I’ve been on a bit of an AC/DC kick lately. (I blame the tribute show that I went to a couple of weeks ago.) Anyway, I’ve been listening to this album a lot lately.

This is one of those songs that, while plenty awesome in their original recording, are even better live. And this particular live album captures a lot of that energy. The performance on this track has that raw, live energy to it. And this particular performance includes a rather impressive guitar solo. Solos like this one are the hallmark of great live performances in hard rock, and on this track, Angus Young delivers.

The one thing that I’ve always found amazing about this song is the fact that they managed to make a chorus out of one five-word phrase, and somehow managed to make it catchy and not at all repetitive. I think that’s one of the things that the live track helps me see a little more clearly–it’s the tune and performance that really make the chorus really work here.

The vocal performance on this track is so over-the-top that it’s amazing–in a really good way. Half the fun of singing along here is in trying to match all the vocal inflections in the original. Combine that vocal performance with the great riff and one of the catchiest choruses in hard rock, and this song earns its legendary status.

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The official video is a pretty good live performance from the band. What actually caught my attention here was the way that Richie and Jon sing harmony. Their voices are uniquely well suited to performing together. For some reason that perfect harmony is what stood out to me about this performance. Both of the guys were in fine voice on this performance–but it was the blending of the two that stood out here. One moment I’d be noticing Jon’s lead vocals, and the next moment Richie’s voice would catch my attention.

And I have to say that I do love that sleeveless black leather shirt that Jon’s been wearing lately. (I’m still disappointed that he didn’t wear that one for the concert that I saw at the Wachovia Center back in March.) Anyway, this video has got Jon, dressed in black leather, with his sweaty arm muscles on display. Nice.

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I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed; the rest of the non-band-specific Rock Band Releases–1, 2 and LEGO–all had a Bon Jovi song on them. With the addition of keyboards in Rock Band 3, I was kind of expecting to see Bon Jovi’s ‘Runaway’ in the list.

However, on the plus side, I’m actually really psyched about the rest of the list. I like it a lot better than the track list from Rock Band 2–even without a Bon Jovi track. So it’s definitely on the list to buy for me.

Sure, some of the songs in the list have been on other games before, like ‘Smoke on the Water’ and ‘Free Bird’. But those are all pretty great songs–and ‘Smoke on the Water’ was in the first Guitar Hero, which I’m pretty sure isn’t even available for the Xbox 360. I’ve only ever gotten to play that one when I was visiting a friend who owns a PS2, so I’m perfectly happy to see it in the list of tracks for Rock Band 3.

‘Heart of Glass’, ‘Radar Love’, ‘Crazy Train’… This track list really packs in a lot of my favorites.

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Anyway, it’s not bad. I certainly like it well enough. It’s not an instant favorite, but it’s solid. Bon Jovi can deliver a good ballad when they try, and this is a pretty good one. The chorus is definitely a good one–it’s catchy, and it’s got that Bon Jovi vibe to it. And it’s got the power ballad style that Bon Jovi does so well. Actually, what this song feels like to me is an old-school power ballad that’s been updated for a new decade.

Some of the backing vocals in the bridge are a bit strong. But at least in this song, they sound like the guys in the band, which is an improvement over the ones used on ‘Love’s The Only Rule’.

Plus, Jon’s voice continues to improve. He’s really doing a nice job on the lead vocals here–which is part of the reason why the backing vocals were bugging me. They were drowning Jon out.

This song definitely has a lot of potential as a single. The chorus alone–which is classic Bon Jovi–should be enough to get it some meaningful airplay.

If the rest of the new tracks from the Greatest Hits are at least this good (or better) the new tracks ought to be a pretty nice collection of songs.

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They did have the same technical issue that made some of the vocals difficult to hear if you were in the back, just like Bad Medicine did before them. But I just moved up front, and since I knew the words already (and so did everybody else), it wasn’t a problem. That was the only downside in the whole show.

In terms of musical skills, these guys are really good–we’re talking serious skills. All of the songs that they did in their set were spot-on, and performed perfectly. Their lead guitar player does an amazing job of replicating Angus Young’s performances. They put a lot of effort into providing a complete experience, and it really pays off for them.

I have to say that if I had the opportunity to see either of these tribute bands–Live Wire or Bad Medicine–again, I would certainly take it. Like I said on Monday, they aren’t the real thing, but they’re really good all the same.

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Aside from some minor technical issues–if you were in the back, the mix seemed to be off and vocals were somewhat difficult to make out–the show was pretty good. If you’re a Bon Jovi fan and know all the words already, it wasn’t too hard to make out the lyrics. I certainly didn’t have a bit of trouble recognizing any of the songs. All of the performances were spot on to the real thing, and in terms of technical skills, these guys are really good. Their guitar player is especially good–his solos were great.

In terms of looks, these guys are pretty decent–their lead singer looks a lot like Jon, which is more than enough to carry a tribute band, especially when they do this good of a job on the music. (He gets bonus points for rockin’ the long blond hair, which everybody knows is not only my favorite, but also the favorite of a lot of the other female fans.) He’s definitely spent some time studying Jon’s performances. He’s got most of the little gestures and moves that make up Jon’s live performances down to a science, which really helps set the mood for the performance.

Of course, it’s not the real thing and will never be, but these guys are pretty good, all the same. For an easy evening out, this was a good show.

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Now don’t get me wrong–I like ‘Diamond Ring’ well enough. These Days is one of the few Bon Jovi albums that doesn’t have any tracks that I always skip. But this particular song never really was an outstanding favorite from the album.

However, it is well suited to a live performance like this. This song relies heavily on vocal harmonies to give it its particular feel and most of its beauty. This provides Jon and Richie with a showcase for their vocal skills–and the two of them can work it. Some of the harmonies that those two guys can produce are just amazing. With the instrumental portion of the song so restrained, you can really hear Richie and Jon singing on this one.

I wouldn’t want the band to make all of their ballads sound like this. But this is a nice change of pace from the power-ballad style that they usually do.

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Anyway, it kind of got me to thinking. I can’t imagine anyone else trying to cover that particular song. Half of what made it so successful was its sound, which was really built on the accents of the original performers. Anyone else’s version would lack that particular element, and the song just wouldn’t sound right without it.

I suppose that this really goes for almost any artist who has a particular vocal style. Sure, songwriters can put a distinctive stamp on their songs–Jim Steinman comes to mind. But when you’re dealing with an artist with a completely unique sound, like the Proclaimers, the song can become inseparable from the performer. (I suspect that this effect is what made the partnership between Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf so productive–Steinman produced such distinctive songs, and then Meat Loaf owned those songs.)

As a matter of fact, a lot of Meat Loaf’s songs, especially the Steinman ones, come to mind when I try to think of other ‘uncoverable’ songs. Alice Cooper’s work wouldn’t be an easy task to cover either.

The interesting thing, in all of these cases, is that the song actually becomes bound up with the performer, leaving the song incomplete without the original artist.

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This song does seem to bring out the best in the whole band, but especially Jon. The amount of emotion that Jon puts into the performance of this song when they do it live is simply amazing. I realize the song is too obscure and too long for them to trot it out a lot, but there’s really a reason that it’s so well loved among the bigtime fans–it’s good. I’d honestly argue that it’s one of the best songs that they’ve ever written. And it translates very well to a live performance.

Anyway, this one’s got some very sweet eye candy. Jon’s got the arms out and on display. I love the biceps–actually all of the muscles that Jon’s got on display here–and having the steer skull tattoo on display synchronizes nicely with the desert imagery of the lyrics.

This video also focuses in Richie’s guitar work during the solo. This isn’t a terrible thing–especially not for me, since I’m almost as much of a Richie girl as a Jon girl. It really lets you see what Richie puts into his solos–and the nice thing about ‘Dry County’ is that he’s actually got some room to really show off. And Richie looks pretty good in the sleeveless shirts too.

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I know that Journey isn’t the most respected of bands, but they are legendary. And I do have a soft spot for their music. Yes, it could be described as cheesy–this song in particular–but I don’t particularly care. It’s enjoyable stuff.

The lyrics aren’t anything particularly special. It’s mostly standard power-ballad love stuff going on here. However, the key to many of Journey’s best songs are Steve Perry’s lead vocals, not in the lyrics. He has both power and range, and this song makes good use of both, which is what gives the song a lot of its impact. This is especially prominent in the build up to the chorus, and how it backs down again to the second chorus. The true emotional impact of this song is all in the delivery of the vocals and the melody, and it does that well. Perry takes the simple lyrics and uses his skills to make you believe it.

The rest of the instrumentation serves to back the lead vocal, and does well at that. It never detracts from Perry’s vocals, and instead lets him shine, adding extra punch where it’s needed. The end result is a complete package that’s perfect for singing along to. Part of the power of this song is that it’s so un-cynical in the picture that it paints. It appeals to the inner romantic inside of the listener. I think that’s what I like best about this song.

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