If You Want Blood, You Got It (1978)
1. Riff Raff
2. Hell Ain't A Bad Place to Be
3. Bad Boy Boogie
4. The Jack
5. Problem Child
6. Whole Lotta Rosie
7. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation
8. High Voltage
9. Let There Be Rock
10.Rocker
If you were somewhat familiar with this band and you walked into the room and someone had this album playing, odds are you wouldn’t be able to distinguish any of these live songs from their studio counterparts. In a sense, that’s a very good thing. AC/DC’s music was meant to be played live – with very little studio trickery muddling up any of the songs. In many ways, you could simply say this record is a “greatest hits” record from the band’s first four albums. Even though they really hadn’t had any hits at this point, this record is a strong representation of most of the band’s best early material.
Although the sound quality can be a bit primitive at times, the overall record is done very well. No covers of other people’s material, no 27 minute versions of 3 minute songs, a lot of energy, and a screaming appreciative Glasgow audience. There are a couple of tracks that are somewhat extended so Angus Young can show off his chops a bit, and the sleazy The Jack has a good mix of audience interaction, but for the most part, there’s very little difference from what everyone had already heard on the original albums.
The cover is a bit strange – Angus Young being “stabbed” by a guitar. When people saw this album in the record stores, they could easily mistake these guys as a “punk” band. Remember, in 1978 the masses still had never heard of AC/DC.
Another good thing about this album is that it officially “closed” phase one of the band’s career with a very good snapshot of the early days. They were about to become superstars.
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