Disco de AC/DC: “Iron Man 2 [Deluxe Edition] [CD/DVD]”

this is a particularly good cd for people who aren't too familiar with ac/dc, since you get songs from both brian johnson and bon scott. current fans of ac/dc will already have all these songs, but it's still great to have them again. it's also nice that songs that don't get as much airplay like "evil walks" or "guns for hire" are on here as well. if only they could have found a place for "hells bells" in the movie...

oh yeah, and the dvd rocks too!

AC/DC have studiously avoided releasing any kind of best of or greatest hits albums, much to the consternation of many a record executive. In fact, at the time of this posting, they remain one of the last remaining holdouts among the major bands to refuse to put their songs on download sites. Which makes their decision to release their songs as a companion to "Iron Man 2" as close to an ersatz best of than "Who Made Who" (the soundtrack to superfan Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive" flick) was in 1986.

The good thing about the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack is that AC/DC have been steadily making albums since "Who Made Who," and that was when releases were still being created with 12 inch vinyl in mind. Also, at the time of "Who made Who," AC/DC were at a creative stall with the albums "Fly On The Wall" and "Flick of The Switch." They regained their momentum for the next set of albums including "Razor's Edge" and "Black Ice." That gave the man at Marvel over two more decades of Angus, Malcolm, Bon and Brian to pick from, along with all that extra space on CD to fill.

The payoff is pretty darn good. That divides up into 6 cuts for Bon Scott and 9 for Brian Johnson. Amazingly, there are no crossovers from "Who Made Who" and that leaves off some obvious favorites like "For Those About to Rock" and "You Shook Me All Night Long." There are still plenty of rocking staples to be found here, ala "T.N.T.," "Thunderstruck," "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black." But there's also a few picks that defy expectations, like "Cold Hearted Man's" first showing on a proper AC/DC single disc, or "War Machine" from "Black Ice." The riffage is heavy and the aim is hard.

Given that "Iron Man 2" is a movie that runs mostly on explosion and testosterone, that meant that such efforts as "Caught With Your Pants Down," "Big Balls," "Sink The Pink" or other sophomoric jokes were passed over in favor of "Shoot To Thrill," "Thunderstruck" or other combat ready guitar blasters. It centers the CD and gives it, even with the shuffling of songs between Brian Johnson and Bon Scott, a feeling of cohesion. After all, AC/DC has a rep for being ballbusting hard rockers, and this riff-tastic package flies right to the heart of that assertion. Perfect for road trips or keggers, AC/DC's "Iron Man 2" makes an excellent bookmark into the band's almost 40 years of rocking.

I've never been a huge fan of AC/DC, and seeing a selection of some of the band's most well-known songs re-packaged as a soundtrack to Iron Man 2 may come off as being little more than a quick cash-in for all parties involved, but for newbie listeners to the band, the Iron Man 2 soundtrack is a worthwhile enough endeavor. The Iron Man 2 soundtrack features such AC/DC staples as "T.N.T.", "Back in Black", "Shoot to Thrill", "Highway to Hell", and more besides, along with a bonus DVD and booklet featuring band pics and stills from the Iron Man 2 movie. All things considered, there is nothing here that any fan of AC/DC hasn't seen plenty of times before, and won't see plenty more further on down the road. Still, for new or young listeners to the band wondering just what is this long-lasting thing called AC/DC, the Iron Man 2 soundtrack is a worthwhile enough endeavor as a compilation piece to set them in the right direction of discovering the rest of the band's catalogue. For everyone else who has enjoyed these tracks time and time again though, the Iron Man 2 soundtrack is practically worthless.

An odd compilation, to be sure. Bona fide hits like "Back In Black", "Thunderstruck", "T.N.T.", "Let There Be Rock", "Shoot To Thrill" and "Highway To Hell" share space with fan favorites like "Rock N' Roll Damnation", "If You Want Blood", and "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be". Beyond that, it's head-scratchers like "Evil Walks" and "The Razors Edge". Songs like the aforementioned "Shoot To Thrill", "War Machine" and the under-rated "Guns For Hire" seem to have been picked because their themes tie in directly with the movie, but then that mentality doesn't explain why "Have A Drink On Me" is here, unless they're trying to make reference to Tony Stark's emerging alcoholism (which was touched on in both movies, but has yet to be a major plot point - look for that in "Iron Man 3"). And "Cold Hearted Man" seems to be here solely to have a U.S. fan-baiting rarity on board for anyone who didn't wan to plunk down the money for the hefty "Backtracks" the previous year (the song also appears on the Austrailan version of "Powerage").

Still, if you're on the fence about AC/DC and want a good sampler of their work, pick this up, and in fact if you throw in "Who Made Who" from 1986 (none of the songs from which are repeated here), you actually have a pretty fair representation of their greatest hits from then to now (since the band adamantly refuses to release best-of compilations), along with the requisite stragglers.

It's a great compilation of great AC/DC music of all times. A must have in the AC/DC collector's list. The iron man iconography helps to sales, but in this case is innecessary. It only makes sense because the songs are part of the film, but without it the disc would still be an excellent collection of tracks from AC / DC. Is true, it's a new compilation of old songs, but it is a very good selection of classic AC/DC songs, and not so classics like Cold Hearted Man but just as good!

The DVD has great performances, and for me the video of "Highway to Hell", recorded in Buenos Aires in las December is the perfect example of how all hard rock shows should be !! I was personally in that audience and it was a really striking good concert, and the video is not far behind.

I hope these comments will be helpful. Greetings from Uruguay !