Not much in the way of frills either
Filmed in Madrid on the 1996 Ballbreaker tour ‘No Bull’ was originally rush released in that same year causing director David Mallet to be so unhappy with the result that he felt the need to completely re-edit the footage and remix the sound some 12 years later.
The concert footage is nicely done with a whole host of camera angles that give a good sense of scale and show a dated looking crowd in full flow. Angus Young and singer Brian Johnston naturally get the most air time with both giving the kind of performance that you’d expect. Can you ever get tired of watching Young doing his trademark duck walk? His lead guitar work is exemplary and he’s always entertaining to watch although he does draw out the middle section of ‘Boogie Man’ a little too far. Musically you can’t fault them and it’s an exceedingly tight performance although visually there’s not a huge amount going on with the rest of the band. There is the odd stage prop however including an enormous inflatable woman that appears for ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’.
The set list is a mix of (then) new and old songs and although their popularity was back on the rise by 1996, it’s fair to say that singles such as ‘Hail Caesar’ weren’t up to the standard of their classic era tracks especially when it‘s followed in the set by ‘Hells Bells‘. The last 8 songs are just brilliant and would probably form the backbone of most AC/DC fans ‘Best Of’ compilation. The highlight though has to be set closer ‘For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)', which still sounds as good as it did when I bought it on it’s release!
This release is not without it’s problems however, the vocals are too quiet on tracks like ‘Thunderstruck’ if you watch it in the standard stereo mix and I can‘t decide whether it‘s the mix or if it‘s just that Johnston doesn‘t have a very powerful voice at the lower end of his range? Maybe they sound better in the 5.1 surround mix available but alas my bog standard TV doesn’t support such finery. There isn’t much in the way of extras to get excited about, there’s just an Angus cam for four songs and two bonus tracks that were played on the tour (filmed in Sweden & Florida) that weren’t featured on the original release. Overall it achieves what it set out to be, a record of the 1996 tour but it lacks the edge and the excitement of ‘Let There Be Rock’. Essential for die hard fans (if only to update their old VHS copy) and perfectly enjoyable for the casual observer.