AC / DC

Nice one Gdiddy!

Just about done with the Bon Scott era. I love this band, and I love them even more when I read comments such as: 

"preposterously smutty, hopelessly unsophisticated, and pretty much every one of their songs sounds the same. As well as big riffs, they are defined by casual sexism and oafish double entendres. When not extolling the delights of fighting, gambling, drinking and fast cars, their songs are about getting laid or hoping to get laid. Their songs are populated by strippers, prostitutes and young men with apparently unvanquishable erections. They really are appalling." 

Bon Scott = Greatest Scotsman to have ever lived, rip Bob Gillespie, you were number 1 for so long.

This is an insane album run: 

1) High Voltage - 1976
2) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - 1976
3) Let There Be Rock - 1977
4) Powerage - 1978
5) Highway to hell - 1979

A lot of people seem to like and hate AC/DC for never changing and for always sounding the same, I don't think this is necessarily true, their music is so simple but so dense and dry that it's actually a challenging and rewarding listen, lyrically there is also a major shift:

The lyrics go from: 

First 3 albums: 
"Gonna be a rock n roll singer"
"Killed me when I saw the wet patch on your seat wasn't coca cola"
"You ask me why I'm in a band, I dig doing one night stands"
"She said she'd never been balled before, and I don't think she'll ever ball no more, fixed her good"
"Aint no one I know do it as good as you, lickin on that lickin stick the way you do"
"Dog eat dog, eat cat too, french eat frog, I eat you"
"When they start to itch, you go out and you take the bitch, for an appointment"
"it ain't no fun waiting round to be a millionaire"

to: 
Last 2 albums: 
"I'm bleary eyed, and you're waiting for the sunshine to come and kill me"
"Can't even feed my cat on social security"
"Ain't no cure for the pain in my heart, give me a bullet to bite on, and I'll make believe its you "
"All the crying eyes, I stirred my coffee with the same spoon, knew her favourite tune, gone shootin, my babys gone shootin"
"Up to my neck in whiskey, up to my neck in wine, up to my neck in wishing, that this neck wasnt mine"
"Hey satan, payin my dues, playin in a rocking band, hey mama, look at me, I'm on my way to the promised land, I'm on the highway to hell"

The bleary eyed lyric is eerily accurate, Bon Scott passed out at night inside a car, alone, and by the time the sun came up he was found dead.

Even after highway to hell, this was still a struggling and hard working band waiting for superstardom.

The first 5 albums all take turns in occupying the number 1 spot, and Powerage might just be their greatest album. (it's Keith Richards favourite AC/DC album) 





Now for part 2- how does a band lose such a talented front man, to then go on and record the second biggest selling album of all time? This seems beyond unprecedented.