Rock or Bust

Rock or Bust
Studio album by AC/DC
Released 28 November 2014 (2014-11-28)
Recorded 3 May – 12 July 2014 at Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia
Genre Hard rock
Length 34:55
Label Columbia
Producer Brendan O'Brien
AC/DC chronology
Black Ice
(2007)		 Rock or Bust
(2014)
Singles from Rock or Bust
  1. "Play Ball"
    Released: 7 October 2014
  2. "Rock or Bust"
    Released: 17 November 2014
  3. "Rock the Blues Away"
    Released: 10 March 2015

Rock or Bust is a studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is their fifteenth internationally released studio album and the sixteenth to be released in Australia. It is the shortest studio album ever released by the band; at approximately 35 minutes, it is two minutes shorter than their previous shortest album, Flick of the Switch, which was released in 1983. Rock or Bust also was the group's first album without founding member and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who had retired from the band in 2014 due to health concerns, although he co-wrote every track on the album. Bass guitarist Cliff Williams has also retired since Rock or Bust was released, drummer Phil Rudd was unable to participate in the supporting tour after being sentenced to house arrest, and vocalist Brian Johnson was forced to exit the band after the fifth leg of the album's supporting tour as a result of hearing loss.

The group released the debut single from the album, titled "Play Ball", on 7 October 2014. The song has been a commercial success, reaching the top 40 charts in various countries such as Spain (at number 28),[1] France (at number 39)[2] or Switzerland (at number 19).[3]

Rock or Bust peaked at #1 in 12 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany and Sweden. It reached the top 5 in a further 12 countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy.

Overview

Released on 28 November 2014 in Australia and 2 December 2014 elsewhere, Rock or Bust marks the band's first album since 2010's Iron Man 2 and first album of original material since 2008's Black Ice.[4]

Rock or Bust is the band's first album without founding member and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who left the band in 2014 for health reasons.[5] Malcolm's departure was later clarified by the band and their management, who stated that he was officially diagnosed with dementia and will possibly never play again. While Malcolm has writing credits for every track on the album, all of his guitar parts were recorded by his nephew Stevie Young. Malcolm does not appear on the album as a performer.

Before the album was officially announced, Brian Johnson admitted that it was difficult to make the album without Malcolm. He brought about the idea that the album could be called Man Down, but believed the title might be too negative towards Malcolm's situation and overall health.[6]

On 6 November 2014, drummer Phil Rudd was arrested for attempting to procure the murder of two men.[7][8] AC/DC made a statement the same day: "We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album Rock or Bust and upcoming tour next year." It was not yet clear whether Rudd would remain with the band or not, or who might be his replacement.[9] The attempted procurement charge against Rudd was dropped the following day; charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of cannabis and a charge of threatening to kill remained.[10]

Recording

The album was recorded at Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada, with producer Brendan O'Brien and mixer Mike Fraser.[5] When Rudd was ten days late for the recording sessions, O'Brien was ready to replace him with another drummer, but Rudd arrived and recorded his parts.[11]

By Angus Young's reckoning, recording took, "about four weeks. We had all the material – we were well prepared to do the album and that helped a lot. We'd done a lot of the work before going in the studio. Brendan is a very accomplished musician, so that's part of why we work with him. He knows all his instruments."[12]

The songs were constructed largely by Angus Young from material accumulated by the brothers during the recording of previous albums.[11]

On some lead tracks, Angus Young used the Schaffer Replica, a device that emulates the Schaffer-Vega Diversity System. The device was donated to him by AC/DC fanatic Fil "SoloDallas" Olivieri.[13]

Singles

The first single "Play Ball" was first used on 27 September 2014 in a trailer for Major League Baseball on TBS postseason coverage,[14] and the single was released on 7 October, the same day as the track listing and artwork were revealed.[15] It became available on iTunes for those who pre-ordered the album.

The second single is "Rock or Bust", the official video for which was filmed in front of 500 fans in London on 4 October 2014. The single was released on 17 November 2014. The song leaked by accident when it was uploaded to the AC/DC YouTube account instead of "Play Ball".

Rudd was absent from both video shoots for the singles, and was replaced by Welshman Bob Richards, who had previously played with Man, Adrian Smith, Asia and Shogun.[16]

Rock or Bust World Tour

In 2015, the band embarked on a world tour to promote Rock or Bust and celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.[17] Malcolm was replaced by his and Angus's nephew, Stevie Young.[5] At first, it was not yet clear whether Rudd would participate in the tour.[11] On 6 January 2015, it was announced that AC/DC would be headlining at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, performing on 10 and 17 April 2015.[18] Chris Slade, who played with AC/DC between 1989 and 1994, was announced as the drummer for the tour.[19]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
The Daily Telegraph[22]
The Guardian[23]
NME7/10[24]
The Observer[25]
PopMatters7/10[26]
Rolling Stone[27]
USA Today[28]

The album received generally favorable and warm reviews; it garnered a score of 75 on the website Metacritic, based on 22 reviews.[29] In particular, the magazine Trucking published a praising review by Andy Stewart in which he wrote, "Short, but definitely sweet, this long-awaited new album from Australia’s biggest band contains a raft of excellent riffs, signature screeching and rock ’n roll boogie-woogie rhythms that are all but impossible not to tap your feet along to."[30] As well, Charles Pitter of Popmatters commented that the album had "a keen focus on catchy choruses and riffs for those who are inclined to practice righteous, gnarly air guitar."[26]

Commercial performance

Upon its release, Rock or Bust became the sixth most pre-ordered studio album of 2014 on Amazon UK.[31]

In the US, the album sold 172,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200.[32] As of January 2015, it has sold 500,000 copies in the US[33] and, as of 22 January 2015, has been certified Gold by the RIAA,[34] making it the band's 22nd album to reach Gold status.[35] In Canada, it debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 31,000 copies in its first week of release.[36]

Worldwide, Rock or Bust sold a total of 2.8 million copies in 2014.[37]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Angus Young and Malcolm Young.[11][38] [nb 1]

No. Title Length
1. "Rock or Bust"   3:03
2. "Play Ball"   2:47
3. "Rock the Blues Away"   3:24
4. "Miss Adventure"   2:57
5. "Dogs of War"   3:35
6. "Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder"   3:22
7. "Hard Times"   2:44
8. "Baptism by Fire"   3:30
9. "Rock the House"   2:42
10. "Sweet Candy"   3:09
11. "Emission Control"   3:41

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2014–15) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[41] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[42] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[43] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[44] 1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[45] 3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[46] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[47] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[48] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[49] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[50] 1
Greek Albums (IFPI)[51] 20
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[52] 5
Irish Albums (IRMA)[53] 6
Italian Albums (FIMI)[54] 3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[55] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[56] 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[57] 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[58] 2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[59] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[60] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[61] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[62] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[63] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[64] 3
US Billboard 200[65] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[66] 13
Austrian Albums Chart 6
Italian Albums (FIMI)[67] 21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[68] 43
Polish Albums Chart[69] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[70] 4
UK Albums Chart[71] 25
Chart (2015) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[72] 40
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[73] 23
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[74] 8
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[75] 70
Italian Albums (FIMI)[76] 54
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[77] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[78] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[79] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[80] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[81] Platinum 80,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[82] Gold 10,000^
France (SNEP)[83] 3× Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[84] Diamond 750,000^
Italy (FIMI)[85] Platinum 50,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86] Gold 7,500^
Poland (ZPAV)[87] Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[88] Platinum 40,000^
Sweden (GLF)[89] Gold 20,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[90] 4× Platinum 80,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[91] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[92] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

  1. ↑ In September 2014, the French web site highwaytoacdc.com leaked a complete different set list which later appeared to be (almost entirely) wrong: "Play Ball", "Sign of the Times", "Ain't The Way", "Rock or Bust", "Done Her Good", "Steal My Meal", "Watching Games", "Cardhouse Blues", "Bulletride", "Rumble" and "Back in the Zone".

References

  1. ↑ "AC/DC – Play Ball". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "AC/DC – Play Ball". lescharts.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "AC/DC – Play Ball". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "AC/DC confirm Malcolm Young's retirement, Rock or Bust album and world tour". Syndey Morning Herald. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "AC/DC 'ROCK OR BUST'". Alberts Management. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Brian Johnson Says It Was Difficult Making New AC/DC Album Without Malcolm Young". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Tony Wall (6 November 2014). "AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on procuring murder charge". Fairfax Media.
  8. ↑ "BBC News - AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on New Zealand murder plot charge". BBC News. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "What now for AC/DC, after Phil Rudd's arrest and Malcolm Young's retirement?". The Guardian. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Katie Kenny (7 November 2014). "AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd: Procuring murder charge dropped". Fairfax Media.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Hard Rock, Harder Times: AC/DC Return Without Two Key Members". Rolling Stone. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Robinson, John: "Q&A", Uncut, January 2015, p65
  13. ↑ "Angus Young's Classic Tone in a Box". 4 February 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Listen to AC/DC's new song "Play Ball" in posteason baseball trailer". Ultimare Classic Rock. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Hear AC/DC's "Play Ball" and check out Rock or Bust cover art". Ultimate Classic Rock. 7 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd replaced at video shoot by Welshman Bob Richards after murder plot charge". Wales Online. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "AC/DC's Malcolm Young departs as new album Rock or Bust announced". The Guardian. 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "AC/DC to Headline 2015 Coachella Festival Along With Jack White + Drake". 6 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "AC/DC confirm Chris Slade will replace Phil Rudd on their 2015 tour". 13 February 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  20. ↑ Rock or Bust at Metacritic Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  21. ↑ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (4 December 2014). "Rock or Bust - AC/DC". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  22. ↑ Brown, Helen (1 December 2014). "AC/DC, Rock or Bust, review: 'vertebrae-jolting stuff'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  23. ↑ Simpson, Dave (27 November 2014). "AC/DC: Rock Or Bust review – Aussie rockers' 16th album keeps the fire burning". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  24. ↑ Haynes, Gavin (24 November 2014). "AC/DC - 'Rock Or Bust'". NME. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  25. ↑ Empire, Kitty (30 November 2014). "AC/DC: Rock or Bust review – business as usual, and how". The Observer (The Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  26. 1 2 Pitter, Charles (2 December 2014). "AC/DC: Rock or Bust review". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  27. ↑ Grow, Kory (2 December 2014). "AC/DC: Rock or Bust review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  28. ↑ Mansfield, Brian (25 November 2014). "Review: AC/DC's 'Rock or Bust'". USA Today. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Rock or Bust - AC/DC". 2 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  30. ↑ Stewart, Andy (February 2015). "Review: AC/DC – Rock or Bust". Trucking. Cudham, England: Kelsey Publishing Group: 34.
  31. ↑ Pakinkis, Tom (27 November 2014). "Take That's III becomes Amazon UK's most pre-ordered album of all time". Music Week. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "AC/DC 'Bust's to No. 1 on Top Rock Albums". 12 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  33. ↑ Christman, Ed (9 January 2015). "Music in 2014: Taylor Takes the Year, Republic Records on Top, Streaming to the Rescue". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  34. ↑ "American certifications – AC/DC". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  35. ↑ "Artist Tallies". Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 10 December 2014". 10 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  37. ↑ "IFPI Digital Music Report 2015: Charting the Path to Sustainable Growth" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  38. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Rock or Bust by AC/DC". iTunes. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  39. 1 2 "AC/DC sound engineer Mike Fraser discusses mixing Rock or Bust". Q30 Television. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  40. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  41. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  42. ↑ "Ultratop.be – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  43. ↑ "Ultratop.be – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  44. ↑ "AC/DC – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for AC/DC. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  45. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select {{{date}}} on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  47. ↑ "AC/DC: Rock Or Bust" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  48. ↑ "Lescharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  49. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  50. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  51. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  52. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – {{{year}}}. {{{week}}}. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  53. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 49, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  54. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  55. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2014-12-10" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  56. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  57. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  58. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  59. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  60. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  61. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  62. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  63. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – AC/DC – Rock Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  64. ↑ "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  65. ↑ "AC/DC – Chart history" Billboard 200 for AC/DC. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  66. ↑ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  67. ↑ "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  68. ↑ "The Official NZ Music Charts - End of Year Charts 2014".
  69. ↑ "Jakie płyty Polacy kupowali najchętniej w 2014 roku – roczne podsumowanie listy OLiS" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  70. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014".
  71. ↑ Moss, Liv (1 January 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums of 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  72. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  73. ↑ "Ö3 Austria Top 40 - Album Charts 2015".
  74. ↑ http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2015&cat=a
  75. ↑ "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista - eladási darabszám alapján - 2015". Mahasz. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  76. ↑ "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  77. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2015".
  78. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  79. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 6 December 2014. Enter AC/DC in the field Interpret. Enter Rock or Bust in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  80. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2015". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  81. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  82. ↑ "Album Top-40" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  83. ↑ "French album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  84. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (AC/DC; 'Rock or Bust')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  85. ↑ "Italian album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 8 January 2015. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter AC/DC in the field Filtra. Select 2014 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  86. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  87. ↑ "Polish album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  88. ↑ "El portal de música - Last Charts". Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  89. ↑ "Veckolista Album - Vecka 49, 4 december 2014". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Swedish Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  90. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (AC/DC; 'Rock or Bust')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  91. ↑ "British album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Rock or Bust in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  92. ↑ "American album certifications – AC/DC – Rock or Bust". Recording Industry Association of America. line feed character in |title= at position 48 (help) If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.