AC/DC "Back in Black" (1980)
AC/DC had managed to pull themselves up by their Aussie bootstraps
to 'take on the world'. By the time they released "Highway to Hell" they
had won over Europe, but hadn't quite cracked the US. Tragedy befell
them when their lead singer Bon Scott died after a night of drinking.
The band didn't pause. They started recording straight away and
recruited British vocalist Brian Johnson to take up lead singer duties.
The album opens with tolling bells and then slow, ominous guitar,
leading you to believe that maybe the band were going to deliver a
solemn eulogy to their fallen bandmate... at least you might believe
that if you were unfamiliar with the rest of their work. Pretty quickly,
the slow opening gives way to an 'all hands to the pump' rocker, and
things doesn't really let up from there.
The band continue with their misogynistic, wild-time lyrics and solid
riffing rock. Solid is the word too; apart from Angus Young's flashy
lead guitar parts, the music is fairly workmanlike in its simplicity.
The rhythm section mainly hold down the most basic groove needed to
support the guitar riffs, which in turn provide a bed for Johnson's
vocals to bounce around on top of. It is rock economy, and it works
really well for the songs.
The album took off in the US. It has since racked up 22x platinum sales,
and sits as the sixth highest selling album of all time in the US!
