Give me 90 minutes

I probably agree, but the title track is great.

So don't give me no
Don't you give me no
Don't you give me no
Don't you give me no
Lies

Side A sounds inspired, and All Screwed Up is decent. Other songs on side B are either a bit dull, forced, or ruined by the lyrics.

Posted By: InfernoI had to check out this thread just because of the inflammatory title.

Anyway, Ballbreaker says hello. : )

School didn't say most terrible, he said least-inspired. There were a lot of great musical ideas on BB. Unfortunately, Brian didn't write the lyrics and Rick Rubin screwed the pooch.

Posted By: SHOO23LTry to convince me otherwise.

Bar the title track, you’re not wrong. At all.

The real start of the "let's make some nice riffs and put them on repeat and forget making real songs" era.
Apart from a few exceptions, the songs aren't there anymore. Also due to the lame lyrics. The slow to medium tempo doesn't make it any better.

There are a few nice parts scattered throughout the album though. Mainly bridges and some Phil work.
Production is nice and warm.

Waiting for jem to join in, saying we are all banned.

Nice to see some medals for SINYC - absolute corker of a song!

Cyberspace doesn't sound too uninspired. Maybe that's why they left it out.

Posted By: Pedro HodeckerFor me it's the bluesiest album they ever done. Medium and slow tempo. It's just so much fun and makes you wanna dance to it.
It doesn't have the BIB vibe or the HtH vibe, it's a different approach. When i listen to it, i notice clearly how happy they are just jamming with each other, i love it.

This.
It was the first album I bought because back then I was really into it (and they didn't have BIB at the store). I rarely listen to it now but the title song still kicks ass.

Stiff Upper Lip is fuckin brilliant i love it...nuff said.

Posted By: Pedro Hodecker"When i listen to it, i notice clearly how happy they are just jamming with each other, i love it."

I think that's my main problem with it. For half of the songs, it sounds like they were indeed jamming in a room trying to come up with ideas... and didn't get much beyond the basic framework and decided to use them as-is, including what sounds like guide vocals from Brian.

Balldryer
Stiff Upper Sleep
Beloved kids have many names!

SUL is a classic ... late period ACDC would never top this sound, they are just incredible ... Y&Y lyrics are reasonable (George's help maybe), and Brian is more natural sounding, working better within his limits ... SUL is big, strong, gritty ACDC album.
One note ... I don't think Stiff Upper Lip is a great album title ... it's too idiomatic and British, and not really in keeping with the long line of tough ACDC album titles.

Mutt, I think my feeling on Fly/Video are known ...
tho at least Video has some things (apparently) blowing up.

This is the sound of five guys and the brother of two of them laying down a wonderful rock and roll record. The sound, gritty and warm, on this album is extraordinary. It puts you right there in the room with boys or rather it puts the boys right there in the room with you. Every member of the band stands out throughout the record as the mix and production gives each their space to deliver stellar performances. On the title track Angus and Phil kick us off with a great bluesy lick and a counting hi hat as Brian comes in on a deeper register than usual before Mal and Cliff drop into the track Brian takes off ‘like a dog in a howl’ (maybe, who fucking cares?) and we get locked down tight into a groove from which you never want to escape. Angus blesses us with one of his most expressive solos in years, the ones where he tells you really what’s going on in the song through power of his SG and his fingers alone. As is so often the case the real stars of this song are Mal and his brothers in the world’s greatest rhythm section and in fact despite a record full of wailing leads from Angus and Brian giving every little thing to every single track this is true across the entire album. Stiff Upper Lip is conclusive proof that when it comes to laying down rock and roll grooves you can fight, fuck and dance to, AC/DC have no equals.

Not a track goes by where there isn’t a touch here and there of magic that brings a special flavour to the usual ingredients, maybe the presence of brother George in the control room has something to do with this. The placing of the backing vocals on Meltdown, the raw as hell crashing chords that bring that song to an end; THAT guitar tone on House Of Jazz which is worthy of a place on the next satellite we send into space to introduce us to passing aliens, not to mention the moment when the whole thing kicks off and you can feel the elemental presence of true rock and roll, there’s a reason why thunder and lightning play such a prominent role in AC/DC iconography it’s because they literally play up a storm.

Hold Me Back is a lesson on how to build a song from a series of basic components into an engine that feels like could run for ever on the energy it generates for itself, the placement of the cymbal crashes, the arrival of the guttural backing vocals, every part adds to the building intensity of the track. Even the quicker tracks like Safe In New York City and the bonus track Cyberspace have grooves you still move too, you just move quicker, there’s really no other choice. And if you ever doubt the band still mean it watch the video for the first of those tracks; you’ll sweat just watching it. Can’t Stop Rock And Roll makes you believe that it’s an established fact. Satellite Blues opens up with a classic stop start Young brothers riff before bemoaning the ‘dumbed down news’, that’s right now you can now dance to social commentary.

The most joyful song on here for me is Come and Get It, a filthy blues stomp that invents the concept of a double decker bed whilst making it perfectly clear that should you want it, you can get it right here. The album closes out with Give It Up the very last thing you want the boys to do, it is everything you could ever want from an AC/DC song, the Rudd opens it up with a shimmering beat that begs Cliff to get funky while Mal and Ang produce an archetypal interlocking riff and Brian invites us, no demands, that we ‘rip it up’ and ‘stick it out’. Yessir, fucking right I will. You have made yourself clear.

Posted By: ThankassThe real start of the "let's make some nice riffs and put them on repeat and forget making real songs" era.
Apart from a few exceptions, the songs aren't there anymore. Also due to the lame lyrics. The slow to medium tempo doesn't make it any better.

There are a few nice parts scattered throughout the album though. Mainly bridges and some Phil work.
Production is nice and warm.

Waiting for jem to join in, saying we are all banned.

Yes

I know a lot of people will wrinkle their noses but I always thought that the duo Vanda / Young or just Young didn't fit them and readjusted them to the sound of the post-Mutt band. With the exception of Who Made Who, any album that has one or more Youngs in production doesn't work for me. And of course the production has a significant weight in this. One of the main reasons why SUL is currently the album I hear the least is Brian's voice. And just listen to him singing on the album to be happy again. Another problem with SUL is that basically the songs have the same riff all the time, Meltdown is just a word any play on the same riff as the whole song. And what is that at the end of this song, why? SINYC has a hurriedly sung chorus to fit the melody (in the molds of CWYPD). Damned is Ballbreaker at a slow pace, while Come an Get It has the same tune as Damned's voice and a pathetic chorus. SUL (the song) and Satellite Blues were supposed to be band classics, by the way, SUL is the best song of the post-TS, but it got lost in a stuffy production.

Posted By: MyCubiclePenguinPeople will like and dislike whatever they want, but all I know is the SUL is one of my all time favorite records to listen to just because of the feeling. The songwriting may be incredibly simple and even boring at some points, but I can't help but feel all warm inside when hearing Hold me Back, I can't help but air drum through much of the record, I can't help but nearly get chills when I hear the end of Angus' solo in Meltdown, and, along with numerous other things, I can't help but love it.

That's probably why I also keep going back to the album, even if it's never been one of my favourites and I think it has some flaws. Coincidentally I've been listening a lot to it lately. I think I appreciate its nuances more now than back in 2000, maybe it's something that comes with age, I don't know.

That's certainly how I felt upon it's release. Reckon George was inspired though.

Posted By: BallToucherI mean, c'mon:



Probably their best try at doing another You Shook Me. How good is Brian on this? Also, I'm a fan of the Rudder's White tee.

IMO Satellite Blues and SUL are better than anything on the last two albums

Satellite Blues - musically it's great and the chorus is excellent. But hearing Brian hollering away (no lack of power there) on the verses with those banal words, it ruins it for me, it's just annoying. He deserves better than that to sing. Appalling lyrics. Similar thing with Give It Up, just endless yelling out (shouting out loud!) of meaningless, stupid phrases.

Then you have Can't Stop Rock n Roll where the words literally sound like pre-production guide vocals but not even that, not even a properly formed song at that point.

As mentioned by others, Damned and Come And Get It both have some good parts, but also weak parts. They don't carry enough overall power for the reason.

All Screwed Up - the verse bits are OK, but the rest is good, especially the arrangement, with the breakdown and build-ups.

Side A though, it's all great, even the silly lyrics can't hold them back.

Posted By: MyCubiclePenguin

Posted By: ianbigmac

Posted By: BallToucherI mean, c'mon:



Probably their best try at doing another You Shook Me. How good is Brian on this? Also, I'm a fan of the Rudder's White tee.

IMO Satellite Blues and SUL are better than anything on the last two albums

Agreed. Two of my all time favorites.

Great songs indeed, and those kind of singles that don't grow old on you after years of listening, especially the title-track.

It's takes LOTS OF pressure to get a diamond. After Bon's death there was INSPIRATION galore. They were under pressure. The result was the diamond known as BiB.
I'll agree SUL is uninspired, but "uninspired" doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted as a negative. As noted, it seemed like a carefree, fun, jam session put on record for their and our enjoyment. No pressure, just good rock. I remember em promoting it as just laid back fun I think, so it turned out as intended.
The album as a whole isn't my favorite, but the title track is spectacular. Fantastic show opener! The show I caught on the tour placed it 2nd in the set behind Shook Me, which felt weird. Awesome show nonetheless.
I'm in the minority, but I enjoy GIU as 2nd fav on the album. Lacks lyrics, but I love the tempo.

If you want an uninspired album, go listen to Rock or Bust. Very little thought put into the arrangements. It was 4-4-2, long ball.

That's not to say it was unenjoyable, but it is to say you could pretty much tell how the song would flow before you even hit play.

SUL is in the upper echelon of albums in the Brian era of AC/DC. That is, albums which endeavoured to have something catchy on every song and didn't just cop out on the filler. I mean, I've listened to every AC/DC album a good amount of times at this stage and there are still some songs which don't have any signature thing, and so you occasionally need a memory jogging just to know how they go. Not so with SUL.