Customer Reviews

Razor's Edge (Dlx)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After the straight-shooting classic that was "Back in Black," AC/DC had a bumpy ride for much of the 1980s. They continued to release solid albums, but their sales began to dip after 1981's "For Those About to Rock We Salute You." But 1990 was the year the Australian boys reclaimed the hard rock throne with their tough album "The Razors Edge" (hold the apostrophe). That record blasted to Number Two and went multiplatinum in a year when folks like MC Hammer dominated the charts. Produced by the late Bruce Fairbairn (who also worked with Bon Jovi, Poison, and Aerosmith), "The Razors Edge" may not be a classic, but it roars with energy and spunk. Like any AC/DC record, this CD revolves around three themes: sex, drugs (with booze), and rock and roll. The hits on this CD are the rousing "Thunderstruck" and the top 40 hit "Moneytalks," but other killer cuts are the funny "Got You By the Balls," "Are You Ready," the ever-festive "Mistress for Christmas," and "Fire Your Guns." Like Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Fairbairn's production is a bit on the polished side, but it doesn't compromise AC/DC's sound. Angus Young's guitar still rocks, and Brian Johnson's bark continues to roar in all its shrill glory. I'm not a metalhead by any means, but I know a good album when I hear one. "The Razors Edge" is just that.

The Razor's Edge might be the best AC/DC album since Back in Black. For Those About To Rock, Flick of the Switch, Fly on the Wall, and Blow up your Video were great but AC/DC hadn't put out a truly classic rock album in almost a decade. Thunderstruck and Moneytalks are two of their best songs and Are You Ready, Got You By the Balls, and Rock Your Heart Out are great too. Brian sounds better than usual and Angus opening solo for Thunderstruck is possibly one of the best openers ever. This is a cd that more than AC/DC fans will love and I hope it gets the credit it deserves.

Earlier this year I rediscovered AC/DC with their immortal classic "Back in Black". I am not a big metalhead that I once was just a decade ago back in high school. I really don't care for today's brand of hard rock. A lot of it I find contrived and pure drivel. Most hard rock bands won't last long as AC/DC has, nor will they have a lasting impact that the legendary Aussie band has over rock 'n roll music. I found a used copy of the remastered "Razor's Edge" today. I loved songs like "Thunderstruck", "Moneytalks" and "Are You Ready" back in high school and I still do to this day, so I had to buy this album. "Razor's Edge" may not be "Highway to Hell" (another AC/DC album I need to get) or "Back in Black" but it sure as heck a fun album to listen to. I almost forgot how much I loved "Are You Ready" with its sing along chorus from rhythmn guitarist Malcom Young and bassist Cliff Williams. An absolutely infectious hard rock song that just sticks into the listener's head permenantly. "Thunderstruck" is without a doubt one of the best songs that showcases Angus Young's undeniable guitar talents and a reminder to young and upcoming guitarists why he is still one of the best hard rock guitarists around. Like "Are You Ready", "MoneyTalks" is incredibly catchy with its sing-along chorus. I love that song to pieces. That song ranks right up there with "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Highway to Hell" as one of the overall best AC/DC tracks around. AC/DC gets a lot of flack for sounding the same on each record but I see the band staying true to their bluesy hard rock sound and consistently putting out great rock and roll albums. So what if each album sounds alike? AC/DC has been around for two, three decades now and has managed to remain relevant and maintain a successful career to this very day. I seriously doubt that in 20-30 years we are going to remember bands like Linkin Park and Cold. AC/DC forever!

The Razor's Edge is the first AC/DC album I ever got and it turned me on to them. This is their comeback and it sounds great.

The album opens great with the masterpiece known as Thunderstruck. A great riff, great lyrics, great vocals...what more could you need in a song. Fire Your Guns is a great fast-paced song. The next great is the title track. One of the darker songs they've done, it has a great riff, great vocals, and a great drum solo by Chris Slade. Mistress for Christmas' riff is simple but it works. Rock Your Heart Out is one of my favorites from its great riff to its great bassline. Then comes the self-explanatory classic Are You Ready and its great beginning and great lyrics. Then comes Shot of Love. It starts out bad, but a song full of guitar syncopation follows making this track great. Let's Make It is poppy, but it has great drums and good enough lyrics. Then comes Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bad Luck. With one of my favorite riffs on the album as well as my favorite lyrics(especially when Brian says "disposable blues"). The last great song on here is If You Dare. I think it should have been a classic. It has a great chorus and a great riff.

Now as always, time for the other songs. Here's another thing to make people mad after my Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap review. Moneytalks isn't all that great. It's decent, with a good chorus, but it's too poppy to be a classic. Sorry but it is. Got You by the Balls isn't any better.

Overall, AC/DC had made a great rock album here, something they wouldn't be able to do on their next albums.

It's like this, I watched the Stones' DVD from Toronto '03 and after sitting through all that lukewarm nonsense Angus Young's opening "Thunderstruck" riff was like a hot knife through butter and I was reminded, once again, just how damn much fun AC/DC is. Alas they have no recorded compilation of their stuff so I made my own, and no AC/DC compilation would be complete w/o "Thunderstruck" or "Money Talks".

"The Razor's Edge" is not as well known, or indeed as well liked, as "Highway To Hell" or "Back In Black", but it is nevertheless one of AC/DC's very best albums, and certainly their second-best with Brian Johnson.

"The Razor's Edge" rose to #2 on the Billboard 200, and produced three top 20 rock singles, the menacing "Thunderstruck", the formulaic but fun "Are You Ready", and the catchy, anthemic "Moneytalks". And the rest is great as well, all crunchy power chords, big riffs, big hooks, big, dumb, testosterone-powered songs.
Brian Johnson sound as good as he ever did, and lesser-known songs like "Fire Your Guns", "If You Dare", "Shot Of Love", and the title track are better than most of the best songs on AC/DC's mediocre mid-80s albums. There are no weak tracks here at all, and if you only ever buy a handful of AC/DC albums, this should definitely be one of them. "The Razor's Edge" recaptured everything that was great about AC/DC in the 70s and early 80s.

This is AC/DC's second best album with Brian Johnson in my opinion, it features classics like Thunderstruck and Moneytalks, i guess it's just another under-rated masterpiece. Highly recommended.

The Razor's Edge is AC/DC's greatest album. I Don't care if it was a comeback or not, it's that good. Lets review the songs.
Thunderstruck - One of the best songs from AC/DC. Angus' guitar skills are amazing, and I love the football-hooligan chants from Malcom and Cliff of "THUN-DER!"
Fire Your Guns - A Great fast paced song that has an awesome riff. Oh, it has nothing to do with artillery, if you didn't already know that.
Moneytalks - The band's greatest song, and my favorite of all time. Its riff reminds me of "Who Made Who." This song is what puts this album together. I can't even describe how good this song is. Just listen to it.
The Razor's Edge - While it is one of AC/DC's darkest songs, it is still awesome. I loved it. It's "eerieness" is similar to "Hells Bells."
Mistress For Christmas - Hilarious. Just listening to the words makes the song good, but the bands simple cords in this song also make it OK.
Rock Your Heart Out - Corny, but still has a good beat and riff that makes it worth listening to when you're doing chores around the house.
Are You Ready - Good song, but its still hard to believe that it was a single and not Fire Your Guns. If you ask me, its a little overrated.
Got You by the Balls - Better title than song. But it still isn't awful. It has an ok beat and riffs, but its just ok from a band that is this good.
Shot of Love - Incredibly slow beginning, and it starts to come around half way through the song, but its too little, too late.
Lets Make It - Underrated. Much better than Rock Your Heart Out. People will probobly disagree with me, but it is actually a pretty good song.
Goodbye and Good Ridance to Bad Luck - The worst song on the album. Very boring and repetitive.
If You Dare - Almost as bad as the above. It was just a bad way to finish the album, but the previous songs in the album makes the album waorthy of 5 stars.
My advice - New AC/DC fan or not, buy this album, especially if you love Brian Johnsons vocals. This album is just as good if not better than "Back in Black," so its 1 or two on their top albums list. BUY IT!

This is the first AC/DC album I've ever owned, and while it may be the only one I own, I may have to add more of their catalogue to my collection.

Razor's Edge was released in 1990, and went platinum thereafter. Two hits were produced by this record, "Money Talks" and "Thunderstuck". Both really strong rock songs. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with AC/DC, seeing as how prior to this purchase, I had only heard two or three of their hits. In short, I am very impressed with The Razor's Edge. It combines that signature squeal of Brian Johnson, with the classic stop-beat sound that the band is known for. It's straightforward, but it's high quality rock music, by some of the best in rock n' roll.

The Razor's Edge starts off strong with the best song on the album, "Thunderstruck", which, as noted before, was one of the album's two hits. The album exhibits Johnson's awesomely distinct "Uncle Scrooge" singing style, which is actually disliked by some, but more times than not, the rock fans I know agree that AC/DC has done a lot for music, and Brian's voice is really what makes them most unique.

There are twelve tracks on the album, and throughout, it doesn't dip in quality at any point. Yes, some songs are better than others, but they all sort of revolve around a central norm. And surprisingly, unlike other artists, this doesn't work to AC/DC's detriment. The Razor's Edge doesn't pull any tricks to surprise the listener, it just does it's job and creates a very enjoyable rock experience.

The two songs I most recommend are "Money Talks", and especially "Thunderstruck". In short, catchy stuff, very catchy stuff. And I'm definitely impressed. I wouldn't call myself a full fledged AC/DC fan, rather, I'm more of a casual towards these guys. They don't really blow me away, but they didn't need to.

If you like rock music, pick up The Razor's Edge, you shouldn't be dissapointed.

To Be Thunderstruck !!!!!!!!!!
Excellent Sound in the remaster. Totally Awesome overall sound, with crystal clear guitar, great drums, and an awesome bass.
This Album to be played at VOLUME lads !!!
I know the songs for the most part , but got it today with a introduction to some tunes I have never heard before, all brilliant.
And this is the Album with AC/DC's great Christmas Song, and what a Christmas wish it is !!!!!!!

ENJOY !!!!!!!!