Customer Reviews

Who Made Who (Dlx)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

AC/DC's 1986 release entitled "Who Made Who" is actually the music from the soundtrack "Maximim Overdrive" written by Stephen King. The entire soundtrack's music was provided by AC/DC which was ideal for this movie,which was about machines taking over, hence depicted in the song "Who Made Who". There are some excellent rocker's here pulled from the various AC/DC catalog (the several exceptions being the title song "Who Made Who", "D.T." and "Chase The Ace" which made their debut on this album) such as "Hells Bells" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" (from Back In Black), "Sink The Pink" and "Shake Your Foundations" (from Fly On The Wall),"Ride On" (from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap)and "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" (from the album For Those About To Rock...). I purchased this cd just for the three above mentioned songs "Who Made Who", "D.T." and "Chase The Ace", the last two are ... kicking instrumental rockers and are unique to this album (or cd in this case). Those of you who remember watching "Maximum Overdrive" will instantly have flashbacks when hearing these three songs. The song "Who Made Who" opens the movie with an awesome car collision due to a drawbridge opening on it's own as cars are lined up on top. Total chaos erupts as the bridge opens and cars crash into one another and a motorcylist and car plunge into the river below. Also, the song "Chase The Ace" is played during a a car chase scene where a Mack truck driving with no one at the wheel, continues to rear end a newlywed couple's car until the truck ends up going over an embankment and going up in flames. "D.T." is played as a young boy rides his bike down a neighborhood street and sprinklers and a lawnmower seem to have a mind of their own and go on for no apparent reason. This newly remastered cd is ten times better than it's non-remastered version, with the volume increased, the mid-range and bottom end pumped up as well. The digipack that houses the cd is attractive and there's also a fifteen page booklet enclosed that has information about the soundtrack "Maximum Overdrive", the making of "Who Made Who" and color photos of the band. This is a must have for all AC/DC lovers and fans of 80's rock. Highly Recommended!

At first glance at the track list, it would appear that this disc is a small best-of/greatest hits package, but obviously that's not the purpose of this album due to the absence of obligatory tracks like 'Highway To Hell,' 'Back in Black,' 'Dirty Deeds,' the list goes on. Actually, "Who Made Who" is the official soundtrack (minus Roger Miller's 'King of the Road') to Stephen King's 80s horror movie "Maximum Overdrive," a film that has since become a minor cult classic about a day machines and other electronic devices begin to take over the world and kill their human inventors.
The fact that someone like Stephen King chose AC/DC to supply the music to his deliciously tongue-in-cheek movie seems ironic, but it actually fits, and once you watch the film you'll get it (he would do it again by using punk pioneers The Ramones for 'Pet Sematary').
As for the music, the album contains only three then-unreleased songs, but the others are a neat sampler for those interested in material from the first few AC/DC albums with Brian Johnson, with one song from the Bon Scott era ('Ride On'), which is a great song--one of the few, if not the only, sympathetic ballads in AC/DC's catalog--but it's not exactly the best song to use when introducing someone to Bon Scott's contributions to the group, one of the many factors that dispell the "best of" label some put on the album.
As for the three songs written for the film, the track 'Who Made Who' is surprisingly sincere, and slightly more restrained in its approach when compared to AC/DC's signature sound. It's hard to say what the lyrics are about; there are a few references to machines like video games and satellites, so they may relate to the film's theme, but the rest is hard to figure out, but the song is a great one anyway, making it the best AC/DC song that's not about women and/or booze (other good examples being 'Spellbound,' 'Night of the Long Knives,' 'Let There Be Rock,' 'Back in Black,' the rarity 'Cold Hearted Man,' and many others). The two instrumentals meanwhile, 'D.T' and 'Chase the Ace' both display infectious guitar hooks, and probably would have become two more AC/DC classics if lyrics and had been given to them.
Apparently, some different versions and/or mixes were used in the film for some of the songs, and there were even a few brief guitar pieces used that are not present on the album, which would be great to have, but even so "Who Made Who" is a delightful album to own. And as usual, it's fitting for fans to blare from their speakers, even if it's an odds and ends collection.

This was the "soundtrack" album for Stephen King's classic turkey Maximum Overdrive, but sadly the emphasis was put on the songs. Don't get me wrong, I love them. But I would have loved to hear Angus's rockin' guitar riffs from the movie as well. D.T. and Chase the Ace only wet the throat, but they don't quench the thrist. Too bad.

A decent album, released as a movie soundtrack, and including mostly previously released material. But, since most of it can be found elsewhere, there's not really a good reason to own this one. Maybe if you REALLY like "Who Made Who"...

The title track is basically the only "new" song on this album, other than the two instrumentals. If you are unaware this is the soundtrack to MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, the movie that was actually directed by Stephen King himself. The movie is the balls, man, if you've never seen it. King, notoriously a huge AC/DC fan himself contacted these guys to write a score for the movie that he was putting together at the time, and what evolved was the song WHO MADE WHO.
PISSER! If you think about, this song probably contains the most thought provoking AC/DC lyrics that there ever were. It is based on the movie, which is about an evil spirit that brings machines to life (its sooo good, did I mention that yet?). The song in similar vein basically is about how one could believe machines are taking over but in the end we are human f'in beings for gods sake and how are machines gonna destroy us? WE RULE! WE RULE THE FOOD CHAIN! WE RULE THE FRIGGIN' WORLD! Computers? Computers are fags. They ain't got nothing! That goes for you too robots! By the way, the boys are IN the movie too, as themselves. They actually get killed by the demon (you gotta see the movie man!)

As for this album, it rocks A TON! The only problem is that its all previously released songs from other albums... but hey, casual liteners no doubt will dig. Its like buying a greatest hits almost. The songs are mainly from the eighties (all excellent tracks though) except for RIDE ON, the only BON SCOTT track represented here from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (that happens to be MY favorite album, you should check THAT out.)

Many say that this is either a soundtrack (Maximum Overdrive) or a greatest hits, or both. I disagree. I feel it's another C.D. to make money, but who better to put it out than AC/DC? I own the digitally remastered C.D. and it sounds great. Of course people are going to complain about this C.D., but people who love each and every one of AC/DC's C.D.s -- will love this one just the same. This C.D. has great tracks like the title song, You Shook Me All Night Long, DT, Sink The Pink, Hells Bells, Shake Your Foundations, Chase The Ace and For Those About To Rock, We Salute You. In my opinion this C.D. might just be for hardcore AC/DC fans, though some will love it just as much. For me, it's simple --- it's AC/DC!

You can look at AC/DC's Who Made Who in 2 ways: You can view it as a greatest hits collection, and as a movie soundtrack. I Look at is as both, although its not really considered a greatest hits collection, but it has all the good tunes to accomplish that level. No matter what this is, its still a great album. It has classics such as You Shook Me All Night Long, Hells Bells, For Those About To Rock, and Who Made Who itself. It even spawned a video collection, which went gold. The best song on here is the Title Track, which is live staple. All songs sound good, but even better digitally remastered.

Everyone seems to be going on about how great of an album Who Made Who is. Dont get me wrong- AC/DC is one of my all time favorite bands, but this album is one of, if not, their absolute worst. "Who Made Who" has sort of that "eighties" feel to it, and any real AC/DC fan would already have all the tracks on it that were previously released. I strongly recommend Back in Black or Highway to Hell.

I bought this tape last week after seeing "You Shook me all night long,"on the list. There's alot of other great hits on this CD,"Who Made Who,Hell's Bells," and two fantastic Instrumentals.I also love "Sink the Pink," and the slowest rock cut,"Ride On." If anyone just wants a taste of AC/DC,this tape is fantastic.Its not that long,but you can buy it at the record stores for under 8 bucks.

If you've been tempted by snippets of AC/DC's crunch-rock but hesitate to take the full deep-end dive, this is about as good as it gets for a short intro of the post-Bon Scott era. I'll leave it up to you whether to dock a star for excluding the title cut from "Back In Black"; for me, including "Sink the Pink" atoned for it. Remember - if you're looking for the meaning of life in the alleged lyrics, don't even think about it. But if you're looking for subtle-as-a-trainwreck rock and roll which makes damn near every heavy metallic meathead which followed them look even more limpen despite their greater sophistication, here's where to begin. Maybe the Metallicas can outplay them, but AC/DC can out-rock them; aside from which, give me any three notes off Angus Young's shuddering-to-squealing guitar solos off Kirk Hammett's or Dimebag Darrell's entire catalogue. (It's the taste and feeling, stupid...)