I find it hard to separate the AC/DC of the 1970s and early 1980s (really just Back In Black) from the version of AC/DC that continues to tour around the world, dropping a new album every five years with a cheesy title like Rock Power that sounds like all of their last ten albums.

Compared to their more recent output, Let There Be Rock benefits from two things. One is the raw, frenetic, unbridled energy of Angus Young’s guitar work, which sounds jangly and heavy in equal measure, laidback but tight. The other is the vocal work of Bon Scott, I would argue one of the best rock singers ever. Not a controversial opinion, I know, but still. The man has an incredible set of lungs.

I can attest to the man’s talent: in one covers band I sang in, we did a half dozen AC/DC songs from the Scott era – including “Let There Be Rock”, the title track here – and the vocal work was so difficult that I often felt nauseous after doing a song or two from the band.

Closer “Whole Lotta Rosie” is probably the best and most enduring song on the album; it sounds the most like the AC/DC work on later albums Highway To Hell and Back In Black, and Scott sounds amazing. And its always good when an album ends on a high.


CLTM (Chris Listens To Music) is my attempt to listen to a new album every day; you can follow my efforts on Instagram here (and send recommendations), and if you like what I’m doing, support my efforts by shouting me a cuppa at Buy Me A Coffee.