Album Of The Day: AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock" (And Some AWESOME Clips Of Some Dude In His Garage Pretending To Be Angus Young)!!

Click  the pic to bid on this RARE Spanish pressing
of "For Those About To Rock" with the colors reversed.

There are certain folks whose relationship with AC/DC begins and ends with Back In Black, the band's 1980 mega-hit album that saw them valiantly return to form less than a year after the death of singer Bon Scott. With new screamer Brian Johnson and a handful of bone-crushing rock anthems like "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Hells Bells" and the title cut, the band not only paid loving tribute to their fallen brother and, in doing so, became more popular than they'd ever been.

They didn't just come close to matching the success of their previous album, Highway To Hell, they completely obliterated it, forever connecting with a new generation of rock fans who, as much as they may claim to love the band, never quite got around to fully embracing the Bon years with any real conviction...much like any real Van Halen fan rolls their eyes at the mere mention of Sammy Hagar.

In the case of Van Halen, it's perfectly acceptable to ignore the band's output with Hagar in the band. Lord knows the band will as they criss-cross the country this summer, playing only the DLR-era stuff as God intended.  Sammy and Michael Anthony are more than welcome to dust off "Poundcake" and "Dreams" at one of Sammy's Cabo Wabo locations.

Are AC/DC influential, you ask?  We'll let this guy answer for us!

In the case of AC/DC, those who discovered the band with Back In Black and really only know the Brian Johnson-era line-up, to shrug off the band's Bon Scott years is to completely miss out on a band that was as punk as they were metal...in truth, neither tag accurately fits them.

With Johnson, though, AC/DC became a heavy-handed, paint-by-the-numbers cartoon metal band, which they never were with Bon Scott, even when they were in full drag (maybe not the best career move, just ask Queen).

Take a listen to ANY Bon-era album - like High Voltage or If You Want Blood...You Got It.  The first thing you'll notice is how upbeat the tempos are on Bon-era gems like "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Problem Child"...sure sounds like somebody in tha band was jacking methamphetamine into their veins.

Now listen to Back In Black.  The first thing you'll notice is how plodding the tempos are for much of the album.  It's like the whole band is trying to fight their way out of a tank of molasses.  Their agony is palpable, you can actually see Brian Johnson's veins popping out on the side of his neck as he calls out for help!

Even so, the production on the album is absolutely pristine, with each word and beat of a drum carefully planned in advance and placed every so wonderfully in the mix, with nary a single note out of place.  Considering these were the days before Pro Tools, Robert John Mutt Lange's attention to detail is stunning, and can later be heard on Shania Twain albums.

Make no mistake, we bought Back In Black the day it came out.  Hell, we also bought For Those About To Rock, Flick Of The Switch, and Fly On The Wall (Phil Rudd's last album with the band until '95's Ballbreaker), too, when most of their following had moved on to Def Leppard, who, ironically enough, Lange was also producing.

For as great as Back In Black may be, the secret weapon of the band's sizable discography is the album that followed in 1981, For Those About To Rock.