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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Fly"-ing Colors., July 15, 2003
If memory serves me, the mid 1980s weren't too kind to AC/DC. After a string of million selling albums, the band saw its sales decline, and it lost much of its thunder to more polished, radio-friendly groups (Van Halen, Motley Crue, Def Leppard). AC/DC could have jumped on a bandwagon, done the USA for Africa thing, and dabble with synths to be more "relevant" and "current" with the times. Instead, they released in 1985 "Fly on the Wall," which stubbornly follows the same formula these Aussies have been using since the early 1970s. This release seems to get a bad rap in some circles, and let's be honest: it won't make anyone forget about "Highway to Hell." Even so, it's 40 minutes of pure dumb fun that makes for a wild ride. The singles "Danger" and "Sink the Pink" are obnoxiously loud anthems that have singer Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young doing what they do best: create catchy and head-banging rockers. Johnson's voice always sounded like he swallowed a box of nails, but it sounds even more mangled on this CD. And the music, remastered with care by Sony, projects with aggressive force and sounds best when played at maximum volume. In retrospect, I think "Fly on the Wall" is one of AC/DC's more underrated albums. While it ain't no classic, it's still a fun trip from one of the most consistent and likable bands around.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AC/DC in a slump? definitely NOT! an underrated classic!, September 13, 2005
Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that AC/DC were in the midst of a slump while recording the "Fly On The Wall" album which was originally released in June of 1985. The band had taken over the production reins for their 1983 predecessor "Flick of the Switch", and they elected once again to not bring in an outside producer for "Fly..." which was produced by Angus & Malcolm. And as strong of an album as "Flick..." is, this one is even better.
Yes, Brian Johnson's voice had lost something by this point--his vocals here just don't soar and rattle off the walls the way they do on the previous couple albums. Angus and Malcolm seemingly realized this, and responded by burying it in the mix somewhat, as well as using a lot of echo effects, and although Johnson's screams are occasionally a bit grating, it's a very minor quibble--he still adds greatly to the excitement level of the album.
The album opening title track doesn't get the record off to a promising start--it's a real messy bashfest of a song. Once it passes though, you're in for a hell of an exciting ride.
Angus and Malcolm did a great job producing this--the guitars smoke, and the crisp-yet-booming drum sound works great. Sure, Simon Wright's drumming is about as no-frills as it can get, but come on--fancy drumming has never exactly been a key factor with AC/DC.
Mid-tempo hard rockers really don't come any better than "Sink The Pink"--the intro has a great eighth-note guitar line from Angus that makes the arrivial of the chorus riff all the more thrilling, and the whole tune is brilliantly structured for maximum ass-kicking impact. "Hell Or High Water" and "Back In Business" are also mid-tempo ass-kickers with irresistible riffs. "Shake Your Foundations" has that ultra-catchy singalong chorus. The stomping "First Blood" has an irresistibly 'dumb' core riff that'll get you banging your head in no time. The slow-paced "Danger" has an amusingly threatening vibe and is a ton of fun. The whomping "Playing With Girls" is an explosive funked-up boogie with a perfectly placed and gloriously unhinged Johnson scream at 1:58 of the track. The bluesy "Stand Up" is cleverly constructed and has an intoxicating, anthemic chorus. The album closes with the irresistibly moody stomper "Send For The Man".
In short, I'm really blown away by this album--it's definitely one of AC/DC's best. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this great, but it is. Angus and Malcolm clearly didn't give a damn about the trends in hard rock/ heavy metal at the time, and more power to them. "Fly..." has none of the lame, commercialized cockrock sound that turns up on the "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black" albums. If you're a hard rock lover, you can't go wrong with "Fly On The Wall".
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AC/DC's most underrated effort., May 14, 2006
I have always liked this album. It's too bad that this album was AC/DC's most commercially unsucessful album. But there were many reasons for that factor. This album was released in 1985, In the very height of the whole "New Wave" sound. Groups like Culture Club, Duran Duran and Thompson Twins ruled the charts. Also in 1985, there were five major "phenomenoms" happening musically: 1. Madonna 2. Prince 3. Michael Jackson 4. Bruce Springsteen 5. Live Aid and USA for Africa. Now all this was good stuff and important to the time, but it really didnt leave alot of room for groups like AC/DC.
Also in 1985 there was Richard Ramirez -"The Night Stalker" killer. He was a major AC/DC fan and brought the band alot of negative pubicity. Outside of that, I feel that this was AC/DC's most ambitious efforts. They released a full lenghth video to go along with the album and the album itself had a different sound for AC/DC. The songs on "Fly on the Wall" are alot heavier than previous albums. Alot of times on this album, especially "Sink the Pink" and "Shake your Foundations" the sound borderlines KISS. All in all this is a good album and alot of fun, I give it an enthusiastic "thumbs up"!
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