Only Scott would have considered opening a single with the line, “There was a friend of mine on murder, and the judge’s gavel fell …” It’s thrillingly minimal, and it’s well worth having a look at the compellingly terrible video, too.
Ac dc album plus#
Oddly, it has never been played live, although, given that AC/DC sets tend consist of three tracks from the new album, plus the setlist from 1980, maybe that’s not surprising. Big Gun (1993)Ī rare one-off, from The Last Action Hero soundtrack, that really deserved saving for an official album: terrific riff, good recording. This gains its place not for the melody – which is almost nonexistent – but for being one of Scott’s best lyrics: “I’ve got patches on the patches of my old blue jeans / Well, they used to be blue / When they used to be new / When they used to be clean.” 31. Ain’t No Fun (Waiting ’Round To Be a Millionaire) (1976) On the twisting, tumbling Hail Caesar it worked, though. Rick Rubin should have been the perfect AC/DC producer, but Ballbreaker sounded oddly emasculated, without the jet roar of the guitars. This eponymous song is good, but not classic. It wasn’t an album of huge riffs – it was more concerned with the texture of the sound. The Youngs’ older brother George – who, with Harry Vanda, had overseen their early albums – returned to produce Stiff Upper Lip. Evil Walks (1981)Ī monstrous opening for a deep cut from the last of the Lange albums: it sounds like being engulfed in an avalanche – and a slightly incongruous introduction to the bouncy riff of the verses. A little muddy, perhaps, but this is a great riff. Viewed as underwhelming at the time, it now sounds like a masterpiece compared to much of what followed. Bedlam in Belgium (1983)Īfter three albums with Mutt Lange, the Young brothers took control for Flick of the Switch. The lead single from – to date – the last AC/DC album, assembled from Angus and Malcolm Young’s offcuts: the one song from Rock or Bust that really sounded like it might have fitted on to Back in Black without too many raised eyebrows. It is hardly imaginative musically – a simple boogie shuffle – but feel the hard dryness of the sound. “And you ask me why I’m in a band / I dig doin’ one night stands,” sings Bon Scott in one of his many considerations of the life of the struggling rock’n’roller. That was the case on 2008’s Black Ice, though I would direct you to the version on Live at River Plate, just for the force of the band’s entry. Their first Australian album even featured this intriguing example of a kind of troglodytic hard-rock funk, with cowbells and bongos, neither of which were to become staples of the Akker Dakker sound.įor many years now, the best AC/DC track on any given album has been the lead single. For those about to rock, we salute you.In their infancy, AC/DC weren’t tied to one style. So in recognition of Back in Black‘s 40th anniversary, we look back at 25 of their greatest songs. As a band, they’re unrelenting and freewheeling nobody has ever had to wonder if AC/DC were having a good time. The best AC/DC songs overdose on crude, raucous riffs and offensive turns of phrase, whether its Scott bragging about his “Big Balls” or Young speeding down the “ Highway to Hell” spewing out bluesy, high-voltage solos. “The truth is, we’ve made the same album over and over 15 times.” “We’ve been accused of making the same album over and over 12 times,” guitarist Angus Young once said. When they exploded out of Sydney in the mid-Seventies, AC/DC’s scrappy original frontman Bon Scott sang about the group’s personal holy trinity - sex, drinking, and rock & roll - and ever since gravelly voiced Brian Johnson took the reins after Scott’s death, they’ve kept right on worshipping at the same altar. The secret to their success has always been their authenticity. Songs like “Highway to Hell” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” are classic-rock radio staples, and their 1980 LP, Back in Black, would be the bestselling album of all time if Thriller didn’t exist. Bulldozing rock-hard riffs, more double entendres than you can shake a stick at, and one comically snug schoolboy uniform: These are just a few of the ingredients that have made AC/DC one of the most iconic rock & roll bands of the past 45 years.
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