Five AC/DC riffs that should be deleted from history
Look, you’re currently reading the words of one of the biggest AC/DC fans in the world, so this list was incredibly difficult to write.
It was my dad who introduced me to the Australian rockers, and I haven’t looked back since. Their music is such a weird combination of a source of comfort as well as a desire to join the nearest mosh pit. At the heart of the band’s quality, without a shadow of a doubt, are the exceptional riffs of both Angus and Malcom Young.
“A little bit of a twist,” that’s what Angus Young called it. When he was talking about his brother’s work on ‘Bad Boy Boogie’, Angus admitted he loved it because of that twist that Malcolm added: “[It] has got a flavour because it’s got a little bit of a twist in it. It sounds easy, but Malcolm had a little twist that I don’t think many could do […] How clever was he to do that? I still play it just for the fact that he just changed that little note around.”
That’s what makes all of their songs great. AC/DC aren’t a band which uses a huge selection of chords, but with every song, no matter how limited the library might be, they add inflexions, rhythm and melody that ensures each track is separate from the last. It’s unbelievable, really. However, let’s be real, the band have released 17 albums, and amongst them, it’s inevitable you’re going to come across a bad riff here and there.
You can twist things the wrong way, you know? These are five instances when the band slightly missed the mark with their riff writing, and it led to the creation of guitar lines that we’re better off without.
Five AC/DC riffs that shouldn’t exist:
‘Love Song’
It might just be the worst AC/DC song ever, and the band would agree with you on that. Both of the opening instrumentals, whether it’s the power chords mixed with piano or the fluffy licks that flutter in the background, are the absolute antithesis of everything we know and love about AC/DC. This was the band’s attempt to write a love ballad, which was all the rage at the time, and unsurprisingly, it’s a track that we could do to get rid of.
“I remember that song because the guy who worked for us at our record label told us that’s what was on the local radio at the time, very soft music,” said Angus Young, “His thought was we should release that song, because it’ll probably get some airplay. I remember thinking, ‘Who in their right mind would want this to go out?’”
‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’
It took a while for AC/DC to well and truly work out what kind of sound they wanted to pursue. They loved guitar music (evidently), but when they were first coming up, music was gradually moving on, as you had styles like punk and new wave steadily starting to gain popularity. AC/DC knew they wanted to play guitar music, but they faced pushback, both from the industry and from the labels they were working with.
The result is that some of their earlier songs (granted, there are a few tracks that slip through the cracks and are recognised as classics) have particular riffs that just fall a little bit flat. There’s just very little imagination with the way that the opening riff progresses, and it fails to grab you in the same way that so many of their classics do.
‘Hard Times’
AC/DC haven’t changed their style much since they’ve been going, and why should they? Frank Zappa was always a huge fan of their simplistic style of playing, purely because they were so good at it, so much so that he once tried to sign them.
“The thing about AC/DC is they’ve carved a massive career out of playing one style that’s changed very, very little. That’s what people love, that consistency,” said Zappa’s son Dweezil, “They’re rock solid, and they have a great sound. He [Frank] loved rhythm and blues. AC/DC is essentially a heavy-duty, electrified rhythm and blues band… He just thought they were great because they were really just a high-volume version of the blues.”
That style has remained consistent even up to the modern age. Their album Rock or Bust, released in 2014, has some great, classic-sounding AC/DC songs on it. However, ironically, the one that just doesn’t hit the same spot is the track that acts as a reflection on the days of being on the road as a struggling band, when they initially fell in love with this sound. ‘Hard Times’ certainly isn’t a bad song, but it’s one that just isn’t as exciting as other AC/DC classics.
‘Crabsody In Blue’
Okay, forget what I said earlier, this is AC/DC’s worst song ever. It was supposed to be a joke of a track, granted, as the band are singing about what could happen if you have sex without a condom, but the joke is lost on many, as what you’re presented with is just an incredibly lacklustre piece of music.
The riff (if you can call it that) which accompanies the track is just as bad as the song’s theme. It’s really hard to hear something like this and feel anything other than bored. It’s always nice for a band to try and have somewhat of a sense of humour, but that just doesn’t land on ‘Crabsody In Blue’, which remains arguably one of AC/DC’s worst songs.
‘No Man’s Land’
Once again, you have to give AC/DC credit for sticking with their classic sound that people have been obsessed with for decades, but we hear more and more instances in some of their most recent albums where it just doesn’t hit the same.
One of these is on the band’s most recent album, Power Up, as, despite AC/DC putting out some fairly decent music on this LP, their song ‘No Man’s Land’ misses whatever target it was trying to hit. It’s hard to describe with a band like AC/DC, but those who know, know, as it’s just lacking the necessary punch which usually lifts the band’s music so high.
