“I was baffled”: The era Angus Young considered a dead period for music
AC/DC are one of music’s wonderful anomalies. Throughout history, regardless of what style and sound has been the most popular, various trends have come in waves, and with that, old bands are washed away, and new ones come flooding in. There is nothing that can be done about the changing tides of whatever is considered cool; it’s an inevitable fact of life, like gravity and death.
When you listen to a band or artist who has been unwaveringly popular for decades, there is no getting away from the fact that their sound will have evolved slightly with whatever is popular; however, this doesn’t apply to AC/DC. The group have always been the world’s resident rockers, as regardless of what is happening on a grand scale or simply within music, we have relied on them for hard riffs, screaming lyrics, and killer guitar solos.
The band has gone through some low periods where album sales didn’t do as well, sure. For instance, before releasing their single ‘Who Made Who,’ the albums prior hadn’t managed to gain the same traction as some of their other releases. Malcolm Young even admitted after releasing that song that it felt like a return to form for the band.
“We were asked to provide the soundtrack music for the film Maximum Overdrive. There was some old stuff in there, like ‘Hells Bells’ as well as ‘Who Made Who’,” Malcolm concluded. “We had the old [original producers] Vanda & Young back producing the title track, and I think that was what we needed. ‘Who Made Who’ was a return to form for the band, and it has become one of our most popular live tracks. We even used it as the opening song on our tour that year.”
While some songs have been necessary to reinvigorate AC/DC, their general commitment towards the hard rock sound that they are so committed to is the result of Malcolm Young’s clear vision when starting the band. When he initially approached Angus Young about it, he already had a clear idea about what sort of music they should be making. Just from looking at the scene around him, Malcolm could tell precisely what the music industry was missing, and he would provide it.
“I suppose it was more of Mal’s thing. When I first got together with him, I said, ‘Well, what are we going to play?’ And he said, ‘That’s obvious – what’s missing out there?’ And I, of course, replied, ‘I don’t know. What?’ I was as baffled as anyone!” Angus Young recalled the moment brother Malcolm approached him about joining the band, “And he said, ‘A good hard rock and roll band.’ Because it just seemed to be a dead time, judging from what you’d hear on the local radio here in Australia and also what was coming from your shores and out of Europe.”
The band delivered on its promise to be a good hard rock ‘n’ roll band, completely taking the world by storm with its infectious sound. It still resonates with music lovers around the world today and remains, as it always has been, timeless.
