The best and worst of AC/DC, according to Angus Young
Through the years, AC/DC has become one of the most iconic groups of the hard rock genre. Although the band formed in Australia under the leadership of initial lead singer Bon Scott, it has strong affiliations with the British scene that influenced it. Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young hail from Glasgow, Scotland, and following Scott’s tragic death in 1980, English vocalist Brian Johnson took the reins.
During the late 1970s and early ‘80s, AC/DC brought the hard rock sound as pioneered by bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, to Australia, eventually dominating the world with hits like ‘Back in Black’ and ‘Highway to Hell’. To this day, Johnson and Angus Young continue to lead AC/DC into its fifth decade, entertaining fans with a blistering roster of long-beloved tracks.
The pair performs with the long-serving rhythm section, comprising Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams. Since 2014, Malcolm Young’s nephew Stevie Young has also performed with the band as his uncle’s replacement on rhythm guitar. During their packed-out arena tours, each member seems to have a personal favourite song to perform live.
As far as Johnson is concerned, you can’t beat the material from the early ‘80s. Following Scott’s death in 1980, following the success of Highway to Hell, the band entered a precarious position, but Johnson’s work on Back in Black steadied the mast considerably. “The one I remember more than anything was one of the first songs we did,” Johnson told BraveWords, picking ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as a personal favourite. “I remember I’m sitting in the little cubicle. Malcolm came down and said, ‘Right, Brian, this is a rough backing track of this song. We want to call it ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’.”
Johnson remembered being nervous to record his first song with AC/DC. Keen to impress, he gave the song his all, resulting in one of the decade’s most iconic rock hits. “I remember Malcolm coming up, and he looked at me and looked at Angus and Mutt, he said, ‘I don’t know what to say. That could be one of the best rock ‘n’ roll records ever heard in a while!’ So I felt really good about that,” Johnson added.
When choosing his favourite AC/DC song, Angus approaches the question from a lead guitarist’s perspective. Speaking to Vulture in 2020, Angus picked out two personal favourites from the AC/DC canon, starting with ‘Riff Raff’. “The guitar work was a challenge but interesting in the way the song rolled out,” he noted.
Continuing, he explained that the Powerage cut was only his “guitar answer”. When it comes to the complete package of lyrics, delivery, instrumentation and production, he has just one answer. “If it’s for a whole song, ‘Thunderstruck’ is a big one,” he said.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Angus picked out his least favourite AC/DC track. He reached back to the band’s foundational years to critique ‘Love Song (Oh Jene)’, the lead single on the band’s debut album, High Voltage. “When you smile I see stars in the sky / When you smile I see sunrise…” he said, disgustedly remembering some of the song’s lyrics.
Angus identified the main issue as a radio-friendly sound that starkly contrasted with AC/DC’s creative preference. “I remember that song because the guy who worked for us at our record label told us that’s what was on the local radio at the time — very soft music,” he recalled. “His thought we should release that song because it’ll probably get some airplay. I remember thinking, Who in their right mind would want this to go out?”
Indeed, ‘Love Song (Oh Jene)’ was a tepid single. However, radio stations fortunately panned the single, instead opting to play the superior B-side, a cover of the traditional blues song ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’.