Backtrack: Let There Be Rock Review
by Zane Ewton
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In the beginning
Not really the beginning, but it was my point of entry. For a 12 year old AC/DC may be the greatest form of expression available. The power, the fury and the juvenility of it all is perfect fodder for a blossoming rock and roll fan.
On stage Bon Scott and Angus Young played the perfect roles for compelling rock and roll theatre. The innocent school boy guitarist is lured to the dark side by the not-so-innocent, tight-trousered singer in a battle amidst rock and roll damnation.
AC/DC had a flair for the absurd. At its most absurd is the band's ode to the history of rock and roll, "Let There Be Rock." Scott plays a preacher spreading to his devotees a debatable time line of events that began back in 1955. Tchaikovsky had the news. With the flick of a switch lights, guitars and ROCK exploded out of schmaltz and blues.The truth of the matter is Bon Scott had the swagger to say whatever he wanted to say and the jackhammer pace of "Let There Be Rock" made it an instant AC/DC classic. There was a reason the UK punks took to AC/DC, songs like "Let There Be Rock" fiercely skewered the overblown sounds of rock and metal at the time. Rock may have began in 1957 but fast forward to 1976 and it got a swift kick in the junk from these tiny men from Australia. Angus Young is Chuck Berry on steroids. AC/DC may also be the purest way for anyone to become interested in rock and roll music. Despite the image and the salacious lyrics, AC/DC is one of the most accessible rock bands, which explains how they can make the same album over again since 1980 and still be so popular. In the past few years it seems as though absence truly has made the heart grow fonder. AC/DC music has been in movies, commercials and on the t-shirts of every 13-year-old Walmart shopper. When I was 13 I had to hunt to find an AC/DC t-shirt.
That is why I shed a little tear when I see a commercial for the video game Rock Band that used "Let There Be Rock." A throng of bad haircuts, wearing their girlfriends' jeans, played fake instruments while some guy mimed along to Bon Scott. It made me sad. Not that a band would sell it's song to a commercial. The selling out argument should be over by now. The real problem is that something as personal as a rock song, no matter how silly, is nothing more than a haircut and a t-shirt to someone else. I guess in this case, it would be just a video game.
They don't make rock singers like Bon Scott anymore. They don't make rock guitarists like Angus Young anymore. No wonder it takes a nostalgic video game to get people interested in rock these days. Bon never said, "Let there be Wii!"
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Backtrack: Let There Be Rock
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