Ballbreaker, released in 1995, is composed of tracks which incorporate the familiar AC/DC formula--edgy, cutting guitar riffs set against a throbbing, primal beat, topped off with the gritty, gutsy vocal style of Brian Johnson. Ballbreaker is as rowdy and bodacious as anything that AC/DC has ever done, but the production gives the music on this album a touch of sophistication that most of their earlier work has lacked. Rick Rubin's production techniques are "finer" than those of their old producer, Mutt Lange, so perhaps that explains the sheen that this album has.

Even with this slicker production, AC/DC has still managed to capture the raw vitality of their music. None of the tracks are very cerebral, but they are visceral, and there are heavy helpings of the overt sexual themes that have always recurred in this band's music.

The players, and their contributions, are as follows:

Brian Johnson, vocals
Angus Young, lead guitar
Malcolm Young, rhythm guitar
Cliff Williams, bass guitar
Phil Rudd, drums

The tracks, and a few observations about each, are as follows:

1. Hard As A Rock--The album starts out with a song with an overt sexual message--"her bad behavior will leave you standing proud, hard as a rock". Musically, it has a nice guitar riff that opens the song, and a chunky chord line that defines the beat. The bass and drums frame the wicked riff, and Brian Johnson sings at his maniacal best.

2. Cover You In Oil--This one is purely about sex, and you don't have to read between the lines to figure it out. The guitar riff that drives the song might have been pinched from an old ZZ Topp song, but I can't recall the name of the tune at the moment. Brian Johnson gets into the high ranges, and his voice doesn't lose any power in doing so. Angus Young plays a scalding guitar solo--it doesn't really matter that most of his licks are recycled--they still work, and very effectively.

3. The Furor--Did I say that this album wasn't very cerebral? Well, that's not exactly true--the play on words on this one is pretty clever. The pun is "The Fuehrer", and some of the lyrics seem to be a reference to Adolph Hitler--"Frame of mind, cross the line to a new state, I can shake the law, find a mine, gonna build me a new place....I'm your Furor". The musical mood is as ominous and dark as the lyrical theme, and the bass and drums set up a throbbing beat for Brian Johnson and Angus Young to cavort upon.

4. Boogie Man--This song is reminiscent of The Jack, an old AC/DC tune off of an early album. It's just a pure blues song, with some fine vocals and some seething guitar work by Angus Young--he shows us that Australians understand the blues form.

5. The Honey Roll--Another overtly sexual song, with a pretty interesting play on words--"Honey roll over and lettuce on top" is the first line of the tune, with a emphasis on the "lettuce" (let us). The music is a raw as any of their earlier work, and the trademark guitar riff that Angus Young pumps out makes the song work as a fine piece of blues-themed rock.

6. Burnin' Alive--This one starts out rather tamely, but when the band kicks in, it develops into a really hard rocker. The riff set up by Angus Young puts his signature to this song, and his solo is white hot. Brian Johnson does a fine job on this tune, and I think his entire effort on this album is consistent and excellent.

7. Hail Caesar--AC/DC takes a lyrical trip to ancient Rome in this one, although it probably has some relevance to actual people, places and events today. The riff played by Angus Young and the rhythm section pauses to allow Brian Johnson to sing his vocal lines, and it's a pretty effective trick. The guitar solo provides the perfect exclamation point to this tune.

8. Love Bomb--This one sounds like something that would have fit in well on Back In Black, this group's landmark album. It has all of the elements that made this band's music great--great guitar, screeching vocals and a pulsating rhythm section.

9. Caught With Your Pants Down--Brian Johnson sounds eerily like Bon Scott on this tune--in fact, it really sounds like some of this band's earliest music. It's a guitar driven rocker, with those trademark riffs and power chords, complete with a wicked guitar solo.

10. Whiskey On The Rocks--Is this Have A Drink On Me revisited? Probably so, but the formula still works, at least for me. Like the earlier song, this one's all about the evils of alcohol abuse, set to a tortured beat that seems to reflect the living hell that alcoholism can be. It could be that Brian Johnson is singing about his personal demons in this song. The guitar solo is hellish, a tone befitting the mood of this song.

11. Ballbreaker--The title track, of course, and placed exactly where a title track should be--at the end of the album instead of at the beginning. The sexual allusions are overt, and the music is hot, steamy and sexually charged. The guitar riffs are compact and packed with energy, and Brian Johnson almost loses it when he sings about a woman who likes "buildin' steam, whippin' cream, she likes a fat, smokin' stack". Angus Young's solo is intense and he whips his Gibson SG into a frenzy on this album closer.

How do you define this album? That's hard to say, but I would hazard a guess that it could be categorized as modern AC/DC. Their sound is a little slicker, but the energy is still there, and their continued use of sexual themes in their lyrics are a reminder that this band still hasn't grown up. I, for one, hope they never do!





Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving