Following his funeral on March 1 of 1980, the band began the exhaustive search for a singer that could in any way replace the enigmatic frontman. Mutt Lange, who had produced their previous album and was again on board to provide the same role for the next album, suggested that they bring in the lead singer of a band called Geordie named Brian Johnson. Johnson’s name had come up in conversations before, with Bon Scott having praised his vocals when he saw the band play live. He came in and sang “Whole Lotta Rosie” and a few other songs, and by the end of the audition the band more or less felt they had found their man. On April 1, 1980, Brian Johnson was officially announced as the new vocalist for AC/DC.
Discussion on where and when and how the songs that ended up on the album has been the subject of debate for most of the past 45 years. Certainly, preparations and early demos for some songs took place before Bon’s passing, but the extent of his contributions to the album remains mostly unclear. Conspiracy theories have abounded for years, suggesting Bon had completed all of the lyrics prior to his passing, and that he had played drums on several of the demos as well. Band members have not been helpful in this regard, with some interviews over the years suggesting at times that some of the songs do contain pieces of lyrics composed by Bon, and others with the same people also suggesting that nothing that Bon may have composed actually made it to the completed product. For his part, writing in his autobiography in 2022, Brian Johnson was more forthright. He said: "The conspiracy theories are legion – usually started by people who think they know but weren't there... it was me at the end of the pen, writing every night and every morning, with only the title to work with. That's what happened. That's the truth and I really hope that settles it”.
In the long run, surely it matters little, especially so this long after the fact. More to the point, the question being asked at the time was, could AC/DC still fly the way they had with Bon Scott at the front of the stage with Brian Johnson at the helm instead? The answer of course, is a resounding “fuck yes they can!”
Has there ever been a better known or more appropriate beginning to an album than the bell ringing off at the very start of the first track, "Hells Bells"? What a brilliantly atmospheric song to start off a new album, and a new era of the band. The perfect tone, and lyrics that though Johnson says he wrote while watching a storm approaching at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas where they recorded the album, it could almost be a Bon Scott tribute, firstly with the line “You’re only young but you’re gonna die”, but also perhaps as the protagonist, the one sent to get ya. It is a brilliant track, one that sports teams around the world have taken on as the entry music for their players as they run onto the field, and never failing to get the same reaction from the crowd in attendance. One can only imagine what the fans thought back when this was released when they first heard this coming out of their speakers. I probably do, because I still feel the same thing every time I hear the opening of this song. Truly one of the greats. And then, it is followed by arguably one of the greatest second tracks on an album of all time, the brilliant “Shoot to Thrill”. The opening ring on the guitar, the drum fill that accompanies it in all the way to the first riff, and then into the verse, is perfectly composed and performed. Phil Rudd’s drumming throughout the song gives it the impetus, driving along with the rhythm guitar and bass which gives Johnson the platform to really give the vocals it all, which he does superbly. It begins at that cracking pace, before the sedate guitar and drum breakdown in the middle of the song, before exploding into the conclusion. Again, this remains one of the band’s best tracks, energetic in the way that is the perfect follow up to the opening burst.
The high energy doesn’t let up with the following track "What Do You Do for Money Honey". Based around that wonderfully typical AC/DC rhythm riff from Malcolm Young and Cliff Williams that settles straight into its groove and holds court throughout the song. It is the perfect follow up to the first two tracks, keeping the drive of the album rushing along. Brian’s vocals continue on their journey of discovery while Phil Rudd's drums crash here in earnest. The continuity of the mood of the album is reverberated with "Given the Dog a Bone", with the rhythm section continuing to pump out the jaunty backbeat that is the staple of the album. Sure, the lyrics might get over repeated by the time you reach the end, but sometimes you just have to ride with it. The opening side of the album is brought to its conclusion with the slower mid-tempo waves of "Let Me Put My Love into You". The riff to open the track is wonderfully subtle, the music initially the vehicle to allow Johnson’s vocals to take centre stage, building as we move into the middle of the song where Angus puts his stamp on it.
Side Two begins with a bang, and like side one with two superb tracks, as we crash straight into the title track "Back in Black", with its distinctive staccato style and Brian pulverising you with his vocals. It is a stomping song, literally, with the drum and rhythm riff encouraging you to stomp around while listening to it. Brian wrote the lyrics as a tribute to Bon, and everything about it makes you think of him, musically and lyrically. Terrific stuff. This is followed by "You Shook Me All Night Long", one of their biggest and most popular singles, one that everyone sings along to even today whenever it comes on. It was the song that brought them into the post-Bon era, the single hit that proved that they were still a band to reckon with. "Have a Drink on Me" settles back into the mid-tempo groove with that fabulous rhythm section driving the song. The opening lyric of “Oh, whiskey, gin and brandy, with a glass I'm pretty handy, I'm tryin' to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine” has often been one that I’ve been accused of following too closely on occasions. It is a fun and grooving song, that is then jacknifed by the hardest and fastest song on the album, "Shake a Leg". This comes screaming out of the speakers after an average paced start, really showcasing the old fashioned Aussie pub style fast rock that the band grew up on. Angus lets fly at the end of the song, you can almost see him jumping around the studio as he is playing that solo break. It is an underrated classic, one of the fastest songs AC/DC has ever written and performed, and it really does shake things up every time it comes on. After this session of speed, the album concludes more sedately with the anthemic "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", which was often sung around school halls when teachers complained bitterly of music being played too loud. The title came from something that Bon had said around the band, and so it is another great legacy moment of the album to have it incorporated here.
Is this the perfect hard rock album? Arguably, it is. The lyrics of all of the songs deal with those things that young males of all generations relate to, but doesn’t dive into the double entendre kind of lyrics that they would on later albums. The music, as always with AC/DC, is spectacular in its amazing rhythm section which doesn't miss a beat, and is solid and hard in its base, making it easy to keep time in whatever way suits you best - tapping your foot, playing air drums on the table, or just banging your head along with the beat. Phil Rudd’s drumming here on this album is supreme, Cliff Williams’ bass sounds amazing, and of course Malcolm Young’s rhythm guitar riffs hold the course, set the path, and groove the tracks. That rhythm section is at its peak on this album, and pretty much steals the show. Yes, Angus Young's solo's are perfectly positioned in each song, enhancing each song – but without dominating them on this album. I think that is a significant statement in itself. It shows a real maturing of the writing process, that it wasn’t all about the lead singer and the lead guitarist on this album, that the songs themselves hold true. The final piece of the puzzle comes to be Brian's vocals, which given how he came into the band could have been heavily scrutinised. However, he fits in perfectly, and his obvious love of blues rooted rock n roll is the same place the rest of the band came from too. The strongest songs that are most referenced here - "Hells Bells", "Shoot to Thrill", "Back in Black", "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" - make the biggest mark, but it is the songs around them that help make it a top shelf album. They are still strong songs that help enhance what they fit around, maintaining the excellence without necessarily being as heavily recognised as those songs mentioned here. All of this is what makes this arguably the finest moment of the AC/DC story.
I was too young in 1980 to know or hear anything about AC/DC, their successes with original vocalist Bon Scott, or his sudden demise very early in that year. I don't recall anything about the band then recruiting a new vocalist named Brian Johnson, on the insistence of Bon’s family that they not disband and continue on, as he would have wanted. I only vaguely recall hearing a song about being shook all night long on the radio around that time. It wasn't until a couple of years later, as I reached my teenage years and my own search for music of my own to enjoy began that I came across the legacy of AC/DC, the story of that fateful year, and the album “Back in Black”.
When I pulled this album out again for this episode, it was with some trepidation. When I first got the album all those years ago, almost 40 of them in fact, I loved every single aspect of it. It was always my go to when someone asked me what my favourite AC/DC album was. At that time I was not as familiar with the Bon Scott albums as I became soon enough. Over time, as new albums came out through the late 1980’s and into the 1990’s, and I went back to chase down those albums from the 1970’s, and my developing love for not only those Bon Scott albums, but also 1990’s “The Razor’s Edge”, had me doubting my thoughts on “Back in Black”, though every time I played it those fears were put to rest. But it had been a while sine I had listened to this album. Since covid, when I bought all of the Bon era albums on vinyl again, they have been what I have listened to repeatedly when I go for an AC/DC fix. Five years, more or less, of “Powerage” and “Let There Be Rock” and “Highway to Hell”. And, don’t get me wrong, that has been awesome, but I did wonder just what I would feel about this album as a result. But – no fears needed. My nephew bought me a remastered vinyl of this album for Xmas, and I now unwrapped the plastic for the first time and placed it on my turntable – and it was awesome. Once again that opening bell, the opening riff, and off we went. And each song followed the other, all of them just as wonderful as they have always been. Zero disappointment. Only glory. And some 18 to 20 listens later over a number of days, it is still as good as that first time a few days ago.
This is a beauty. And perhaps that is pretty bloody obvious, because having sold over 50 million copies worldwide since its release, it is the second biggest selling album of all time. And while from this moment on the discography becomes... a little mixed... this still stands as a testament to the time, and a tribute to a band’s determination to continue on after adversity.
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