In Malcolm Young’s opinion, the album “perfectly summed up” AC/DC
Having the most diverse catalog in the hard rock genre was never a concern for AC/DC band. They were the essence of the term “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and considering how well fans flocked to albums such as Power Up, it’s not like they were actually suffering from composing and performing songs in the same style every once in a while. Malcolm Young, who was a member of AC/DC during the band’s height, believed that the live album If You Want Blood You’ve Got It was the best way to capture the essence of the band. However, there were still many that stood out above the rest.
Upon perusing their discography, however, it became apparent that there was not a great deal to be missed when tearing through the Bon Scott time. Scott was one of the most honest rock and rollers to ever walk the earth. He was known for writing lyrics that made you want to be his best friend when you went out for drinks, despite the fact that the group considered him to be disposable from their perspective.
They were an entirely different entity when they were performing live, despite the fact that they had produced some truly remarkable songs on record. Seeing Malcolm’s brother Angus lose his head in his typical schoolboy style while sitting next to Scott singing about being a whiskey-swigging rock and roll star made sense in some unknown way, regardless of the number of bluesy licks that they tore through on any given record.
Malcolm wasn’t just trying to get exposure for the band by boasting about inflicting damage onstage, like most artists do. He was actually doing it. He was known to get to the point where all of his picks would be crushed to powder by the time he finished with any given set. He typically had to go through a number of them during a show, and he claims that he could smell the smoke in the air when one of them disintegrated. This is something that he did when he was performing on stage.
When they were eventually able to release a live record, they chose to release If You Want Blood You’ve Got It. This record is considered to be one of the most wild recordings that any group produced during that time period. Even at the largest venues in the world, they still managed to make it feel like you were in a sweaty club because they were playing the loudest blues you have ever heard. This is despite the fact that not every track is exactly in tune or anything in particular.
Malcolm realized that they were in their natural home onstage, and he told Louder that “If You Want Blood was exactly where we were at that stage in our career.” The studio tweaks may be all well and good, but Malcolm said that they were in their natural habitat. One of the most memorable performances of the tour took place at the Glasgow Apollo, and that album brilliantly encapsulated the band’s sound and style. Over the years, I haven’t actually listened to it, but I’ve seen snippets of us playing some of those songs on television, and it brought back memories of how fantastic the band sounded when they were performing them.
The fact that Scott was discovered dead from alcohol intoxication did not deter the group for a single second, despite the fact that things may have been going a little too well after. When Angus appeared to be even more energized than he had been previously, he seemed to be rushing through songs like “Hells Bells” in a live environment. Brian Johnson was more than worthy of replacing Scott’s shoes during the tour for Back in Black.
It is quite unlikely that these live tracks will ever be replicated again because Scott brought a specific kind of charm to the performance. There is still a sense of innocence when listening to songs like “Let There Be Rock” in this environment because AC/DC was still on the rise at the time. AC/DC is all about having a good time playing rock and roll.