Tag: AC/DC

Picking Five Songs From 1990

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year6 Comments

All right, it’s time to continue on with my long-running series where I pick five of my favorite songs from a year. Not necessarily my five definitive favorites, but five of my favorites. As always.

This year is 1990. We have left the golden decade of the 1980’s in the dust and music was shaping up to be a hell of a lot different. Even though the symbolic marker of the change was 1991, there was plenty of evidence that things were getting really different just a year before. Music was moving into other territories and a lot of the 80’s standards were about to be left behind. I was entering my teenage years just as the decade kicked off so I was in prime position to take in these changes, even if I didn’t quite know what all was going on right off the bat.

That’s about enough of the lead-in, this isn’t a comprehensive analysis of what happened in the early ’90’s, this is just a list of five songs I really like from 1990. Let’s have at it.

Megadeth – Tornado Of Souls

By 1990 I was moving way more into heavy metal as a whole, it was becoming my favorite form of music and that hasn’t changed 35 years later. Megadeth released their magnum opus Rust In Peace this year and it is in my top five of favorite albums of all time. A lot of the album if full of nuclear war and the government sucks kind of stuff that Dave Mustaine is very fond of, but this song is more personal and involves past relationships and rebounding from them. And of course it’s chock full of guitars, the kind of stuff only Mustaine and Marty Friedman could get up to. One of metal’s greatest songs.

Kreator – People Of The Lie

We’ll stay with thrash and this time visit the German titans on their fifth album, the excellent Coma Of Souls. Here Kreator aimed their sights at Nazis, the scourge of their own country. The song is a powerful rant against the shallow stances of Nazi believers. Sadly the song has become much more relevant today, but this was an excellent thrasher with a great message back in the day.

The Black Crowes – She Talks To Angels

Rock was by no means dead in 1990, but it sure was changing. One face of that change was the sudden ascent of the Black Crowes, a blues-based/jam band sort of prospect armed with a cache of catchy, infectious and effective songs. My favorite of the bunch is this somber ballad about a gal who is caught up in a drug addiction. While the song is not based in much reality, it is a haunting and touching affair that rings true no matter what the calendar says.

AC/DC – Thunderstruck

Ok, so not everything changed in rock in 1990. The good old standard AC/DC arrived on the scene yet again, this time armed with the stellar Razor’s Edge album. The opening track and lead single became one of the band’s hallmark songs, yet another addition to their playlist on classic rock radio that is played to no end. It’s easy to hear why – this is one massive slab of rock badassery. It’s guitars upon guitars, pounding drums and screeching, which is just how I like it.

Judas Priest – Painkiller

So Priest didn’t have the best latter half of the ’80’s – Turbo and Ram It Down aren’t “bad” albums per se, but they aren’t highlights of the Priest catalog either. The band reconvened as the decade changed and HOLY SHIT did they find the heavy metal again. Painkiller is a blast of molten hot metal unlike that which the band had even done to this point, despite being one of the signposts of the genre. This song and whole album will rip your face off, and that’s exactly how we like it around here. And by we I mean me, as I’m the only one typing bullshit on this site.

That wraps up 1990. Suffice to say, next week’s post will be somewhat important, as 1991 will be upon us. It was such an important year to music as a whole and my own musical fandom that it might require something a bit special. We shall see next week.

Picking Five Songs From 1979

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

It’s time for 1979, though we’ll find no Billy Corgan here, only songs actually from the year. I turned two in ’79 so I obviously have deep and specific memories of all these songs. Next week the 1980’s will kick off and these lists will be batshit for awhile, no two ways about it. But this one was pretty simple to put together so let’s enjoy this pretty easy week.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Refugee

1979 saw Petty and his band break through to true mainstream success, and it’s no wonder with songs like this. This a powerful groove with the organ and guitar working together to blast this freedom anthem into your head. I’ve heard the song all my life and it still gets me going any time it’s on.

The Police – Walking On The Moon

The Police obviously incorporated reggae into their sound, but on this one they just totally went reggae. Very atmospheric stuff here with the guitars accenting things at certain points, but the song as a whole moving on its gravity free march in trippy rhythm.

AC/DC – Highway To Hell

AC/DC have a trove of awesome songs and many were from the Bon Scott era, but I feel like this one really puts it all over the top. This is a seamless blend of great riffing and on-theme delivery that stands as one of rock’s truly great songs. It would also sadly be the bookend of Bon Scott’s time with the band, though the group dusted themselves off and kept on in world-conquering fashion after his death. No matter how much rock radio plays AC/DC, this is one song I never get tired of hearing.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Powderfinger

Rust Never Sleeps is my favorite Neil Young album and this is my favorite song from that album so here we are, pretty simple pick. Tough tale of a young man who shot at a gunboat to defend his family’s property. The gunboat won the battle, if you are keeping score. It’s an anti-war song for sure but one that offers its message in a poignant story rather than being super obvious about it. Grand work from Neil and company.

Judas Priest – Exciter

Heavy metal was about to blow up big in its golden age during the 1980’s. It was Judas Priest who flew the flag for the genre during its relative down period of the late ’70’s, and here they continued to round into form as their own fortunes would explode in just a year’s time. Here Priest laid the groundwork for the entity known as speed metal, lending not only a musical blueprint but also a band name to one of the subgenre’s pioneering acts.

That wraps it up for 1979 and also for the decade of the ’70’s. Great music to be sure, some of the best, but things really get going in the next decade. The absolute explosion of music and the toughest series of picks I’ve had to make kick off next week.

Picking Five Songs From 1976

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

After a few weeks layoff due to super busy stuff, I’m getting back to this thing again. I’m also working well ahead on these now so the series won’t be interrupted again. It’s not like it takes any massive amount of time to put these posts together.

We’re now to 1976, which is the last time you’ll see me say I wasn’t around for the year. This is also where things start getting tough – this was probably the most difficult five songs I had to pick of all I’ve been through so far. Yes, the 1980’s get insanely crowded but it’s so absurd by that point that it’s actually easier to just grab five songs. This year I had to bump things left and right, and really go over the five I wanted. But I did eventually get a list together so let’s have at it.

The Runaways – Cherry Bomb

Up first is this fantastic cut from the revolutionary all-woman group. It was the start of the illustrious careers of Joan Jett and Lita Ford, but even beyond that it was a massive dose of grit and attitude. And it was seriously heavy – heavier music was about to really take off and The Runaways were definitely a part of that.

Judas Priest – The Ripper

Speaking of heavy, it’s time to welcome Judas Priest to these lists. If you’re thinking this is just the first of many appearances, you’d be right. Heavy metal was kind of in a down period as Black Sabbath were fading during this time, but Priest served as the bridge between Sabbath and the metal golden era of the ’80’s. Here they cut into the gruesome tale of Jack The Ripper, perhaps the most notorious criminal in history. The guitar work that truly set heavy metal apart is center stage here, and while Rob Halford is fairly restrained through most of the song, he lets loose at the end.

Boston – Foreplay/Long Time

Up next is a cut from the world famous Boston debut. This has one of the best instrumental sections around in the Foreplay intro. Then the song breaks into Long Time, a fantastic rocker about having to move on. The lyrics are philosophically heavy, but it’s just as easy to totally rock out to the music too. And in defiance of the “shorter is better” pop song format, this nearly 8 minute long cut still gets airplay 48 years on.

Kiss – God Of Thunder

Kiss had a banner year in 1976, releasing two of their best albums and truly becoming a force in the live market. But for all of their triumphs that year, it’s this plodding heavy metal track that Paul Stanley brought to the table that does it for me. Bob Ezrin slowed the song down and gave it to Gene Simmons to sing, and this is easily one of Gene’s biggest moments on record. Even the most die-hard of extreme metalheads get down to this song.

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Wrapping up with another list debut, AC/DC crack this one with one of their early signature songs. This snarling, tough tale of a killer for hire is both rocking and pretty funny. It’s easily one of the band’s most recognizable songs today, though it took years for it to get from Australia to the US. But the gritty rock and sing-along chorus are just too good to be passed up.

That does it for 1976. The next few weeks will close out the ’70’s as music really started changing dramatically, then the ’80’s come around and make these lists damn near impossible to do. ‘Till then.

AC/DC – Thunderstruck (Song of the Week)

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week6 Comments

Before I start, I’ll address the missing Album of the Week yesterday. Simply put I ran out of time and there won’t be one this week. I had a bit of a temporary change to my work schedule this week that will result in a nice, long weekend for me this coming weekend, but I was too dumb/lazy to plan beforehand and didn’t get my intended AotW finished. I’ll just let the absence roll and pick things up again next week.

I’ve also punted today’s planned Song of the Week to next week as it has similar inspiration in theme to the AotW so it works nice to keep the two together, despite being two very different artists. But that means I can pick whatever in the hell I want for this week.

And today I’m going with a signature track from a band I haven’t talked about much at all to date on this site. AC/DC are one of rock’s biggest and boldest acts, and today I’m going with the lead track from their 1990 Razor’s Edge record that was a bit of a comeback for the group from Down Under. I don’t actually know if you’re supposed to capitalize Down Under but I did it anyway.

Thunderstruck was both the lead single and lead track from the full-length record and was a blatantly obvious choice for both such honors. The calling card of the song is the guitar that opens the proceedings. It is something Angus Young was messing around with and he and brother Malcom decided to run with it. Over time the song took shape around the brothers’ guitar work.

And there is no mistaking what is about to happen when that riff hits. It can’t be confused with anything else, at least that I know of. The song itself is a basic but banging rock track, in keeping with AC/DC’s long legacy of crafting that exact fare. The results on Thunderstruck work on a level beyond the general niceties of rock music, this song absolutely goes to 11.

Typically I like to get at least a little into a song’s meaning. But, this is an AC/DC song, that’s pretty much what it means. No hidden philosophy or sly digs at the establishment in here, just thunder and looking for women and having a good time.

Thunderstruck did reasonably well for itself on release, charting in a host of countries. In the US it landed on the Mainstream Rock Chart at number 5 and instantly became a staple of rock radio and it still sits in heavy rotation to this day. Somehow the song did not seem to even chart on the Billboard Hot 100, no issue in and of itself but there is a curious case about AC/DC and their performance on that particular chart, but I’ll save that topic for another time. It is odd that this of all of their songs didn’t break on that chart.

The album Razor’s Edge did massive business, going 5 times platinum in the US and also selling gobs in other countries. AC/DC had been flagging a bit in the late ’80’s, the prior effort Blow Up Your Video was perhaps not a critical success or fan favorite, though it did start the band back on a good sales track. But Razor’s Edge totally demolished sales figures and put AC/DC back on top of the rock mountain, and Thunderstruck was a huge part of that success.

Thunderstruck has remained a staple of AC/DC’s venerated live set since it release 33 years ago. I don’t have sources for this claim, but several websites report that the song has been a part of every concert since release. That does sound right, I don’t know why AC/DC wouldn’t play it. It ranks toward the top of many fan and journalist polls of the best AC/DC songs and is simply beloved by a lot of the fanbase as well as rock fans in general.

There’s not much more to say here. AC/DC truly caught lightning in a bottle with Thunderstruck.