Throwback Thursday: "Let There Be Rock", by AC/DC

By 1977, AC/DC had had some moderate success outside their homeland of Australia, but they had yet to make any real international impact. They were still building up their fan base and were fighting the panning reviews from the critics. This is when they decided to up their game by lengthening their songs, adding a more punchy guitar sound, and making the solos longer and more wild. The end result was their fourth album (third international) Let There Be Rock.

Let There Be Rock is what many AC/DC fans consider to be the "first true AC/DC album" and where the band finally managed to find itself because it was the first to feature their well known trademark balls to the wall guitar driven sound, thundering rhythm section, blistering solos, and songs that don't end after two and a half minutes. It features some of their most beloved songs such as "Let There Be Rock" and "Whole Lotta Rosie".

The title track "Let There Be Rock" is a hallmarked AC/DC anthem for sure. It has a driving tempo, crunchy guitar riffs, and some of the most attitude singer Bon Scott ever mustered. This is a speakers cranked to 11 tune if I've ever heard one. Interesting fact about this song: when lead guitarist Angus Young was recording the ending solo, his amplifier caught fire but he just kept playing and playing until he got to the end. By the time it was over, the amp was a melted glob of mess.

"Whole Lotta Rosie" is definitely a must at any AC/DC concert. It gets the crowd hyped and you get to see a giant inflatable woman. What isn't to love about that? That aside, it is another hard driving, uptempo, guitar crunching rock n' roll tune, though with lyrics about having a fat fetish (nothing wrong with that, of course). No fancy frills. Just AC/DC rocking it out and blowing out the speakers on your stereo like they should.

Let There Be Rock is an absolute classic. It has some of the band's best material in their entire catalog, though I still wouldn't start someone off with this album as their introduction to AC/DC. Some of the songs do go on just a little too long and start to drown into one another with you barely being able to tell that you have moved on into a different song. That said, the stuff that does stand out is absolutely fantastic and makes the record a worthy buy.

Let There Be Rock, by AC/DC receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Go Down
2. Dog Eat Dog
3. Let There Be Rock
4. Bad Boy Boogie
5. Problem Child
6. Overdose
7. Hell (Ain't a Bad Place to Be)
8. Whole Lotta Rosie

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Let-There-Be-Rock-AC/dp/B00O75SBJG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524808923&sr=8-1&keywords=AC%2FDC+Let+There+Be+Rock