AC/DC - Back In Black

Through out my album purchasing career, I have come to realise that an album's popularity is seldom an indicator of whether I will like it or not. AC/DC's Back in Black is one that firmly breaks this particular trend. As the 5th highest selling album in the US and the 2nd highest world wide, this is clearly a popular album. This album is good enough to get 5/5 and a spot on my own personal top 10. My music taste does have a heavy rock slant and this for me is the pinnacle of rock 'n roll.

The very first album that I every bought was a vinyl copy of Highway to Hell, and the first CD I ever bought was the Razor's Edge, so AC/DC has featured prominently in my collection from early on. This is definitely their finest work though. While it may lack the rawness of their early Bon Scott albums, this is pure AC/DC magic all the way through. The production is awesome and one of Mutt Lange's greatest achievements. That and bagging Shania Twain.

The first time I heard this album was in the early 90's. I was driving with some friends of mine in really big thunder storm. The rain was coming down so hard that we had to pull over onto the side of the road and wait for the storm to pass. Sitting on the side of road, late at night, in the heavy rain, I put on Back in Black. The opening bell chimes and the beginning riff from Hell's Bells fitted in so well with the setting, that I knew I was destined to write short blog entry about it in about 15 years time.

AC/DC is all about big guitars, big drums, kinda silly lyrics and sexual innuendo and Back in Black delivers all three in perfect metered doses. The guitar work is brilliant, the prototype sounds that were later used on the riff-o-matic 3000. The drums are big! Rock big though, not quite Chemical Brothers big. And as for the lyrics: "Let me put my love into you babe, let me cut your cake with my knife"? Um....? Does he carry a knife around with him, just in case some groupie babe is desperate for a cake cutting?

Back in Black is rock 'n roll's finest moment in history!

As an aside I once met someone who had done work with Mutt Lange in his earlier days in South Africa. It was for a recording of an afrikaans version of the soundtrack for Heidi. Oddly its not listed on his discography.