Listening Post: AC/DC Fly on the Wall

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.




AC/DC - Fly on the Wall - 1985 (buy it)

Oh, god. Make it stop.

If I sold 50+ million records and toured the world, was a millionaire many times over I would buy a big big house somewhere, open a restaurant, play video games, raise some kids, adopt some, maybe buy a boat and cruise the world.

These guys made "Fly on the Wall".

This is no longer AC/DC. This is the Brian Johnson Band. And he wants to be in Kiss. And not classic Kiss. He wants to be in "Lick it Up" era Kiss.

You have no reason to ever hear this record. Don't.

Grade D-
A Side: Shake Your Foundations
Blindside: Nothing. That was the only listenable track.
Downside: Danger. The worst song in the catalogue so far.

listening Post: AC/DC Flick of the Switch

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.



AC/DC - Flick of the Switch - 1983 (buy it)

From 1976 to 1981, in just five short years, AC/DC released 7 albums. They went from Bar Band extreme Bluesbreakers to Arena filling mega-supergroup. One of the founding members died. And they released the second biggest selling album of all time. Think about that. Think about the last 5 years of your life and put that into perspective. Five years. They deserved a break.
They took one.
Then they released their first album after that hiatus.

And it sucks.

With Mutt Lange off making his fortune with Def Leppard, AC/DC decided to try to emulate his magical production in studio and the result is a crappy, garbagy mess. The problem isn't just that they are so desperate to maintain that stadium sound, that's bad enough, the other problem is the new guy is kind of untalented. Johnson is now JUST a screamer, whatever melody he concocted on the two records previous must have been the creation or whipping of Lange because this is just short of screech-metal. it's just no fun. It might be if the lyrics were any good. They aren't. And nobody seems to care. Even the pencil sketch cover art feels unimportant.
There are some high points, of course, Landslide is a nice rocker, and Brain Shake should have come way earlier in the track listing, but this is just hard on the ears and hard to take.

Grade D+
A Side: Landslide
BlindSide: Bedlam in Belgium
Downside: Deep in the Hole

Listening Post: AC/DC For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.




AC/DC - For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) - 1981 (buy it)

Okay. How do you follow up the second biggest selling album of all time? One of the monsters of Rock? You try to copy the past and fail miserably.
This isn't really a carbon copy, it's more problematic than that. Brian Johnson is still in pretty good form here and the songs are somewhat acceptable but this isn't AC/DC. This is the Mutt Lange Production Project. Those big BIG drums and killer bass, that's not AC/DC. That's something else. That's.......Def Leppard. This is a Def Leppard album. And, if you strip away the production what you are left with is a bunch of guys who used to write barroom brawlers, then were thrust on the worldwide stage and giant stadiums and decided they had to write "ARENA ROCK" songs every time.
It doesn't work. It falls flat. The opener is still a great song, but after that, it's a downhill slide. Is there anything as bad, so far, as "Inject the Venom" or "Night of the Long Knives" in the band's repertoire? No. This is "Bandit" bad. (Bandit is a crappy metal band that Brian Johnson had a hand in years before. There's some magic here, "Snowballed" is tasty as is "Spellbound" and, perhaps, "Evil Walks". But nothing can redeem the unmitigated crapola that is the lyrics for "C.O.D."
That's just awful.

Grade C
A Side: For those About To Rock
Blindside: Snowballed
Downside: Inject the Venom

Listening Post: AC/DC Back in Black

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.




AC/DC - Back in Black - 1980 (Buy it)

This is actually a really interesting record. It’s not that it’s better than any that have come before, it’s not. It’s AS good as Let There Be Rock and Powerage (Maybe a little better than Highway) to be sure. But it’s way more accessible. Is it a bad thing to say that Bon Scott was the one thing that was holding the band back? Well, no, because they were already monster successes before Bon died, but, the alchemy of Young, Young and new addition Brian Johnson, combined with Bon’s death, the spectre of which is all over this album, Mutt Lange’s brilliant manipulations and the band’s acceptance of their place as an arena rock spectacle come together to push them over the edge. This is the second best selling album of all time. All time! That’s crazy. And great. Because it’s dynamite from start to finish. TNT, if you will.
One thing I noticed is that it’s much groovier than all the others that came before. It’s sexier, without the lasciviousness. Bon Scott was someone you wouldn’t let near your daughter. Hell, you might not let him near your son or your dog or your mail carrier. He was a scary, dirty motherfucker. Brian Johnson, whose voice is more in line with the epic metal sounds we have come to recognize (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford come to mind), he’s a bloke who you want to have a beer with. And, while your drinking, your sister might come in the bar and join you guys. And, before you know it, you’re so drunk that you didn’t notice Brian and your sister leave and when you stumble out to the car and you find him humping her against the wall you know what? You kind of think, what the fuck. He bought the beers, he’s an okay bloke and, well, she’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.
That’s what Brian Johnson brings to AC/DC and it’s THAT element that sells 42 million copies.
How many of those 42 million people do you think ever listened to side one? It’s side two where Back in Black and You Shook Me live. Side one is just great AC/DC, though. Shoot to Thrill? Great. Givin’ the Dog a Bone? Great. What do you do for money honey? Yeah, that’s great, too. Only “Let me Put My Love into You” is a disappointment, both musically and lyrically.
The other thing about this record that struck me is how it DOESN’T sound like Highway to Hell. Highway, as I said before, sounds like everything that is about to come after, all the hair metal bands. But Black doesn’t. It’s unique. It’s classic AC/DC while sounding nothing like any of their other albums. It holds up today, unlike most records released in 1980 and before. The singer is different. The songs are groovier and bigger. It’s different.
And there’s one more thing before we put this to bed:
Brian Johnson, on Back in Black, understands melody in a way that Bon Scott never could. I’m sorry to say that because the journey from Voltage to Highway has been great. Johnson just knows a melody line and how to sing it.
This record is just shy of perfect.

Grade A+
A Side: Duh. You Shook Me All Night Long & Back in Black
Blindside: Shoot to Thrill & Shake a Leg
Downside: Let Me Put My Love Into You

Listening Post: AC/DC Highway to Hell

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.



AC/DC - Highway to Hell - 1980 (buy it)

Uh oh. What's that gigantic sound? Harmonies? Deeply expanded sonic tapestry? Why, it must be, yes, Mutt Lange!
Mr. Shania Twain! Crafter of the Def Leppard sound! The master has arrived just in time for the boys from Down Under to polish their talents to mass audience acceptance. (Incidentally, it should also be pointed out that Lange was The Boomtown Rats' producer on Boomtown Rats, Tonic for the Troops and one my favorite albums of all time, The Fine Art of Surfacing)
This is truly good stuff. And yet, strangely, it's not really any different from anything they have done in the past. It's really just "AC/DC". Everything you ever wanted from a blues-based, big riffed, cock-rock band, all neatly packaged on one album. In fact, the seeds of Leppard are in here on tracks like "Walk all over you", I believe. Although those lads were never this trenchant.
There's clunky junky stuff that is the genesis of glam rock that was about to come around the corner. I'm think about Touch Too Much which sounds a touch too much like Ratt will in just a few years. The more I think about it, I have to wonder just how many hair metal bands of the 80s picked up an axe and decided to be rock stars after they heard Highway to Hell? Everything that is Poison, Ratt, Motley Crue, Bulletboys and their ilk seems to have sprung from THIS record. That doesn't mean this is bad. Not by a long shot. The copies are just not as good as the original, that's all. And it seems that those bands took the big, anthemic cathedral of guitar sound and decided to forego the lead licks (I'm looking at YOU, Jet!) Too bad. But, maybe not.
Thing is, though, and this isn't the band's fault, but does "Get it Hot" sound familiar to anyone else? Like Leppard's Photograph? Now, that shouldn't reflect badly on the band, but I can't get it out of my head. I WANT to say, 'hey, it came first!' but, the latter song is better so it just dampens my experience. (I know it's not fair or right, but, fuck it, what can I do?) In fact, it's quite possible that the spectre of all that will spawn from this release haunts it and makes it difficult for me to appreciate it on it's own. Maybe if it was 1979 and I was hearing it for the first time that would be different but it's not. Its 29 years later and, sadly, there are no surprises on H2H. Not like the albums that came before.
Interestingly, the last song, Night Prowler, is so ominous and final and dirge-like that it's appropriately followed in their catalogue by the bells on "Hell's Bells".
Sadly.

Grade B+
A Side: Highway to Hell & Girls Got Rhythm
Blindside: Night Prowler. A heavy, dense and sad coda.
Downside: Love Hungry Man & Shot Down in Flames (Bon's just running out of ideas here and it's hard to believe that he has trouble getting laid at this point in his superstar rock band life. I don't buy it and the song sounds forced and fake)

Listening Post: AC/DC Powerage

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.




AC/DC - Powerage - 1978 (buy it)

My ears hurt. It turns out you can't turn your headphones loud enough for Angus Young. This is, what, their fourth album in four years!?!? They just keep sounding fresher and bolder with each release. Either they had a huge cadre of songs in the vault already or Young/Young/Scott were on a tear.
As always I think there's really no flow to the album, it's just one big barroom blisterer after another but, that's okay, I don't think they give much thought to the overall soundscape. They aren't writing concept albums here, they just want you to replace the needle of your turntable after it glows so hot from the searing licks, screaming vocals and barn-door blasting solos.
Special mention has to go to Riff-Raff. Possibly one of the greatest unheralded rock classics ever. It's on par with Queen's "Dead on Time" for me. The late 70s were a great time for this kind of music and it never feels dated.
The staples are there: Rock? Check. Girls? Check. Sex? Check. There's even a song about heroin addiction (Gone Shootin') though it's probably the weakest offering.
They're not reinventing the wheel here, to be sure. And I, for one am getting a little sick of the stupid album covers. This one is particularly bad. I imagine that it caused not a few people to avoid the album. But, it's more than a solid effort. It's the best of their catalogue so far, and after "Let There Be Rock", that's saying something.

Grade A
A Side: Rock and Roll Damnation (an album opener if I've ever heard one)
Blindside: Riff Raff (Do yourself a favor, listen to this and tell me if you don't wish Harmonix would put out an AC/DC version of Rock Band.
Downside: None. There isn't a bad song on the album.

Listening Post: AC/DC Let There Be Rock

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.



AC/DC - Let There Be Rock - 1977 (buy it)

Oh, that fucking title. This is what Spinal Tap was after, wasn't it? It's almost hard to crank this one up without thinking about Tap. But, from the first clang, Nigel Tufnel goes away and Malcolm and Angus have their say.
This is different. It's familiar, it sounds like the AC/DC I expect and am more comfortable with. It's a big sound. Wider. Grander. But, it's also slightly less clear. The bass doesn't pound as much as thump. The drums are set way back except for the high hat and when the rest is really needed. This is the Young/Young/Scott show. It's aggressive and breathless. I'm really surprised the album doesn't kick off with the "Let there be Rock" track because THAT'S a showpiece. The first one, the dirty oral sex song (Bon......!) and the socio-political Dog Eat Dog don't even begin to set the table for what is about to come. The truth is, the album could be 40 minutes of that track and I'm not sure I would tire of it. (How have I never heard this song before???)
After that the boys settle in for some classic rock and I just want to get into a convertible with a blonde with big tits and white sunglasses and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. I don't even mind the repeat of Problem Child that much It replaces the racier "Crabsody in Blue" (a racy tune about crabs v.d. that the label had removed).
On "Overdose" Bon is finally showing some signs of vulnerability. being hooked on a woman's love is not what I would have expected from the guy talking about how big his balls were just an album before. But, then again, maybe he is overdosed on the oral talents of Ruby, the object of affection from the opener "Go Down".
Oh, yeah. THIS is the record that unleashed "Whole Lotta Rosie". You know AC/DC is the only band I know of that has more female cover bands than any other. One of them was "Girls Got Rhythm", who had a smokin' hot asian chick lead guitarist who who smile as she shredded and a clumsy but super cute bassist who would get tangled in her cables.
The other was "Whole Lotta Rosies". I wish I had seen them. Any band that names themselves after this classic scorcher must blow the doors down.

Grade A
A Side: Whole Lotta Rosie
Blindside: Let There Be Rock (Yeah, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know it, but does it get ANY airplay after 1978?)
Downside: Problem Child (only because it's a repeat place holder)

listening Post: AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.



AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - 1976 (Buy it)

Hey, guess what? It's more of the same! I kind of have a feeling it's gonna be like this for the next 11 albums. A scary proposition at best. One which raises the question: How much AC/DC is too much AC/DC?
I don't think I've reached saturation by any means, yet. For DDDDC is a much more accomplished and solid offering. It's bluesy and ballsy and the perfect soundtrack to a ripped jeans, beach town living pot-filled summer. A nice companion to Voltage, I found myself grooving to DD a lot more. For one thing, the first half of the album clips along at a neat pace, nothing clocking over 4 minutes like the first offering. Much of the songs on that album sounded like excuses for guitar solos but not here. Here it actually seems like Scott has some stuff he wants to say. It's still all girls and balls and money and rock but it's less obnoxious. The song Big Balls being the obvious exception. That is just embarrassing.
Yet, for all the bombast and bloat that pervaded that album, the longest one here clocks in at over 7 minutes and is never boring. Ain't no fun (waiting to be a millionaire) is a joy, accelerating and groovy, it's the kind of performance that suggests that they might be better live than on record.
Another point that I would like to make is that this time around they seem to have found the endings to their songs. Tunes come to conclusions more than the easy and lazy fade outs of the first record.
And, with "Squealer" Bon Scott shows just what a lascivious and dirty fuck he is.

Grade B
A Side: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Blindside: Squealer
Downside: Big Balls. (Please. Stop with the ball talk.) Ride On. These guys just aren't slo-groove guys.

Listening Post: AC/DC High Voltage

They wrote one of the 10 greatest RAWK songs ever. The pretty much invented the fist pumping, devil horned, head banging arena rock sound. The lead guitarist is the star, in his outrageous schoolboy uniform but the real backbone is the Rhythm Guitarist. Without Malcolm there is no AC/DC. Just a lead singer and a cock of the walk screecher.
I have heard about a dozen or so songs, and, like everyone who grew up in the 70s, Back in Black was your graduation present.
But aside from the big tunes, what do I really know about the Aussie boys?
Let's find out.



AC/DC - High Voltage - 1976 (Buy it)

High Voltage explodes with a crunchy, stereo-guitar assault that sort of winks at KISS and says, "Oh, yeah? THIS is what you're trying to sound like!".
It's pretty audacious in lyrical content, too. Now, I don't imagine that Bon Scott is too deep a guy and judging from what I've heard here, I'm right. He's interested in telling you how great he is, how great they are, how much like sex, girls and rock. I think that's fine. I mean, that's sort of the template for rock and roll all the way back to Leadbelly, isn't it? Here it's dressed up in a more vicious posturing that will either influence or happen to come at the same time as Foghat, ZZ Top and every fist pumping blues based bar band that ever came down the "Classic Rock" road.
The audacity I am talking about is "It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll". Spoken with such authority, as is "Rock and Roll Singer" the guys come across as seasoned Rock vets telling it like it is. In truth, this is their first album, basically a redux of the same stuff from a year earlier when Epic picked up their contract.
There can be no surprise here, however, just a passing appreciation. Inasmuch as they were just putting their spin on Blues Rock and were SO influential that this seems tame.
It has it's moments, though. And it definitely has me looking forward to more.

Grade B
A Side: T.N.T. & It's a Long Way To The Top [if you wanna rock and roll]
Blindside: Can I Sit Next To You Girl? (Unexpectedly goofy and glammy)
Downside: The Jack (I actually fell asleep listening to it and had to go back to make sure it was as dull as I thought)

Listening Posts

There have been a few requests for some more Listening Posts and the suggestions are....interesting, to say the least.
The project started when I realized that i owned Make Believe by Weezer but had never listened to it. And, with the Red Album coming out, I thought I would go through the discography to see, well, to see what I thought.
And what I thought was, Red sucks, Blue is antiquated, Pinkerton is a clunky classic, Green is short and to the point, Maladroit is correctly titled and Make Believe is unfortunately maligned. Weezer are the last decade's version of The Cars and Make Believe was their Heartbeat City. Red, on the other hand, is an ep's worth of music at best.
Then I decided to delve into another band that I owned but only occasioned: Everclear.
What I discovered there was Art Alexakis writes two or three songs over and over and over again and, once you are past So Much for the Afterglow and American Movie part One, it's all over. There's absolutely nothing you haven't heard and been bored by before.
Which brought me, somehow, to U2. You've read that. That was fun.
So, where to go next? The thing about the Listening Post, for me, is it has to be a once-iconic band, I have to be peripherally knowledgeable of their music, mainly the hits and it has to be a challenge.
Some of the bands that have been mentioned, R.E.M, Pearl Jam, Beck, hold some interest and I might, MIGHT, visit them but I am more inclined to look at the oeuvre of the likes of Cheap Trick, Bon Jovi, Journey and, dare I say, AC/DC.
So, prepare yourselves. A Listening Post is on the way. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.