AC/DC - Live At Donington

Once upon a time (is it really so long ago?) I, and many thousands of other people, made my way to Donnington for the annual Monsters of Rock festival, headlined by AC/DC.I'm sure there must have been people in attendance who were drawn by the headline act, but that certainly that wasn't the case for myself and the people I knew at the time. Second on the bill was Metallica, lower down Queensryche, and the buzz seemed to be about these acts. Certainly not the aging "has beens" with their name at the top of the posters.On the day I recall Queensryche being as good as hoped for, while Metallica were not quite so, and then we waited for AC/DC with more a feeling of "ok, we're here so may as well see what it is like" then anything that could be described as anticipation.I include this information not to insult the band, or their fans, but to put what happened next (and what is presented on this release) into some kind of context. Because, what did happen, is they came on to stage and proceeded to deliver an absolute rock n roll masterclass.They won't ever win any awards for sophistication and innovation, but they have found a formula that works for them and polished to perfection. And, there is definitely a place in the world (and in any self respecting music fans collection) for this type of perfection.By modern day standards, the show is basic with visual effects limited by the technology of the day to items such as large blow up figures, and (of course) the obligatory cannons. This is an "old fashioned" rock and roll show, and the band give a lesson in how it should be done. The music is tight (overdubbed on this release? I don't know, but I can say I was impressed by how good the band were on the day), and the performance is non stop energy from start to finish.The audio quality is superb throughout, and the video is somewhere between ok to good due to being rather grainy in places. The show was shot on 35mm film, and this grain would be my only real criticism although it didn't detract from my enjoyment in anyway.Is the film as good as being there? Well, no concert film can ever manage that, but for those of us that were lucky enough to be so this makes a great reminder of a superb show. And overall, I would have no reservations in recommending this release to everyone else.

No matter where you see AC?DC they are fantastic. This one at Donington is no exception. A band where the lead singer is second to the mad schoolboy lead guitarist. Angus is amazing as usual with his duck walk, and giving all he's got. If you're an AC/DC fan, or if you're not you can't beat this band live. Plus there's the lovely Rosie, if you are new to AC/DC, have you lived in a forest all your life? Anyway Rosie is amazing as usual, and there's a whole lot of her.

I'd been meaning to buy this video/DVD for about 20 years, having owned the 2-CD album of AC/DC Live from this tour since the early 1990s.And I'm certainly glad that I've finally taken the plunge. The visuals, with all the different camera angles, keep you interested without feeling that there are too many cuts. And I thought the sound was very good, with good stereo separation.I went for the 2009 Sony release, and certainly didn't notice any negative instances of overdubbing or re-recording (as mentioned by other reviewers) while I was watching it.This is a great setlist, ranging from Bon Scott era classics to The Razor's Edge (one of my favourites), which was their most recent album at the time.One of the hightlights for me was "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", which sounds great - I didn't even know that I like it so much!As well as a few tracks where you can watch a camera that follows just one of the band members for the whole song, extras include a commentary by Angus and Malcolm Young on the event, and a few words of background information on each of their albums.If you like AC/DC but don't own this, it's time you did! It's the Brian Johnson-fronted line-up at the peak of their powers!

The sound is amazing a PCM 5.1 soundtrack one of best there is on live concert if you have a good AV amplifier to make the most of it.The picture has been remastered but is only a little better than the original that's why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars.I also have the DVD version and would say it is worth the upgrade to blu ray.

First watched it on VHS in its original release format and thought it was an absoulutely brilliant gig. The Blu Ray version is obviously better than VHS, though is a little disappointing picture-wise considering it was shot on 35mm film - but that's my only gripe. The audio mix is just bang on the money and sharp as a tack. This gig was part of "The Razors Edge" album tour and presents the band playing with a sharpness and vitality that is quite astounding. This is in no small part due to the contribution made by Chris Slade on drums, who puts in a true 'power performance', delivered throughout with a smile on his face (maybe thinking of the pay cheque!?) and looking as though he was really enjoying himself. A typical example is "Let There Be Rock" - just awesome! Obviously the rest of the band are just as enthusiastic, with both Angus and Brian performing at their best, ably backed by a solid piece of work by Malcolm and Cliff. The actual set list is very similar to the recent River Plate concert, though it's good to see and hear tracks such as "Heatseeker", "Fire Your Guns", "Moneytalks" and of course, "High Voltage". All in all, a great gig. If you have a high quality surround system (and either no/deaf neighbours!) you'll enjoy this.

Well up to expected performance!