Back catalogue: Rock

Review: In October 1977, Australian rock titans AC/DC were set to enjoy a night off in London following two successful shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, before they were tapped by The BBC at the last minute to replace The Sensational Alex Harvey Band who had cancelled their scheduled appearance on the Sight & Sound In Concert show at the Hippodrome in North London's Golders Green. While the likes of Queen, Jethro Tull, The Kinks and Roxy Music would perform at the 3,000-capacity venue over the years, no band or set has ever rocked the Hippodrome like Bon Scott and the boys did on this fateful evening. Ripping through a truncated, all bangers setlist of seven tracks in just 40 minutes, including 'Problem Child', 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be', 'Whole Lotta Rosie' and 'T.N.T.', while Angus Young would run rampant whilst shredding through the balcony section, this performance has gone down as one of most iconic from this early definitive era of the band.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Don't be confused by that title - this live album is a recording of their Monsters of Rock appearance from 1991, a bill on which even legends like Metallica and Motley Crue found themselves playing supporting roles to the Australian gods. That said, despite this being very much the domain of singer number two, Mr Brian Johnson, there are many, many moments from the Bon Scott songbook here, from album title tracks 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap', 'High Voltage' and 'Let Me Rock' alongside later triumphs like 'Hells Bells' and 'Heatseeeker'. The only thing that might seem odd by its omission is 'Highway To Hell' - the clue is NOT in the name, it seems - but across four sides of vinyl, there's still plenty of AC/DC at in truly electrifying mood here.

Review: A slice of Australian rock champs AC/DC in action in 1978 in their classic Bon Scott-led line up, on tour in the US in support of their penultimate album before Scott's death in 1980, the often underrated Powerage. Along with staple live favourites that have remained in the band's set for yonks - see 'Rocker', 'Bad Boy Boogie', 'Problem Child' and 'The Jack' - there are rare outings for the groovy but more subdued, bluesy 'Gone' Shootin' and, the final encore here, 'Dog Eat Dog' from 76's massive Let There Be Rock album. You can almost hear the collectors' salivating.

Review: With four albums dropping throughout the first half the 1980s, the second iteration of AC/DC with Brian Johnson on vocals was definitely on a roll. This recording of the band in action on the West Coast of the US mixes classics from their Back In Black classic like 'You Shook Me All Night Long' and 'Hell's Bells' - with older favourites. There are fan faves galore here but also a few tracks which make the cut less often, such as 'Shot Down In Flames' from the Highway To Hell album, 'She's Got Balls', 'Shoot To Thrill' and more. That alone sets it above the average live broadcast album from the band, elevating it into the realms of the essential for hardcore devotees.

Review: Frampton Comes Alive? Jeff Mills Live At The Liquid Room? Pah! There is only contender in the park when it comes to the best live album of all time and that's AC/DC's 1978 classic, recorded at the Glasgow Apollo and featuring their original vocalist Bon Scott. From the deft riffing of opener 'Riff Raff' - recently covered by men of the moment Black Midi - to the 12 bar frenzy of traditional closer 'Rocker' via big hitting groovers like 'Bad Boy Boogie' and 'Problem Child' and audience participation-fests like 'The Jack' and 'Whole Lotta Rosie', this is dripping in crowd atmospherics, improvised solos and big walls of riffs. Just about as great an advert for live music as ever existed.

Review: Viva La Revolution indeed. The Adicts tore out of England's east coast, and specifically Ipswich, and immediately made an impact. Asked to change their name by Sire Records in a bid to appease the charts and TV bookers - although, oddly, one of the options was apparently The Fun Adicts, which raises more quandaries - Rockers In Orbit captures their huge sound in all its glory. Recorded live at Alabama Halle, Munich, Germany, depending on which way you're listening first impressions invoke breakneck punk, motoring metal, and even the romance and commanding power of The Cure at their loudest and most dominating. Ultimately, though, these guys just sound like The Adicts. A questionable reference point we can only assure you is meant as a total complement. Not a band people will forget in a hurry.

Review: We've encountered a few Woodstock '94 live albums in recent months. 30 years on, and the festival remains one of the most ill-conceived, poorly executed and abhorrently capitalist failures the live music scene has ever witnessed. When you cram 350,000 into a site aimed at half that, don't think about infrastructure, overcharge on everything and then stand idly by as a revolution begins to unfold, only responding when things become a life or death situation, how do you expect to be remembered? At least people actually played the event, though, unlike the likes of Fyre, which never even managed to get started. And the lineup for 1994's cash-in on the legendary New York State gathering was decent in many ways, Aerosmith stepping up at the height of their commercial fame to deliver a typically spectacular show of mainstream rock & roll with blues roots. Here's the recording.

Review: The Alarm lead singer and songwriter Mike Peters set up The Twenty First Century Recording Company in Prestatyn, North Wales in 1994 as a way of allowing his band to express themeless freely away from the conventional restrains of other labels. It remains the band's primary home and is where they land now with a remarkable 20th album. It comes after a time of illness and more than 40 years of writing big and anthemic rock tunes but still finds him serving up more of the same with plenty of epic riffs and singalong choruses. Get ready to be punching the air non-stop with this one.

Review: For people of a certain age, their teenage years were defined by the edgy grunge, alt and punk rock sounds of bands like Alice in Chains. Three decades later their seminal sophomore effort, Dirt sounds as good as it ever did and gets an anniversary reissue to mark the occasion. It comes with plenty of powerful drums and big-ass basslines as well as yelping vocals and fuzzy textures that take in a range of emotions and even bigger riffs. This issue features a special insert and comes across four sides of vinyl so it's nice and loud, just as intended.

Review: Arguably one of the most integral tentpoles of the grunge movement, Alice In Chains' seminal sophomore effort, Dirt, changed the game upon its release in 1992. Featuring some of the band's most classic cuts such as, 'Them Bones', 'Down In A Hole', 'Rooster', and, 'Junkhead', to name but a few; the incomparable dynamic of Wayne Staley's iconic vocals and cryptic, yet brutally honest lyricism combined with guitarist Jerry Cantrell's mammoth riffs and delicate nuance, still resides high in the echelons of alternative rock three decades on. For lifers and newcomers alike, this 30-year anniversary edition serves as an ideal opportunity to revisit a genuine classic, far murkier and riddled with antagonistic depths than any of its would-be peers.

Review: Given his passion for the melodramatic, it's little surprise to find Antony Hegarty pairing up with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra for his latest full-length - a live recording of what was no doubt an unforgettable concert. Interspersed with Antony's musings to the audience on sexuality and feminism (amongst other things), Cut The World sees some of his best songs given a dramatic new lease of life. With his distinctive, haunting vocals (yes, it's impossible to review one of his releases without mentioning them) to the fore, the songs veer from achingly intimate to deliciously grandiose. If you're a fan, it should be an essential purchase.