Martin Popoff: AC/DC at 50
AC/DC at 50
Martin Popoff
Motorbooks
On the one hand it’s ludicrous to think that AC/DC, the band, is 50 this year. On the other hand, they could be 100 already. Certainly 75. Their boogie- and blues-based rock is almost its own genre. Their success is a phenomenon. Their sound is hypnotic. Somewhere deep inside the pocket of the AC/DC song-bag sits a smart set of hooks and some killer choruses; riffs to die for of course and an overall energy that is infectious and impossible to replicate. They are their own thing entirely. But they are also a super-charged, hot-wired B.B. King and Little Richard and Chuck Berry and Rolling Stones. They are more than that. And they are more remarkable than many people care to think because they really didn’t seem like they’d be a success to anyone, including themselves. And yet, it’s not only undeniable, it’s somewhat obvious when you think about it now, when you hear that towering music.
This book largely takes that sort of tone. It’s a celebration of the band at 50 – pulling together the history in a photo-book, a coffee-table book, with more smart writing than you might usually expect in this sort of hardcover, photo-essay-styled tome.
Popoff goes through the discography in order, finds some highlights, reminds you of some moments and charts the chronology of the band.
That first decade of anthems. The loss of a lead singer, and the almost unbelievable rebirth with their most successful album ever. One of classic rock/metal’s best albums ever.
From there of course the wheels never quite fall off but it starts to feel like it, the final 30 years of AC/DC’s 50 is really down to just hard slog. But there are some moments. The band’s final studio album to date was one of their best. How could that even happen? They had been treading water for years. And then BOOM!
Of course this last decade has seen the loss of founder members, and declining health for others. It’s now unlikely we’ll hear from them again. And not in the way we’d hope.
They have somewhat limped across the line to get to 50. But that’s somehow fitting too. War wounds and battle scars and bodies. The music denotes that, demands it, expects it. And charges on in our minds, our hearts, and through the pages of this thoughtful tribute. Their body is very weak but their spirit is always more than willing. They’re a legend. An impossible to correctly categorise legend. And Popoff commemorates that beautifully.
