Customer Reviews

AC/DC: Plug Me In (Three-Disc Limited Edition)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

OK, just pop in disc 1, look at the hilarious arcade computer game menu, and you know it's gonna be fun. Because AC/DC was and is always in for a bit of fun. Have a good time, while rockin' out. Judged from the content on this boxset, that is very obvious. Select "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be" and you just can't not bang your head a little bit to the electrifying sound, which, on this track, sounds absolutely brilliant, beautifully remastered for this release. The really old clips before that sound a bit muffled, probably because of age. Further on the sound is varying between spectacular and a bit cranky.
I understand that the restoration people only can do so much, but I'm very satisfied with their clean-up work.
At last, with this release, we get to see Bon Scott's funny stage persona in full, making funny faces and winking at the cameras. In "Rocker" you can't stop laughing when Angus goes into the frozen (from shock?) audience and gets in their hair. More jokes from the band as they cut off Pete Drummond's intro speech on camera, and just kick off with "Problem Child".
The selection of songs is very good, although I suspect that some fans will miss their personal favorites.
Rounding out disc 1 are some cool vintage interview clips with the band and one long interview with a very laid back Bon Scott.
Disc 2 contains live material with singer Brian Johnson. As there are several live dvd releases out there featuring Brian, most fans are familiar with Brian's showmanship. It's nice to see some of his most early footage with the band, from 1981, including some interview clips, where he admitted that he didn't realise what he was in for or how big the band already had become.
Especially cool is the VH-1 clip where we see the band in a very small studio space as opposed to the large stages we have seen them up until now, but with a good sense of being a tight unit and comfortable with each other and just enjoying playing rock n' roll together. Rehearsal footage made during the soundcheck for this session is presented as a bonus, also very cool. We see Angus playing with a cigarette in his mouth and just jamming along. The sound starts out a bit crap, because it's a soundcheck, but later on we get to hear the instruments getting into the mix and Brian's dancing along.
The other cool extra on this disc is live footage taken from the Rolling Stones 40 Licks tour, where AC/DC probably shared the bill on that day in 2003.
Angus and Malcolm join the Stones on stage to play "Rock Me Baby", an old B.B. King blues track. Keith and Ron Wood and Angus doing his usual funny thing, just a pleasure to watch. You can tell by the look on all of their faces that The Stones and the Young brothers really had some fun there.
Disc 3 contains first of all some tracks that have been cut from disc 1 and 2. Why not put it there in the first place? I don't know. Maybe to ensure picture and sound quality with a high bitrate on those discs. Maybe to give the fans some extra stuff for buying the Collector's Edition. Among the highlights is a clip with band rehearsal footage from 1983, where we see the band playing facing each other, a set up anyone who's playing in a band will recognise. Great stuff.
Also featuring on this disc is a big part of a concert filmed in 1983 in Houston, with 9 songs in a row. A bit of a shame that they didn't put the entire gig on here.
All in all, I had a great time going through all this stuff, and I'm very pleased that live material from the Bon Scott era has been made available. I still can't believe the energy Angus has when I see him play (I myself saw AC/DC play in 1988 and 2000). The way he moves like he's on full tilt and bangs his head, as if he's the greatest fan of the band, and then play so effortlessly, amazing. Especially the old stuff is great where he looks just like a kid (and probably was).
Apart from the great dvd's you get a nice booklet, and some facsimiles from old concert tickets and backstage passes, and a concert poster from 1979.
A spectacular set for a great price. Highly recommended! And Amazon, please, don't list this as a Rolling Stones release, they're on 1 bloody track for pete's sake. This is AC/DC, man.

I agree with Brian on many of his points and I have a few things to say about this 3 DVD set..
I bought it today (3 DVD set) at Best Buy for $34.99. IF you bought a Audio CD Sampler they have avaiable of PLUG ME IN.. ONLY thru Best Buy for $1.99..you get a coupon with the CD worth $3.00 off the price of either DVD set. They are selling the 2 DVD set for $16.99. Both of these prices last until 10PM on October 20th.
As far as the quality of this set and the 3rd DVD...Here goes
The sequencing on this is dissapointing...AND for those of you have acquired AC/DC video material in the past (bootlegs)..you also know that most of these performances are not only out of sequence..but are also INCOMPLETE...like some songs were left off the DVD intentionaly.
This is quite evident in the Bon Scott material.
I have a great ROIO DVD (called LIVE WIRE...LIVE FROM EUROPE 1977-1978 from the Captain Video Label) of all three of the Bon Scott Concerts from the Rock Goes to College, Sight and Sound and the Apollo Glasgow Scotland..and they are all COMPLETE performances and I have to say actualy BETTER video quality than what's provided on this disc. The audio on this DVD is in sync with a Stereo mix and is outstanding..but songs are missing..and some of these songs that are missing are on the Family Jewels DVD set..i.e. RIFF RAFF from the Glasgow is the first song..with R& R Damnation is second and so on..
The 1983 Summit Houston TX concert is of excellent quality for its day..being shot on 3/4" videotape (Video geeks will know what this is) and the audio is a "live mix " from the video..not post produced in stereo or anything..just a basic 2 channel mono mix with the mix at the mercy of the FOH audio engineer. BUT as the other concerts on here..it is INCOMPLETE....the concert IS played in sequence for what was played on the Flick Of The Switch tour..but its missing the 5 last songs of the concert....after Hells Bells which is the last song on the disc..its missing Highway To Hell, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, T.N.T. & For Those About To Rock.
The interview stuff on the 3rd DVD is interesting, but IMO not really enough to buy the 3 DVD set.
The only reason to have the Bonus disc iS if you really want/love the Flick Of The switch tour for the Houston TX show. The poster (which is pretty cool...but), backstage passes, ticket stubs, etc..that are included in the 3 DVD set are all to me just a waste of time/material unless you are into that kinda memorabilia. Instead of the memorablila stuff..I myself would have rather had another DVD included with COMPLETE & in sequence concerts from the Fly On The Wall, Who Made Who, or Blow Up Your Video tours..which ARE in existance!

Well, being a long time AC/DC fanatic, I guess I am baised when it comes to releases like this. I own just about everything they have turned out. The quality and depth of this DVD set surprises even I. There are so many tracks, so many great never before seen interviews it is downright a crime to not get this as an AC/DC fan.

As much as I love Brian Johnson, watching Bon Scott tear it up on stage in front of a live crowd is incredible. My god, he was such an amazing frontman, the best there was. Ever. By all accounts he was a very approachable, likable guy. When he is singing, it seems like he is singing just for you; with a wink of his eye, a flash of his smile, he just flat out made it happen.

Let's not forget Angus who has more energy wrapped into his tiny frame than a nuclear explosion. I've seen them twice in concert, '96 and '01 respectively and I can say with authority how electrifying they are live. When they play live they sound better than they do on recordings. It is amazing.

When Brian steps into being, they are dialed up to infinity and have grinded it out again anad again for over two decades. I just can't say how much this DVD collection expresses how great this band really is. Hail, hail to the Kings of Rock!

The performances on this set are legendary. Anyone considering buying this set knows the drill when it comes to AC/DC. I think they're the greatest live band in rock history and this set really captures that.

I don't understand the complaints about the sound quality on here. I should say that I'm not an audiophile (although I do have a 5.1 surround system) but I think the sound is great. Sure, some of the earliest clips are grainy and the sound is relatively poor compared to the sonic beauty that we're used to nowadays. Just remember that some of these perfomances are from 1975 and they were filmed in a high school. What do you expect? The terms "cleaned up" and "remastered" aren't terms I usually associate with AC/DC. I think leaving the early clips raw and original gives them a authenticity and intensity that blows me away. If you're an AC/DC fan don't be afraid of sound issues with this set. The performances are well worth it.

The extras are great too, especially the rehersals. Thanks for all of the memories.

I was eagerly awaiting this release. and it certainly didn't disapoint! As much as I liked "Family Jewels", I like this much better. Why? Well mainly because it's AC/DC live in front of an audience, which is what they do best. And also because it also covers the years from 1996 to 2003, which Family Jewels doesn't touch. I'm a fan of both Bon and Brian, and both have great showcases here. I particularly enjoy the old historical footage on disc 1 that shows AC/DC in some of their early club performances. It's easy to see how they built their legend in Australia (especially the black and white St Albans and the color Myers Music Bowl footage). And disc 2 shows how they've kept the legend going all the way to today. The extras on here are great too, encluding interviews and TV spots and promos over the years. Plus the portion of the 1983 Houston Summit show on disc 3 is a great mini-concert. So while there's no complete shows on here there's a good reason for that. It's a retrospective and they can get much more on the way it was done. Besides the 3 disc set is 7 hours long as it is and we all have full length AC/DC concert DVD's at home anyway. There's been a little complaining about sound quality on other reviews, but as it states on the package the clips were chosen here for historical reasons first and foremost and some of them we're lucky still exist at all. Trying to mix this for surround considering the varying sources these clips came from and varying quality would have been a huge undertaking. Early VHS and 3/4" video cameras had limited audio capabilty anyway, but nothing here is unlistenable. Besides if you're Joe Audio and have to have everything in 5.1 you probably have Donnington or Stiff Upper Lip anyway. No, instead enjoy this set as it was meant to be, a must have for any and all AC/DC fans as a testament to the greatest live rock and roll band ever! Enjoy

I got the 3 disc set with all the extra's and am very happy with what I received. I have a rediculous home theatre setup and some of the older stuff did have some clipping and hiss, had me thinkin my roomie blew my center speaker and didnt tell me.but most of the audio sounded great. This is a must have for any true AC/DC fan. These dvds show why AC/DC are one of if not the greatest Rock & Roll bands of all time.

Breathtaking.

I personally never went after bootlegs or rarities from any band, even the ones I really enjoy and have all the catalague, like AC/DC. So, for me, almost all the footage contained in this set was a first-time experience. I'm astonished.

Everyhting is worth here, and for such a fair price we have a deluxe edition with almost 6 hours of music and interviews. Of course, AC/DC being AC/DC, there are no interviews made especifically for this set, which is a shame... Anyway, since this is not intended to be a official doccumentary, but a "videomentary" showing live performances since the beginning, it's understandable that the guys from AC/DC don't appear exclusively for this set.

The high points are so many that it's not worth to listen them... the live version of "Gone Shooting" for VH1 is unbeliavably good and warm and gives you a hint of what these guys probably can do when they are just jamming for themselves... And what about "Ride On"?? Quite a surprise!

A sad moment is when Bon, in an interview backstage, says that they are getting better and better, that great riffs and ideas are coming at full speed, and that he thinks this would go on forever...

All in all, you just can't miss it.

I am buying this set largely for the Brian Johnson era material, especially the Summit '83 footage. Flick of the Switch IS the most underrated release in the AC/DC catalogue, and I look forward to see these classics performed live.

Great retrospective guys...now can you finish your latest album and come see us all on tour?

In the anticipation of waiting for AC/DC to release there new album, Sony have gathered together this 3 disc collectors edition of some rare performances and clips you may have seen that is mostly all live. Saying that, there are a couple of performances that are miming, but thats due to TV shows making them do such a thing for whatever reason they have. But still good to see them on stage performing it, in a way.

This is kind of like Family Jewels, only the performances are live. Starting with some rare black and white footage from 1974, the sound quality is not great, but after all, this is a collectors edition, so it will most likely be AC/DC fans purchasing this.

The titles are already written on the reviews here, so i wont waste time writing that out again.

The only reason I don't give this 5 perfect stars is not because of sound quality, but for not containing footage from the Fly On The Wall or Blow Up Your Video tours.

Apart from that, this is a must have for the AC/DC fanatic that can not get enough of the worlds most electrifying band.

As a hardcore fan, I have seen most of these performances via bootleg and live promo clips that have been around for years, but it is great to have much better then VHS quality versions now. About the only promo clip i can think of that is not included here is a For Those About To Rock clip they did as the actual promo. But i'm sure they will release that some day.

Even tho having the full shows of Rock Goes To College and things like that on bootleg and this only shows a couple of songs from it, this DVD still contains a lot of great performances from the last 30 years that I had never seen. in particular, i was ecstatic to see them perform an underrated song called Bedlam In Belgium, I just wish they could have included preformacnes of Thats The Way I wanna Rock N Roll and Are You Ready.

The bonus features are more live clips, and interviews. I had seen most of those interviews before, but not I have a much better quality version then what you can get from youtube or a bootlegged VHS/Beta quality.

The packaging is a nice tall box like that of Bon Fire, containing the 3 discs and a bunch of collectible things and posters. Mostly it is reproduced images of old tickets and badges etc.. and a nice big H2H poster with the promo info on it like what was pasted around places in 79 for that tour. Even the cover of the packaging looks nice, tho it might look black with a shiny AC/DC logo on it, if you hold it in the right light you can see some interesting nostalgia images reflecting off the cover.

Overall, great release, if you are not an AC/DC fan, it's hard to say weather you will like this release or not. Some have complained already about it not being in surround sound, but it would be annoying to produce some songs in surround and some songs in stereo, you'd be adjusting your audio all the time you are playing it, so it's probably better to just leave it as the one sound throughout it. There is no way they could improve the quality of the sound for the early early footage, the sound is not great, but at least they have done what they can for the footage. They can not get rid of all the lines thought the footage, but I'm still glad to see them perform the Chuck Berry song School Days.

Now heres to hoping that we see a new AC/DC album within this century.

Without a doubt, the best live collection from THE Hard Rock Masters ever released. Wow! It's so great to see so many of these classic videos - many released in the very infancy of MTV, when they used to actually broadcast music by groups that could actually play instruments. Those were the days. There are many previously unreleased clips as well - which also rock. This collection is simply wired for sound! A must have for ALL Hard Rock fans! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. In light of this latest release, hopefully "Let There Be Rock" - The Movie, is on it's way to release in DVD format soon!