Let there be rock!

http://flic.kr/p/63Y14q
By Yannick Croissant

I don't listen much to Australian rock bands. I don't know the reason why. I guess I never gave it a try. But no matter how ignorant one is in the subject of Australian rock bands, they will undoubtably know about AC/DC. Its impossible not to have at least heard the name. I mean, they are only one of the greatest rock bands in history. Yes, of course Led Zeppelin is top of my list. None the less AC/DC isn't that far off.

AC/DC was founded by two brothers - Angus Young(Lead guitar) and Malcolm Young(Rhythms) in the year 1973. Their initial lead singer Dave Evens left in the early stages. The band line up underwent a lot of changes. But mainly it included the Young brothers and Bon Scott as the new lead singer. But soon they had they're first album out, "High voltage". Not many are familiar with all the songs of this album. Many, includes even me. That is probably because AC/DC were still in the making. Also, most of the songs stayed with Australia. But on the other hand, they released a single High voltage which was later the first song that was recorded for the album "T.N.T". I absolutely love that song. You can just imagine the crowd singing along when Bon Scott sang "High, I said high, High voltage, Rock and Roll".

After the release of their first album, the band included the Young brothers, Bon Scott, Mark Evans(Bassist) and Phil Rudd(Drummer). This followed by the release of a single "Its a long way to the top" which was considered as their anthem. And who wouldn't consider it a ecstatic song. It even included Bag pipes! The song was about how hard it is to survive in the world of rock n roll. They included this song in their second album "T.N.T". T.N.T like High voltage before was limited to Australia.

After gaining some international success after releasing some of their tracks from the first 2 albums, they released their next album "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap". This album had two versions, Australian and International. The two versions varied in terms of track listings. I am not a huge fan of this album. I always felt it lacked something. But I still enjoy singing along to "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap".

Let there be sound, and there was sound
Let there be light, and there was light
Let there be drums, and there was drums
Let there be guitar, there was guitar
Let there be rock!
A brilliant song. It plays off the bible i.e. "Let there be light". Especially the the final verses which is followed by the guitar solo by young is truly exhilarating. The album "Let there be rock" also had memorable songs like "Whole lotta rosie" and "Dog eat Dog".

After the release of "Let there be rock", Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams. He debuted with he release of "Powerage" which had a great song "Rock and roll damnation". AC/DC shot to fame with their next album - "Highway to hell". An album filled with unforgettable songs like "Shot down in flames",  "Touch too much", "If you want blood", "Night prowler" and not to forget "Highway to hell". This was the last album recorded with Bon Scott who passed away. The band had plans of disbanding after Scott's, but decided otherwise when Scott's parents urged them to continue. The replacement was Brian Johnson. Scott's death did mark the end of an era. But the songs he wrote will live on. AC/DC didn't stop there. They went to create ingenious music with Johnson as lead. But that is for another time. Till then:

I tell you folks
Its harder than it looks
Its a long way to the top
If you wanna rock n roll!