“Rock the Blues Away”
“Rock or Bust & Highway to Hell”, opening the 2015 Grammy Awards. Introduced by LL Cool J. Check out Lady GaGa, Tony Bennett, Jay Z, and Katy Perry rocking out with their devil horns.
Rock or Bust, 2014
Malcolm was done. He died 3 years after this album, and that sucked a lot for everyone around him. Angus said Malcolm’s death was a relief. He watched his brother slowly disappear for 4-5 years.
Stevie Young, Angus and Malcolm’s nephew, had previously filled in for Malcolm in 1988 when Mal was in rehab. He became a permanent addition with this record.
Malcolm and Angus played riffs together. They’d sit in their homes and record guitar licks and then collaborate and expand. When the songs were ready, they’d bring in the band and record the songs in the studio. Rock or Bust was what Malcolm and Angus had left in the tank as a duo, and it resulted in a lean, mean 35 minutes of no bullshit AC/DC music. It’s not great. It’s a lot better than Black Ice. Partly because of how lean it is. It’s the shortest record the band ever released. But it’s a banger.
With Malcolm’s death in 2017, the reviews were basically saying that if this is the last AC/DC record… they went out on a high note. I agree.
The tour that followed this was just as full of drama. Phil Rudd relapsed and got into drugs. He was arrested and subsequently left the band while under house arrest. They hired Chris Slade to come back and play the tour.
Cliff Williams announced his retirement.
Brian Johnson is a car nut. Loves racing cars and so on. He’s been a frequent guest on BBC’s Top Gear and he appeared on Amazon’s Grand Tour. Decades of singing in front of screaming fans didn’t help, but it was a screaming engine that fucked up his hearing.
Angus brought in a ringer. A life long fan named Axel Rose sang for the back half of the tour.
They played “Rock or Bust” to open the Grammy awards, followed by a shortened version of “Highway to Hell”. The Grammy’s didn’t want them to play the second verse. Fuckers.
“Rock the Blues Away” is my other pick.
“Big Gun”, single from the Last Action Hero Soundtrack, 1993.
It’s not an AC/DC album, but Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly personally asked the band to contribute a song, and Arnie appeared in the absolutely bonkers music video for the song. It was a big hit.
It’s also the last time Chris Slade recorded a song as the drummer for AC/DC.
It’s big, it’s fun, it’s a perfect AC/DC jam, and the music video includes Arnold Schwarzenegger showing off his “Big Gun” in AC/DC’s typically unsubtle style of humor.
AC/DC LIVE, 1992
For me, this is amongst the best live albums ever recorded. AC/DC, as a band, writes music that is supposed to be played live. Malcolm and Angus think of themselves as blue collar working musicians that made their money playing bars and writing new material on the road.
And they’re really, really good at playing their stuff live. They’re a fantastic live act. Any of the poorly reviewed records from the 1980s, if you saw them play those songs live, it was probably the best concert you’ve ever seen. Jim Breuer has a great bit about AC/DC. Where they play the same show every time, doesn’t matter what the tour is. You’re gonna hear the hits, and a few songs from the new record. And it ROCKS. Breuer then launches into a rather accurate parody of them saying “they could play the Hokey Pokey and TEAR IT UP.”
Yes. Yes they could.
But they’re not playing the Hokey Pokey here. They’re performing the definitive live versions of every song on the track listing. I have already posted several videos from this live album. Look up any of these songs on YouTube, and the best live version is probably from this record.
My favorite part is when they tip their caps to a fallen comrade: Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Bonny, Highway to Hell, and T.N.T.
And the almost 15 minute version of “Jailbreak” is the video I will be posting.
“Moneytalks” live at Donington 1991.
“Thunderstruck”, live at Donington 1991.
Probably their definitive live performance of this song.
the Razors Edge, 1990
Malcolm went to rehab and didn’t tour for the Blow Up Your Video album. His nephew, Stevie Young, filled in on Rhythm Guitar. Welsh drummer, Chris Slade, was hired for this album. And Brian Johnson did not write any lyrics because he was busy getting divorced.
Malcolm and Angus wrote all the lyrics, and that became the status quo from here on out.
The boys came out swinging, because this one was a banger. The A-Side has no skips, and the first 3 on the B-Side were great too. They had another platinum record on the shelves.
It lead to an absolute monster of a tour. They played in Russia at the free concert celebrating the fall of the USSR. Metallica, Pantera, and the Black Crowes were the Opening acts for AC/DC. Read that again. Metallica was AC/DC’s opening act. The AC/DC Live record, recorded at Donington Ireland in 1991 was from this tour. It’s an A+.
My favorites are “Moneytalks” and “Are You Ready”.
But you won’t go to a live sporting event without hearing “Thunderstruck”. It’s the definition of a stadium anthem.
“For Those About to Rock” live at Donington 1991.