Rock or Bust

Rock or Bust is the sixteenth album on which AC/DC presented its long-honed rock-and-roll design in an even tighter form. Thick rhythm guitar, a beat with decoration cut away and choruses you can hum after one listen — all function without waste within short, strong songs. It is a record made overcoming the major change of Malcolm Young’s departure. From the weighty title track “Rock or Bust” to the light “Play Ball,” the album carefully stacks the very moments the riffs move the body, rather than complexity. From the catchiness of “Rock the Blues Away” and the momentum of “Dogs of War” to the speed of “Baptism By Fire,” every song is concise and powerful. The overall length is short, but its density is very high for it. It is a record that inscribes the band’s inexhaustible vitality, sounding its constancy as firm will rather than stagnation. Even in difficult circumstances, the appeal of AC/DC’s simple, powerful rock and roll does not waver in the least. Conveying a veteran’s maturity and an unchanging passion for rock at once, it is a tight, fulfilling record.