AC/DC: Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Brian Johnson.

Recording information: 1980.

After the untimely death of former enigmatic vocalist Bon Scott, AC/DC finally chanced upon a worthy replacement in the shape of former Geordie frontman, Brian Johnson. The result was more than the formal pastiche some expected, with Johnson stamping his own personality, not to mention distinctive rasp, on the record. The band's staple lyrical diet of sex and the general pursuit of happiness, however, remained very much intact. Highlights include the stomping ‘Hell's Bells’, the quiet build of the title track, and the chuckling insolence of, ‘Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution’. A winning return.

What the critics say…

Rolling Stone – Ranked number 26 in Rolling Stone's “100 Best Albums Of The 80s” survey, November 1989.
Rolling Stone (10/3/02, p.108) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…The essence of unrepetantly simple but savagely crafted hard rock…”
Q (8/00, p.126) – Included in Q's “Best Metal Albums Of All Time”
Q (12/94, p.157) – 4 Stars – Excellent – “…The apotheosis of evil, sidewinding boogie and pig-ignorant sexism…BACK IN BLACK's irresis­tible first half gives it the edge over absolutely every other heavy rock album from the early 1980s…”
Uncut (9/03, p.123) – 5 stars out of 5 – “…AC/DC's pre­cision, granite-cracking boogie, sky-bothering choruses and artless lust never sounded better than here…”
Mojo (Publisher) (12/00, p.84) – “…A tribute to Bon Scott, sung by a man he himself had once recommended…Hig­hlights from the 10-million seller: ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’, ‘Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution’ and doomy opener ‘Hell's Bells’.”