- Let There Be Rock
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"Bad Boy Boogie" redirects here. For the Mötley Crüe song of the same name, see Bad Boy Boogie (Mötley Crüe song).
Let There Be Rock Studio album by AC/DC Released 21 March 1977 (Australia)
23 June 1977 (worldwide)Recorded January–February 1977, Albert Studios, Sydney, Australia Genre Hard rock, blues rock, rock and roll, heavy metal[1] Length 40:19 (Australian)
41:01 (International)Label Albert Producer Harry Vanda, George Young AC/DC chronology Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
(1976)Let There Be Rock
(1977)Powerage
(1978)International edition Let There Be Rock is the fourth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in March 1977. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott.
It was originally released in Australia on Albert Productions. A modified international edition was released on Atlantic Records in June 1977.
Contents
Overview
Let There Be Rock was also the last AC/DC recording to feature bassist Mark Evans, who previously played on T.N.T. (1975) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976).
On 3 April 1977, AC/DC filmed a live performance of "Dog Eat Dog" for Australia's Countdown. In July 1977, the band further promoted Let There Be Rock by filming a music video for the album's title track. Recorded in a church in Sydney's Surrey Hills known as the Kirk Gallery,[2] it featured Scott as a priest and the rest of the band as altar boys.[3]
The album cover features fretting image of Buffalo's Chris Turner's fingers on a guitar neck.[4] This edition was eventually repackaged with the international version's cover (see image), marking the first time an Australian AC/DC album cover was matched to its corresponding international edition.
In 1980, AC/DC released a live concert motion picture titled AC/DC: Let There Be Rock. In 1997, an expanded audio recording of this concert was released on CD as Let There Be Rock: The Movie, on discs 2-3 of the Bonfire box set.
International release
As with AC/DC's previous albums, there are differences between Let There Be Rock's Australian and ultimate international editions. The original vinyl version of the album made available for international release contained the same tracks as the Australian release. However, Atlantic Records removed the racy "Crabsody In Blue" from the later international version. It was replaced with a shortened version of "Problem Child" from the Australian version of the album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976. "Crabsody In Blue" was later released on the box set Backtracks, which was released in 2009. All international CD releases contain the modified track listing.
The international version's cover also marked the debut of the band's logo, designed by Gerard Huerta. The photograph used for the cover was taken on 19 March 1977 at the Kursaal Ballroom, Southend, Essex, UK.
Track listing
Australia (and original international vinyl)
All songs written and composed by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott.
No. Title Length 1. "Go Down" (5:20 for vinyl) 5:33 2. "Dog Eat Dog" 3:35 3. "Let There Be Rock" 6:07 4. "Bad Boy Boogie" 4:28 5. "Overdose" 6:09 6. "Crabsody in Blue" 4:45 7. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" 4:15 8. "Whole Lotta Rosie" 5:22 International
No. Title Length 1. "Go Down" (Length 5:18 for vinyl) 5:31 2. "Dog Eat Dog" 3:34 3. "Let There Be Rock" 6:06 4. "Bad Boy Boogie" 4:27 5. "Problem Child" (Edit) 5:24 6. "Overdose" 6:09 7. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" (Length 4:21 for vinyl) 4:14 8. "Whole Lotta Rosie" 5:24 - Most CD releases feature this track listing along with a slightly longer version of "Go Down".
- Track 5, "Problem Child", was originally released on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in 1976. This is a shortened version of the original.
- For the original vinyl release, in all markets other than the USA and Japan, "Crabsody in Blue" was featured instead of "Problem Child".
Personnel
- Bon Scott - lead vocals
- Angus Young - lead guitar
- Malcolm Young - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Mark Evans - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Phil Rudd - drums, percussion
Production
- Producers: Harry Vanda, George Young
- Engineer: Mark Opitz
- Mastering supervisor: Michael Fraser, Al Quaglieri
- Mastering: George Marino
- Digital assembly: Eugene Nastasi
- Art direction: Bob Defrin
- Liner notes: Murray Engleheart
Charts
Chart (1977) Peak
positionAustralian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[citation needed] 19 US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[5] 154 UK Chart[6] 17 Certification
Region Certification Sales/shipments United States (RIAA)[7] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^ ^shipments figures based on certification alone
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [8]
Reception to Let There Be Rock was generally positive; according to Allmusic, which gave the album a rating of four and a half out of five stars, AC/DC played "sweaty, dirty, nasty rock" and the band had "rarely done that kind of rock better than they did" on Let There Be Rock.[8] In 2001, Q magazine named Let There Be Rock as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.[9]
References
- ^ "The Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums". metal-rules.com. http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=6. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ Murray Engleheart with Arnaud Durieux, AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of the World’s Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band, (New York: Harper Collins, 2006), 201.
- ^ Video Footage and Liner Notes, Family Jewels 2-Disc DVD Set 2005
- ^ "AC/DC - Let There Be Rock - Chris Turner". Crabsody in Blue. http://crabsodyinblue.com/acdcchristurner.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
- ^ Let There Be Rock at Allmusic
- ^ "Chart Stats - AC/DC - Let There Be Rock". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=38502. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "American album certifications – AC/DC – Let There Be Rock". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Let+There+Be+Rock%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Let There Be Rock - Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r79/review. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ "In our Lifetime #2". Rocklist.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
External links
- Lyrics on AC/DC's official website
Categories:- Albums certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- AC/DC albums
- 1977 albums
- Atlantic Records albums
- Albums produced by Harry Vanda
- Albums produced by George Young
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