Live at River Plate (2012)
Disc One
1. Rock 'N' Roll Train
2. Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10.Hells Bells
Disc Two
1. Shoot to Thrill
2. War Machine
3. Dog Eat Dog
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. TNT
6. Whole Lotta Rosie
7. Let There Be Rock
8. Highway to Hell
9. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
Had AC/DC never issued another live album, Live at River Plate might have been hailed a milestone. As it stands, it merely reinforces what any seasoned rock listener already knows: AC/DC are, and always have been, a live act par excellence. Captured in Buenos Aires in front of an incandescent Argentinian crowd, this set is a thunderous reaffirmation of the band’s unwavering dedication to rock’s primal essentials — power chords, pulsing rhythms, and blistering bravado.
Let us be honest: no one approached this record expecting revelation. After several live outings, including canonical releases and exhaustive box sets, the tracklist here is about as predictable as a lightning bolt on a stormy night — and just as electrifying. Yes, we’ve heard Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be more times than we’ve had hot dinners, and no, Let There Be Rock isn’t exactly an archival excavation. But predictability, in the hands of AC/DC, is something of a virtue. There is comfort in that defiant refusal to deviate.
Brian Johnson’s vocals are a raspy testament to three decades of lung abuse — torn, frayed, and utterly perfect. If one came seeking operatic precision, they’ve wandered into the wrong cathedral. Johnson howls like a man possessed, worn but unwavering, and the effect, though rough at the edges, is entirely authentic. The rest of the band—Angus’s searing solos, Malcolm’s eternal groove (here channeled posthumously through Stevie), Cliff’s immovable bass lines, and Phil’s machine-gun precision on drums—deliver the goods with a fury that belies their collective age.
Among the few concessions to recent output are the Black Ice tracks. Thankfully, they’ve chosen wisely. Rock ’N Roll Train thunders out of the gates with admirable urgency, and the selections from the 2008 album prove more than mere filler. Still, one longs for a few deeper cuts—those dusty gems buried in the Bon Scott-era back catalog or the underappreciated corners of Flick of the Switch. One or two surprises would have transformed this from a fine live document into an essential one.
And yet, there's no denying the impact. The atmosphere is feverish, the crowd near-messianic, and the band performs as if the River Plate is the center of the musical universe. The near 20-minute rendition of Let There Be Rock is indulgent, yes, but also volcanic in scope. Angus Young, seemingly immortal, delivers a guitar sermon of biblical proportions.
In sum, Live at River Plate may not break new ground, but it razes the old ground with thrilling abandon. It is not a reinvention—it is a reaffirmation. And perhaps that, in the world of AC/DC, is more than enough.
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