I'll happily hold my hands up and declare that over the years I've had something of a love/hate relationship with AC/DC.  When at the top of their game they have managed to be one the best bands in their field both live and in the studio, but when they miss the mark, boy do they do it with some style.  However, to say the band hasn't influenced my life is like saying I don't drink a lot of a certain brand of diet cola.  Both are ultimately bad for my health and my bank balance, but still I go back for more.

It all started for this reviewer one day back in 1979, when I picked up a copy of the then just released single 'Highway To Hell' on a day trip to Weston Super Mare, I couldn't wait to get the thing home and foolhardily took the mint 7" out of its protective sleeve just a gust of wind ripped half of the beach my way.  Suffice it to say that the miss pressed B-side (jeez remember them) of Chic didn't exactly float my rock 'n' roll boat, and the sand blasted A-side lasted about 1 minute 30 seconds shorter than it should have done as a result of the sand/vinyl interface.

So began an addiction that has seen me live through some of AC/DC's finest moments (the Hammersmith Odeon reopening gig) as well as some of their worst (that period when bands like The Four Horseman and Johnny Crash were beating them at their own game in the recording studio).  So it was with some trepidation that I ordered this Collectors Edition CD and DVD set, mostly built on the momentum from the fantastic content and presentation of the 'Backtracks' Collectors Edition I'd picked up around Christmas time (which you can read the review of here).

But would this, what is an effectively greatest hits set live up to the good or the bad times of Acca Dacca?

This of course isn't the band's first foray into film soundtrack territory, with the 1986 release 'Who Made Who' they added two instrumentals to a set of their finest songs, to prop up the movie 'Maximum Overdrive'.  This time around it's 'Iron Man 2' and there's no new content, just fifteen of the band's songs taken from their illustrious back catalogue.  So what's to get us die hard fans out and buying this?  Well it's the usual marketing ploy of Deluxe and Collectors Editions.

The would be Jeremy Clarkson's of this world might feel like they are changing the world this week by voting Tory and buying the single disc fifteen track collection (with it's bolder than usual track listing boasting tracks like 'Guns For Hire' and 'Evil Walks'), but this package just like Cameron and Co will offer nothing new to your die hard AC/DC fan.  So, Sony cunningly release a Deluxe Edition with a ten track DVD of songs mostly previously available, that drops in the all new 'Shoot To Thrill' video, a making of said video, along with a live version of 'Highway To Hell' from Rio in 2009 that none of us will have.  'Bonzer'...or maybe not. 

You see I can't help but be cynical about this release, especially when it comes to the full on £30+ Collectors Edition. This version arrived at my doorstep housed in a metallic 'Annual' type cardboard sleeve with the same DVD and CD as the much cheaper Deluxe Edition, accompanied by some stickers, an 'Iron Man' repro comic book, a 32 page booklet (of stuff that is in the 'Backtracks' book) along with a poster that apparently warranted the hefty increase of £20 to the bill.  Is it worth it?  Well the simple answer is most definitely "No".

If you are a diehard and you have to buy this, buy the Deluxe Edition for the extra DVD tracks, and wait for the Collectors Edition to be in the Play/Amazon sale sometime soon. 

When it comes to AC/DC this is a just a touch too fucking much, roll on Download and hopefully a return to form on the live front at least.

http://www.myspace.com/acdc