Good evening Rawkers, and welcome to hell! Pretty gritty stuff, talking about Australia's AC/DC. It's about as visceral, basic and rawking as it gets. And i am a fan of BOTH iterations -- Bon Scott's AC and Brian Johnson's DC. 
I've given thought as to which singer i prefer, and to be honest i can't pick a favorite among the two. Consider the following tunes from both singer's catelogues, which offer a pretty compelling point-counter-point rarely seen from two singers of the same outfit:
Bon Scott's premier offerings:
1. Shot Down in Flames
2. Highway to Hell
3. Whole Lotta Rosie
4. Problem Child
5. Live Wire
6. Let There Be Rock
7. It's A Long Way to the Top
Compared with Brian Johnson's best:
1. Back In Black
2. Hells Bells
3. You Shook Me All Night Long
4. Rock n' Roll Train
5. Thunderstruck
6. Rock and Roll Aint Noise Pollution
7. For Those About to Rock
I don't know about you, but i am hard pressed to say that one is better than the other. Bottom line is that AC/DC simply brings hard-assed, working class rock and roll, and it rarely gets better than what these boys have offered up over the past 35 years...regardless of who is on the lead mic.
Would love to hear if Rawkers have opinions about who was the better vocalist..... I honestly can't make a pick.
Regarding the rest of the band, lead guitarist Angus Young and his brother, rhythm guitarist Malcolm, pretty much set the standard for how two guitars work together. And bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd (my favorite incarnation) lay down a rock-solid, simple groove that helped define AC/DC's straight-forward take on heavy metal. As a team, they all pushed the ball farther up field than most bands that had twice the talent.
One of my favorite bands from high school. If you haven't heard 'em in a while, give the boys another listen. You'll likely find that they can kick your ass as much, or more, than you remember.
Go in peace....
G.O.T.
I remember my Catholic grade school banned this banned (and a few others) from the campus. No music, t-shirts, pins... couldn't even sing it. The nuns made up these wierd acronyms of what the band names stood for (Anti Christ / Defeats Christ) (Knights in the Service of Satan)... It was all a little surreal. But hey, ROCK AND ROLL AIN'T NOISE POLLUTION...
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for a regular poster to comment on why "Big Balls" did not make the list of worthy songs, but I digress....
ReplyDeleteGrew up on a steady diet of AC/DC, thanks to my uncle, who constantly spun the "For Those About to Rock" album when I was a wee, elementary-age lass. It was my first exposure to grown-up music beyond the ol' school country, rockabilly, and Elvis that my dad played at home, and I loved it. Still do. AC/DC kicks ass. Definitely do not hang out on the edge of the wuss cliff.
I didn't delve deep into the Bon Scott era until I was older, but I honestly don't have a preference between Bon or Brian. All I know is this - the transition, while tragic, from one vocalist to the other was probably the most seamless for any band, ever.
My favorite band of all time!!! Upon inspection though I would actually have to lean toward Bon Scoot based on the history of the band. At the time of his death they were coming off the band's most successful album yet meaning that as a whole they were peaking. Brian just happened to get plugged in at the right time. Furthermore, their best selling album of all time, 'Back in Black' was a tribute to Bon and it is even said that Bon once saw Brian preform and said he wanted Brian to replace him if ever he wasn't in the band.... All arrow point to Bon Scott being the driving force and inspiration for the band, and thus the better of the two. In the end I just don't feel like the band was ever quite as good as beyond Back in Black, although I have enjoyed so many of those albums so many times. To a point though, I feel like I may just be quibbling over varying shades of greatness!
ReplyDeleteRawk on GOT!