Disco de AC/DC: “Who Made Who”

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.

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"...

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!

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.

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...)