AC/DC - Let There Be Rock

As I sit around on one of the slowest days I've had in about six months, I noticed that I never talked about the AC/DC CD reissues that I got years ago. Surprising, as I picked these up here in Las Vegas, but maybe it was before I started this blog. Ah, well...

Let There Be Rock was the band's 3rd internationally released LP (4th in Australia) after Atlantic Records in the US rejected Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. The group returned to the studio with producers George Young (another brother) and Harry Vanda (both from the legendary Easybeats) and bashed this out in two weeks in the (successful) attempt to make a loud, heavy, basically live-in-the-studio, guitar album. In a literally explosive performance, Angus blew up his amp during an overdub on the title track and kept playing!

Every 70's hard rock band had to have at least one song about groupies and AC/DC had several, including their ode to Ruby Lips, "Go Down". With single-entendre lyrics from Bon, the band churns out their simple'n'clever, head-bangin', dynamic, boogie rock for a great, sing-along opener. More blues-based heavy rock in "Dog Eat Dog" before Bon updates the Bible in the frantically quiet'n'loud title track, where Angus does smoke out some fiery leads! More head-bangin' in the appropriately titled "Bad Boy Boogie" and "Problem Child" before they move into the slightly slower, but no less rockin', tale of love gone wrong in "Overdoes", using drugs as an analogy for a bad relationship. Helping to cement their "evil" image is "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" before closing with one of their best and most infamous numbers, another groupie tune, this one about a rather hefty lady, "Whole Lotta Rosie". Super simple but infectious as hell, as is much of their material, this one reigns high in their repertoire and is still a show-stopper to this day.

I think most people know what this band sounds like - they really haven't changed much since they started 40 or so years ago - and if ya dig that sound, this is up there as one of the stars of their career!

(Oh, and the CD reissue, while not having any bonus tracks, does have a great booklet with tons of info'n'photos.)