Review Summary: A whole lotta AC/DC.
AC/DC's third album isn’t quite as popular as later works
Highway to Hell or
Back in Black, and yet, it is one of the best AC/DC albums, containing some of their classiest classics and most overpowering music. While their first few albums were great as well, it is here that the band really discovered how powerful their assault could be. Particularly Angus Young, who has not on any AC/DC record sounded as loud and frenzied as this. The hard rockin’ music goes paired with a title that described the spirit of the band in perfection:
Let There Be Rock.
Bon Scott once again recounts the tales of his sexual encounters in both
Go Down and
Whole Lotta Rosie, the former in which he infamously imitates an orgasm during the bridge. Even more infamous as a song is however
Rosie, the tale about a lady of sizable amount (19 stone if we assume the lyrics be accurate) and Scott’s exploits with her. What is Angus Young’s very finest display of furious, overpowering use of the guitar is heard here, including what is easily his all-time best solo. This all goes in perfect tandem with Scott’s magnificent vocal delivery, making
Whole Lotta Rosie one of AC/DC’s all-time greats, rivalled only by
Highway to Hell and
Hells Bells.
Speaking of all-time greats, the centrepiece title track is another one of them. As Angus and Malcolm combine the power of their axes to create sheer thunder and lightning, Bon is humorously preaching about the birth of rock (the accompanying music video was even recorded in a church and showed Scott as a priest and the band as altar boys). The story goes that Angus’ guitar amplifier caught fire midway through the recording, and that he kept playing under frantic instructions by producer George Young, leaving the equipment as ‘a smouldering puddle of wiring and valves’ by the end of the recording. The sheer intensity of the track is only matched by
Rosie and lived up to by the following
Bad Boy Boogie, a fan favourite that is yet another great display of the band’s blues influence.
Let There Be Rock is really about as consistent as an AC/DC record gets. Both
Dog Eat Dog and
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be are superb, once again thanks to the great guitar sound here. The weakest part is obviously the two tracks
Problem Child and
Overdose. The latter is too long, and the former had already previously appeared on
Dirty Deeds Done Cheap (a mistake because there used to be a division between Australian and international albums; the original Australian edition had a different track called
Crabsody in Blue). Luckily, this is entirely made up for by the duo of
Hell Ain’t A Bad Place and
Rosie. Most AC/DC albums are known for a great opening rather than an ending section, but
Let There Be Rock’s finale is some seriosuly dangerous dynamite.
Simply put, this is AC/DC’s second best album, beaten only by
Highway to Hell, and often deserves more credit than it receives. Angus Young’s guitar, in particular, has never sounded louder and better than this, and since he is the focus of the whole band, it is only logical that this record ended up being one of the group’s greatest achievements. If it weren’t for two slightly weaker tracks, one of which is slightly redundant,
Let There Be Rock could have been AC/DC’s greatest record. That title however goes to
Highway to Hell. This album will just have to do with almost-classic.
High Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll Songs:
Go Down
Let There Be Rock
Bad Boy Boogie
Hell Ain’t A Bad Place to Be
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock’s AC/DC was:
- Ronald Belford ‘Bon’ Scott ~ Lead Vocals (R.I.P.)
- Angus McKinnon Young ~ Lead Guitar
- Malcolm Mitchell Young ~ Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Mark Whitmore Evans ~ Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Philip Hugh Rudd ~ Drums, Percussion
