Let There Be Rock (1977)
1. Go Down
2. Dog Eat Dog
3. Let There Be Rock
4. Bad Boy Boogie
5. Problem Child
6. Overdose
7. Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be
8. Whole Lotta Rosie
This album has the band firing on all cylinders and locking down their classic formula of straight ahead, no holes barred rock and roll. Although this was only their third album, you can definitely hear the band evolving ever so slightly. The music here is just what it should be from AC/DC, and you fine yourself cranking up your stereo and mimicking Angus Young playing air guitar throughout the living room. They would make better records than this, but like all of their “really good” albums, you would be perfectly satisfied if this was the only album that you could take to a desert island.
The first three tracks are arguably the best one, two, three punch on any AC/DC album, and any hardcore fan will go nuts when the band decides to add one of these tracks to a setlist. These would be Go Down, Dog Eat Dog and the title track. The latter becoming one of the best known tracks by this band of all time - although very few had heard of it at the time.
I feel that this record suffers ever so slightly during the middle. I always thought Bad Boy Boogie was a tad overrated, and because of the band still releasing different versions of albums in the U.S. as opposed to their home land of Australia, they repeat the track Problem Child that is also on the U.S. version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Why this song? As I mention in my review of that album, this song isn’t really that bad, but it suffers from (literally) being twice as long as it should be. The guys shave about 30 seconds of the version here, but it’s not nearly enough.
Ask any “mainstream” AC/DC fan what their favorite song is, and you’re likely to hear one of their few radio hits. Ask any real AC/DC fan the same question, and many will tell you Whole Lotta Rosie, which is undeniably the best thing here that closes the album. They sound a bit like their ripping off Led Zepplin (a good thing), and I’m willing to bet this song has been featured at every AC/DC show ever since. It’s a killer way to end a killer album.
AC/DC fans are a mixed lot, and many would argue this is their best album ever. I wouldn’t go that far, but I would agree with the consensus that it’s definitely one of their best, and it was really a shame that most still had never heard of the guys yet.
Go to the Next Review
Back To Main Page