“I’ll go out on a limb and say that they are the greatest rock’n’roll band of all time”: AC/DC
By Rick Rubin
In high school, I was completely alone in my love of AC/DC. I became infatuated with them when they played “Problem Child” on the TV show “Midnight Special.” Like Led Zeppelin, they had their roots in American R&B, but they pushed the reduction to the rock’n’roll core further than anyone else.
For AC/DC, rock music starts with Chuck Berry and ends roughly with Elvis. They’ve sold their souls to this groove – and they’ve mastered it like no other band. “Highway To Hell” has a natural sound that I don’t know from any other rock record. Flourishes are undesirable so that sand doesn’t get into the fine motor skills between the two guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd.
Whenever I produce a rock band, I try to create a sound that has the same punch as “Highway To Hell”. Whether it’s The Cult or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I always go for the same recipe: keep it simple, bring out the rhythm work of the guitars. That sounds simple, but AC/DC’s recipe is hard to copy. A great band like Metallica could play an AC/DC song true to the notes, but the tension in the music would still not be the same.
Another point that distinguishes AC/DC from other hard rock bands: you can dance to their music. They never played funk, but everything they play is funky. And this beat can bring the masses to their feet. I first saw them at Madison Square Garden in 1979 – before their singer Bon Scott died and was replaced by Brian Johnson. The audience tore all the chairs out of their anchors and built a pyramid out of them in front of the stage. It was their way of saying how great this band was.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that they are the greatest rock’n’roll band of all time.