen.
Liner Note Author: David Fricke.
Recording information: Compass Point Studios (04/1980-05/1980).
Photographers: Robert Ellis ; Frank Griffin; Michael Putland; Ross Halfin; Chris Walter; Anastasia Pantsios; Bob Ellis.
The first sound on Back in Black is the deep, ominous drone of church bells -- or "Hell's Bells," as it were, opening the album and AC/DC's next era with a fanfare while ringing a fond farewell to Bon Scott, their late lead singer who partied himself straight to hell. But this implies that Back in Black is some kind of tribute to Scott, which may be true on a superficial level -- black is a funeral cover, hell's bells certainly signify death -- but this isn't filled with mournful songs about the departed. It's a more fitting tribute, actually, since AC/DC not only carried on without him, but they delivered a record that to the casual ear sounds like the seamless successor to Highway to Hell, right down to how Brian Johnson's screech is a dead ringer for Scott's growl. Most listeners could be forgiven for thinking that Johnson was Scott, but Johnson is different than Bon. He's driven by the same obsessions -- sex and drink and rock & roll, basically -- but there isn't nearly as much malevolence in his words or attitude as there was with Scott. Bon sounded like a criminal, Brian sounds like a rowdy scamp throughout Back in Black, which helps give it a real party atmosphere. Of course, Johnson shouldn't be given all the credit for Back in Black, since Angus and Malcolm carry on with the song-oriented riffing that made Highway to Hell close to divine. Song for song, they deliver not just mammoth riffs but songs that are anthems, from the greasy "Shoot to Thrill" to the pummeling "Back in Black," which pales only next to "You Shook Me All Night Long," the greatest one-night-stand anthem in rock history. That tawdry celebration of sex is what made AC/DC different from all other metal bands -- there was no sword & sorcery, no darkness, just a rowdy party, and they never held a bigger, better party than they did on Back in Black. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
After the untimely death of former enigmatic vocalist Bon Scott, AC/DC finally chanced upon a worthy replacement in the shape of former Geordie frontman, Brian Johnson. The result was more than the formal pastiche some expected, with Johnson stamping his own personality, not to mention distinctive rasp, on the record. The band's staple lyrical diet of sex and the general pursuit of happiness, however, remained very much intact. Highlights include the stomping 'Hell's Bells', the quiet build of the title track, and the chuckling insolence of, 'Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution'. A winning return.

Rolling Stone - Ranked number 26 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The 80s" survey, November 1989.
Rolling Stone (10/3/02, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The essence of unrepetantly simple but savagely crafted hard rock..."
Q (8/00, p.126) - Included in Q's "Best Metal Albums Of All Time"
Q (12/94, p.157) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...The apotheosis of evil, sidewinding boogie and pig-ignorant sexism...BACK IN BLACK's irresistible first half gives it the edge over absolutely every other heavy rock album from the early 1980s..."
Uncut (9/03, p.123) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...AC/DC's precision, granite-cracking boogie, sky-bothering choruses and artless lust never sounded better than here..."
Mojo (Publisher) (12/00, p.84) - "...A tribute to Bon Scott, sung by a man he himself had once recommended....Highlights from the 10-million seller: 'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' and doomy opener 'Hell's Bells'."