Monday, June 19, 2006

AC/DC-Let there be rock, 1977

For many people there was one band that was the first band that you really got into. For a lot of people around my age it was Kiss. For me it was AC/DC for sure. They were the first band I really got into so they can either be thanked or blamed for that. I like some of the Brian Johnson material, but it's like a different world from the Bon Scott material. Bon Scott was a solid singer, a good showman and a fantastic writer who could effortlessly blend humor in with catchy lyrics. There was only one Bon Scott. This is not my favorite album of theirs, but it's likely my third favorite from their long career. However I think it was a real transition album for them. The previous albums showed some sparks, but they lacked some energy at times as well. However "Let there be rock" doesn't pretend to be anything but a solid rock album plain and simple. The riffs are simple yet straight ahead, the vocals are rough but fit in perfectly and even the production has a good raw sound to it. The band sounds excited on this album and perhaps that's what they needed at this point so that remained hungry. The next two albums "Powerage" and "Highway to hell" were their best in my opinion. Yet I feel it was this album that really began to pave the way for those later releases. Just listen to "Dog eat dog" and you can hear Angus pulling everything out of the simplest chords, Bon Scott uses the lyrics to their fullest, the backing vocals are rough like they should and the rest of the band is giving their awe. There is a difference between playing the music and milking it for all it's worth. In their prime this band could do the latter choice as well as anyone in the business. AC/DC had some weak albums later in their career and their energy was scattered at best later on, but there is no doubt that were on fire in the 70's. Other favorite tracks include the title track, Whole lotta Rosie and Overdose.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mark where were you in 1977? That was a good year for music but i have a feeling you weren't there at Tower records buying this album when it came out in '77, but I was :(

9:23 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

I was probably watching Scooby Doo in 1977 because I was seven years old. I got into AC/DC in the early 1980's.

4:38 AM  
Blogger Jay Noel said...

I loved KISS growing up.

7:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great album. I listen to this at work a lot since it is on my iTunes. I am more into the Bon Scott stuff as well. He is one of the great rock singers of all time. He is the perfect example of a guy that does not have what most people would describe as a great voice, yet through personality and delivery, rises above. Bon kicks ass!

7:54 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Vicious Steve-Bon Scott's humor was missed badly in the 80's.

Phoenix-A lot of kid's loved them. There were like a bad horror movie mixed with music.

Fred Charles- He would be very high up on my top frontmen list. It's a shame he was just starting to see the band become big when he died. He deserved to be a big rock star because he put so much into it.

12:32 PM  
Blogger David Amulet said...

One of the few AC/DC albums (at leats through the early 90s) that I do NOT own. Good review--you make it sounds like a slightly less compelling version of Powerage, which makes it pretty damn good.

-- david

3:16 PM  
Blogger Fernando said...

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1:36 PM  

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