The AC/DC guitar riffs that left Angus Young speechless: “How clever was he to do that?”
“Let There Be Rock, for me, is the album,” said Angus Young when asked what his favourite AC/DC album was. “My brother, George, [asked] me and Malcolm… ‘What sort of album do you wanna do this time?’ And Malcolm just looked at me, and he said, ‘We just want an album that’s just gonna be pure hard rock guitar’.”
If ever there was a quote that sums up AC/DC, it’s that. In the face of an ever-changing musical landscape, and as genres drift in and out of fashion, AC/DC have stayed true to the genre of music that they love. They aren’t just a guitar band; they are THE guitar band, with music that is made up of some of the greatest riffs and solos ever written.
Angus Young is renowned as being one of the best guitarists in the world. It’s easy to see why this is, as his career revolves around playing excellent AC/DC songs, shredding solos and running around the stage like a man possessed. However, another huge contributing factor towards their sound was rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who was responsible for a number of the band’s iconic riffs.
AC/DC riffs make their songs recognisable almost instantly. Within the first few seconds of a track, the iconic sound that they champion is on full display. With so much guitar music in the world, it takes a real genius to write music that’s recognisable and energetic consistently, yet Malcolm Young made it look easy.
Angus Young, as someone who got to play so many of these riffs, was once asked about what his favourites were. The first track he mentioned was ‘Riff Raff’, a song that AC/DC have played on nearly every tour since it was written. “Well, I would say just listen to our album Powerage,” said Angus, “There’s a song on there called ‘Riff Raff’. That’s a cooking guitar riff. So that’s a good example of a guitar riff.”
Another song that Angus referenced was one from the defining AC/DC album Let There Be Rock. “I would say ‘Bad Boy Boogie’,” he said, “[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.”
Finally, Angus paid homage to one of the most famous AC/DC tracks out there, ‘Back In Black’. The track immortalised their singer Bon Scott, who sadly passed away, as they made a record that mourned his passing but didn’t dwell so much as to change the sound of AC/DC. The record was still littered with fantastic guitar riffs, but there were clear references to Scott.
“Some of the guitar pieces and the way he did them,” said Angus, talking about the track, “That’s what I used to say, ‘I don’t know how you conjure them up. I really don’t’.”
