Two reasons to believe in the success of Iron Man 2

You can not imagine yourself New York without Statue of Liberty; nor can you picture soccer without Pele. And, certainly, you can not separate hard rock music from the music of AC/DC. They started as builders of the hard rock edifice, continued as great scandal makers, and now they refuse pointblank to leave the stage. You should not expect them to produce another gigantic album like Back In Black, or smashing hits like Hell Bells. But that’s OK! The band keeps on working, performing and showing up on magazine covers and in interview. The interest to this band might have got slightly weaker, but is far from vanishing. Not, they are again in the limelight, presenting a ‘new’ album. Right, it is not new in full sense, for Iron Man 2 is, as you could have already guessed, not a CD with new material, but a compilation of old songs from the Australian ensemble chosen for the eponymous blockbuster. In line with this, the fresh release has two keys to success. It will be interesting to AC/DC biggest fans; and it will be of the same interest to those who like the movie.

Music to live for ever

Iron Man 2 is not quite a best hits collection of AC/DC. Of course, it included such legendary pieces as Highway To Hell, Back In Black, or Let There Be Rock. In the meantime, the rest of the material features tracks that are pretty rare and do not look like genuine hits. For instance, you can take War Machine, taken from a B-side of one of the albums. The same goes with T.N.T., originally featured on the album released only for the Australian market. The conclusion is that Iron Man 2 is not a gathering of the highest achievements, but a brief recapitulation of all chapters of the AC/DC history. The musicians could not but give what they owe to the passed away Bon Scott, the band’s first vocalist. That is why, alongside the material sung by Brian Johnson, you find songs from his era two, including the brilliant Rock'N'Roll Damnation, and Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be. Classics will be classics; Back In Black today sounds as convincing and energetic as it did thirty years ago, The ingredients of a nice rock music dish has not changed. Catchy, solid guitar riffs, bomb-like drums and bass, and easily recognizable, reasonably wild, rebellious vocals. Are these not the distinctions journalists liked to give AC/DC? Are they not what we still like in hard-rock?

Vast audience for Iron Man 2

In fact, AC/DC have already done this work before. In the distant year of 1986, they arranged a soundtrack collection for Maximum Overdrive. Called Who Made Who, it, too, included both hits and average material. In both cases, the song selection is exemplary. Listening to such CDs after watching the movies is but a sheer pleasure. That is why, the Iron Man 2 film helps AC/DC remain strong in the music business, while the Australian band gave a nice promotion to the motion picture, too. This work has only one significant drawback. If you’re an experienced follower of AC/DC and a proud owner of the full discography of this outfit, you will not find anything new on Iron Man 2. On the other hand, hardcore fans are characterized by an overwhelming addiction to add to their collections absolutely everything their favorite performers release. Meanwhile, this CD might be a good find for a completely different part of the audience, namely, the movie lovers who, obsessed by the film, will want to have the soundtrack. Many among them have a vague idea of what AC/DC are. To them, Iron Man 2 could be an entrance door to the mad and marvelous world of the legendary AC/DC.

Alex Bartholomew
21.05.2010