Forum
Glasgow Scotland 1978 Show
Most of the dvd sets for the Apollo Theatre from 78 are missing tracks. I was wondering if anyone has the entire set on dvd. I picked up the new box set and am dissapointed. They keep giving us incomplete shows. I know they have the full sets and are waiting to release them later to make more money. I'm tired of buying all the same stuff twice. I'm thinking the trading market would be the way to go. Somebody's got to have it! My old vhs version is missing tracks as well.
I think the Glasgow 78 film is, unfortunately, incomplete. The "Live 77-78" bootleg has the most "complete" version available. Family Jewels has Riff Raff, and Fling Thing-Rocker, Riff Raff which is identical to If You Want Blood, and Rocker, which is edited for If You Want Blood. Rock & Roll Damnation, Bad Boy Boogie, and Let There Be Rock are the same as the versions on If You Want Blood, and Dog Eat Dog is finally remastered by way of "Plug Me In"
Thanks for the confirmation. That's what I thought. It's a bummer though, I know for sure The Jack came from that show. "Any girls in Glasgow?". On the Plug Me In box Bon says they recorded three shows for the If You Want Blood album, one of them being in Florida. Does anyone have that show? Maybe they can put a dvd out next year with 2 songs from each different set. Within the next ten years, we'll have each entire show. We'll just have to piece them together.
I'm glad I'm not the only one expressing frustration with the DVD marketing put out by AC/DC. I get the creeping feeling that both the Family Jewels and the Plug Me In sets were put together by someone in marketing and distribution at Sony and Columbia respectively, once AC/DC signed their contracts and continued to fail to deliver on a new album. The Family Jewels set kind of made sense - "Hey, let's remaster all the videos and put them out on a DVD!" and "Hey, there's actually not enough Bon videos (since MTV didn't exist at the time), so let's throw in some chunks of live shows and some TV performances!" I have to admit, at the time I was thrilled to be able to watch (and listen) to some of the Glasgow 78 show remastered and unedited - Fling Thing/Rocker to be sure - but to have bits of pieces of the same show scattered throughout Plug Me In a few years later is just kind of a slap in the face to fans, not to mention a particularly moronic and greedy piece of marketing. If the band and their handlers were smart, they'd do a Jimmy Page and release a remastered, complete version of If You Want Blood (20th Anniversary anyone? Maybe some ideas for 2008) with the complete, unedited, remastered show on both CD and DVD at the same time. Beyond that, WTF with the bits of pieces of all the other shows? Again, if the band were smart, they'd pull off something much more pleasing to fans (and beneficial to the Young brothers' pocketbooks) by releasing volumes of complete shows a la Kissology Volumes 1-26 (or whatever it will be when they're finished). Show me an AC/DC fan who hasn't seen or heard of the upcoming Led Zep "Song Remains the Same" remaster or the neverending Kissology DVDs and then looked at their own shoddily produced, kinda-mastered, sort-of-thrown-together- to-plug-the-gaps-before-a-new-album-is-produced Plug Me In DVD set and I will show you a liar. It's as if executives at Columbia and/or Sony (in reference to both DVD sets) sent Malcolm and Angus a list of available video footage with middling-to-OK quality (and even better if remastered), along with a setlist of each video's show and the brother's Young just checked off a few songs from each show and said, "Ship that out if you have to." If they had paid attention and put some work into it, fans could have a long stream of DVD compilations with beautiful sound and picture a la Kissology or Led Zeppelin, but instead, well, it's scattered to the wind, things are so-so and we can maybe expect another DVD set in another couple of years filling in a few more gaps. While Kiss and Zeppelin are fighting (whether intentionally or not) the bootleg trade of their own video footage by putting out beautifully thought out, more complete DVDs, AC/DC almost seems to encourage it. After having your curiousity piqued as to the Detroit 1983, the Glasgow 1978, the Sight and Sound 1977 or the Colchester 1978 shows, who wouldn't go out and hunt down the much more complete bootlegs available online in MPEG, AVI or DVDR format? A footnote to the DVD rant is: Why don't they acknowledge their goofy beginnings and include the Dave Evans videos in these sets? Have they lost their sense of humour so completely and do they take themselves so seriously that it's not even an option? I get the feeling that if Bon were alive - and he was a truly funny and humble guy by all accounts of his music and his interviews - he's push to throw them on DVD sets as a lark and then he'd joke about it in interviews with lines like, "Well, I came in and saved the band from being glitter-pop." And another footnote: Don't tell me no shows from the period 1985-1989 don't exist. I find that very hard to believe. What makes it worse is that some of these shows were just spectacular performance-wise, so it's a real crime to redact these years from their history. Despite my complete respect for their riffage, I'm at the point of wondering about Malcolm and Angus: Do they even care at this point anymore? (Let the skewering by the blinded-by-faith AC/DC fundamentalists begin.)
What's more insulting is the fact that I would pay good money for those shows if they were officially released. The band has always marketed themselves very well and done everything they can to make an extra buck. From singles with B sides that aren't available anywhere else to "collector's edition" of their albums. Even re-releasing the entire catalog on a new label with "new artwork and liner notes". If someone could also explain to me the "bonus footage" on Plug Me In. How can there be bonus footage on something that's never been released before? And why would you put a 2 dvd version and a 3 dvd version out? Once I found out there was fake backstage passes on the 3 dvd, man I was hooked! The only band that even comes close to ripping off their fans this bad is the Rolling Stones. How many greatest hits albums have they had? A new live album and dvd for every tour? Incomplete garbage reissues? Even the Bonfire box set was crap. They gave us a the audio to a concert that has already been put out on VHS and Beta. This also verified that they have the entire show but never released this on dvd yet either. Of all the Australian only songs that are out there we get School Days. Thanks for the demo outtakes that weren't good enough to make the album tracks. And, as a special bonus, spend more money and you get a copy of Back In Black. Everyone and their mother already owns that. Why the hell would you include it as part of a box set. I thought for years they just couldn't get the copyright on the BBC shows. Now I know for sure the only thing they're holding out on is making more money. I love the music, but I'm starting to hate the band.
This is only a theory, but I think the band may have issued their own bootlegs to make more money back in the day. The 110/220, Trip Wires, and possibly a few others. If you think about it, all they had to do is pay some guy a few extra bucks at the record company and press a couple hundred copies. That was probably their way of making even more money, and not having to pay the record company any royalties. It's just a theory, but I think it's gotta be true. That would also explain the outrageous prices the early vinyl bootlegs go for.
I think that the exclusion of complete concerts means they are thinking about future full-length concerts. But you've gotta remember, KISS was playing here in the US, where technology in the arenas was slightly ahead of Australia at the time (no video screens). So they really didn't have much to work with on Bon's stuff. And also none of the footage from Let There Be Rock The Movie, Live At Donington, No Bull or Stiff Upper Lip Live was used, why? They know that those shows are already out there. I think when Brian came around, the band turned a new leaf in terms of using technology a bit more (bells and cannons dubbed). And they've always been split between at least two labels... Alberts in Australia Atlantic/Warner/EMI/Sony/Epic/Columbia (any others) here in the US. So they haven't had a good chance to keep up on the vaults they have.
"I think that the exclusion of complete concerts means they are thinking about future full-length concerts. ..And also none of the footage from Let There Be Rock The Movie, Live At Donington, No Bull or Stiff Upper Lip Live was used, why? They know that those shows are already out there." Nice enough points, but kind of obvious, no? And I think what everyone above was complaining about was directly relating to your first point: that they're holding back on releasing the full shows so that they can make money now and then make more later. I don't think anybody's very happy about that.... What's really funny is BonsBalls point about Bonfire: I almost logged back in after I finished my first argument and followed it up with how I thought Bonfire was a big load of donkey crap, but it looks like I was not alone in having that feeling. I wonder how many fans out there actually feel that all the sets AC/DC has released in the last 10 years have been lazy, greedy rip-offs. Their (early) music may be universal, their talent for riffage may be incredible, but they really don't seem to give a fuck anymore. I mean, it's like they don't even care about writing songs anymore - they're too focused on writing AC/DC songs? Well, what is an AC/DC song? In the 70s, they were fun, witty, slightly on the edge and a little bit of a wild card. From 80-83, they left behind the hippie and humour and became kind of very conformist, military songs. 1985-86, they sort of found the fun again with pubby songs that didn't take themselves so seriously. 1988, they sound their own age and they sound a bit exhausted. Nothing wrong with that - it just doesn't sell a lot of records. But does it need to? Does Neil Young sell 1 million records in the first week of release every time he puts out a new album? No, he just does what he does and he does it very honestly, for better or for worse. 1990-2000, an AC/DC song does have a bit of humour and fun again, but really, is it who they are or are they a parody of themselves at this point? The thing about early-days AC/DC is that it sounds very honest and plays very honest. Post-Bon, they're just trying to sound like AC/DC and in the process, it feels like they're holding back on musical and lyrical ideas in the fear that it will alienate their fans. They lost that wildcard edge they used to have. Where's the wildcard? Where's the risk? Where's the possibility they might try a lyrical or musical idea that's somewhere outside of theirs (or their fan's) comfort zones? To end, they don't have to do any of that. The Stones don't anymore - never again will there be a "Paint it Black" or "Gimme Shelter" from Mick and Keef and we'd be hopelessly naive to expect something as transcendant as a "Highway to Hell" or as offbeat as a "Gimme a Bullet" from Angus and Malcolm at this point in their comfy millionaire careers. However, the least they can do is take a page from the Gene Simmons/Jimmy Page playbook and at least give a fuck about their fans and the content they expect their fans to pay for. And, as someone said above, this would pay major dividends, as fans would have even more QUALITY content to choose from and drop their hard-earned cash on. I mean, c'mon guys, it shouldn't be such a struggle to come up with something as obvious as "Give your fans QUALITY and they will come to you in QUANTITY (including cash)!" Listening to the early AC/DC releases and reading those old interviews, it feels like they knew that once. Complacency killed rock and roll...
Well, maybe the next album will indeed be the last album, at least for a good while. They made decide to do another album 10 - 15 years afterwards and do a "reunion" tour. But as for them doing stuff like Led Zeppelin has done with adding bonus tracks to the albums, I wonder how much stuff was kept up good in Alberts' vaults. I mean, just look at what half of "Volts" was, "unreleased" and live stuff. Nothing exciting. But as for Plug Me In, the interview that Nate has a link posted for with Arnuad Durieux, he said that Sony and AC/DC were going for a combination of completeness and commercial...they didn't include full concerts for the sake of not having the same song on the DVD set two or three times per disc. I know I'd get tired of hearing only a slightly different version after about 5 times.
I understand why they wouldn't want to put the same song on a dvd more than once. And for the average collector that's fine. They did do a pretty good job with variety as well. Overall it's a decent box set. But there are millions of dummies (myself included) that would buy every dvd that was available. I'm getting tired of the new concerts. Stiff Upper Lip and No Bull were almost lifeless shows that I find boring to watch. The Brian Johnson era in general to me is missing the spark that Bon created. The three specific sets I would like to see officially released are the Glasgow 1978 show and the 2 BBC concerts from 77 and 78. The band just seemed hungry and willing to do anything to entertain a crowd. They're missing that now. I do realize that things are different now as well. They aren't playing in front of a couple thousand people anymore. The smallest crowd now would probably be around 30.000. There is no doubt the band has gotten extremely lazy since the Razor's Edge tour. Live B sides that are already on dvd? Remastering every album in 2 different countries? Not including any of the Australian only songs on the American cd's? Not putting Love At First Feel on the Australian box set? This is also the second time they've put a box set out in Australia. Only the first time they split it into 2 boxes and threw Cold Hearted Man in as a "special bonus". The "remastered" cds sound like garbage - they distort like crazy. The liner notes that came with them were pointless. The extra features and pictures were not worth it. And NotAngus, I feel your pain on the Bonfire box set. Why would you put an audio only version of Let There Be Rock in a box set, when the video footage is out there as well? Any fan of the band already had a copy of Live At the Atlantic Studios, at least a boot. I bought an original copy of the promo vinyl back in the day for around $50 (hey, back then that was a lot of money). If they really wanted to dedicate that box to Bon, they would have given you all of the unreleased official recordings out there, not School Days, a live recording of She's Got Balls, and a bunch of demos. It's a good start - but it's incomplete. And does Back In Black in a digipack really have anything to do with a dedication to Bon? I don't think so. NotAngus is right on in a lot of aspects. They do seem to be immitating themselves more now they are just playing the music that got them here. They just seem out of touch with what fans really want. Maybe they think that most fans already have a lot of that stuff and it's not a big deal. But if you can release 2 different versions of a dvd, why can't you release the entire concerts either separtely or on another box set altogether? I'm not saying I'm not a fan anymore. When their next album comes out, I'm still going to buy it. I'll still buy singles with the non lp b sides. I'll still see every show that comes into my state (sometimes more). I know that doesn't make me the biggest fan in the world either. It just seems silly to sit on all that music when people are willing to pay for it. How many people have owned bootlegs for the last 20 years or forked over enough cash to buy the original copies of the b side singles. People are spending the money and right now, they're not the ones receiving it. The best tribute they could have done for Bon, would have to end Volts with "I'm dead drunk and heaving upside down. And you're gettin up an leavin, you think I'm gonna drown. Carry Me Home." The whole "tribute to Bon" has been overplayed as well. They're just trying to sell more albums.
And for an audio only concert that would be great for official release, Living In the Hell is hands down the best boot for any Highway to Hell show. The energy was awesome. Bon was great. One more point. They've remastered IYWBYGI on cd now twice. A cd can hold up to 70 or 80 minutes of audio on it. Why not include Dog Eat Dog and Fling Thing? Maybe they will do a 30th anniversary special release. And if you buy the limited edition version, maybe it will come with another copy of Back In Black!
I think the reason for "Back in Black" being included in the Bonfire set was so that Brian could get some income from the sale. Since the guy has been with the band for over 20 years, why shouldn't he get some cash from the sale of a new AC/DC set? That's my theory on that.
From what I remember, the reason for including Back in Black was that the album itself was a tribute to Bon. And from the band/label's point of view it was a good fit to place it in a box set dedicated to Bon. i personally would have enjoyed more Bon material, and don't think I ever got around to playing that copy of Back in Black.
I think there is also the issue of status. Yes, Back in Black was a tribute to Bon, so it made sense that way, but BiB is also one of the highest-selling albums of all time (and by all time I mean the history of recorded media in LP, Cassette and CD form). In 1990 it was declared diamond status - 10 million copies - and it only helps AC/DC's status as rock icons to encourage those sales. If it gets to 20 million (which I think it has, but I could be mistaken) or 30 million, that only makes them look better and it makes their record company very happy, too, because if they’re only going to sell a combined 350 000 units of the ‘DC discography from between 1983-1989 over a 10 year period, the least they can do is push more units of a known “classic” and “iconic” entity. So we get the first remasters in the early 90’s, of which Back in Black is highly advertised. Then we get the Bonfire box, in which fans purchase yet another copy of Back in Black. That’s followed with a Sony contract and yet another remaster in the 00’s, with meaningless, PR-type, depth-free liner notes and “rare” pictures as selling points (but I do admit, the Sony remasters sound great and they’re the only ones I listen to now), as well as a semi-biodegradable digipack (as if fans would ever dispose of their CDs) wrapped around the won’t-degrade-in-50, 000-years plastic CD and the little container it sits in. Follow this up with an all new “Dual-disc” – both DVD and CD! – with some “rare” videos and interviews – and hey, we’ve sold another couple million copies to the fans who already bought it in the 9000 other formats (counting the remasters and the remasters of the remasters). It is a good point about Brian getting his due, too – he is a great interpreter of Bon Scott’s songs (although it was a bit of a welcome shock to hear Steven Tyler – someone who actually practices his singing and has broadened his range in the 35 years he hasn’t killed himself since becoming lead junkie – and then ex-junkie – of Aerosmith – sing You Shook Me All Night Long better than Brian while with Brian on stage at the HOF 2003 show, which also should have been on Plug Me In, for history’s sake) – and he has worked hard to keep up a strong presence, put on a good show and sing whatever is placed in front of him with a boatload of spirit and blue-balled growl. He works hard and deserves a good chunk of royalties just for putting up with all the flack from taking over singing duties in the band (although learning to sing and expand his range along with not destroying his voice, as Steven Tyler has done, would have gone a long way to deflecting a lot of shit thrown at him over the last 27 years. Bon may have shouted a lot, too, but he actually sung, had range, did not destroy his voice – while alive, anyways – and found fun and ironic angles and interpretations to make with his music, rather than just going note for note every tour). And, as evidenced by his words at the HOF 2003 ceremony, he may appear to be a piece of Florida Republican trailer-trash, but he is a man of class and humility. Anyways, back to my main point. Continued sales of Back in Black ensure continued iconic status and royalties for AC/DC. Hence, endless reissues and repackaging of the same material we’ve heard 1000 times before. If Flick of the Switch had “universal classic” status rather than “niche status by a classic band gone astray” status, I’m sure we’d see a billion reissues of that one, too, besides the usual remasters. But would it end up on Bonfire? Probably not. It’s a military tribute, not a Bon tribute (how would Bon feel about military tributes, anyways? For an ex-hippie, I wonder if he’d have some words).
I guessing everyone visited the Glasgow Apollo Theater website, a historical retro of the venue; in specific the small little tale of AC/DC and the complete setlist for the night? "Gimme a Bullet" was up there! Were the other United Kingdom shows like Dundee fraud recordings or was that story true?
NATE, WE OUGHT TO HAVE THE RIGHT OF DELETING OUR OWN POSTS! MY POINT OF THE GLASGOW WEBSITE IS A LITTLE LATE! --WAY DOWN NEAR MEXICO