Youngs : The Brothers Who Built Ac/Dc (9781466865204) (38 page)

And he wrote that all the way back in 1994.

“It's
okay
,” says Mark Opitz of the
AC/DC
of
Black Ice
. “Mike Fraser is very good. But it's not fresh for me any more, like it used to be. But that's coming from someone who was there listening to it 24 hours a day when I was working with them. And it was the vibe of the '70s and early '80s that was somewhat akin, not to Beatlemania, but to the pointy end of the cultural revolution. Music
was
the pointy end of that revolution in those days. Music's not the pointy end any more. The cultural revolution is multifaceted: technology, sports, fashion.

“I went and saw
AC/DC
the last time they were in Melbourne, just went and got a regular seat and checked 'em out, and I didn't get tingles up my spine or anything like that, but then again I wasn't down the very front either. That was opposed to seeing them playing in the '70s at the Bondi Lifesaver with Angus duckwalking up the bar with no shirt on and gashing his leg on a schooner glass, a roadie gaffer-taping it up—all while he's still duckwalking along the bar and getting back on stage—and Bon's cheeky smile. There was nothing corporate about it or anything like that. There was no elaborate stage set. It was just fucking balls-to-the-wall rock 'n' roll.”

Those Sydney days are so long gone that they might as well be another world. On their last tour
AC/DC
was a Vegas magic act, all smoke and mirrors, an exercise in illusions. That little guy in the school uniform with the Gibson SG is almost 60. Geordie's old singer still has his cap but beer guts stopped looking good in black singlets a long time ago. He's replaced the singlets with large sleeveless shirts. The other three still have most of their hair but play far enough back on the massive stage that you need to squint to realize they're older than your dad.

The sets are bigger. The crowds are bigger. But so is the fantasy. The fans buying the tickets to their shows are buying a commercialized, Sony-remastered rendition of “no bullshit.” Has this band that for so long resisted releasing a greatest hits album become a glorified karaoke machine? Has
AC/DC
become The
AC/DC
Show, like one of Jerry Greenberg's tribute bands? Perhaps.

But the love and affection is still there because the Young brothers remain the very best at what they do, even if they're performing the same old songs or remastering them, over and over again. With age, talent doesn't diminish even if creativity has a habit of ebbing away. It just finds new people to appreciate it.

Tony Platt recently worked on a set of vinyl re-releases for the British market and was struck by the power of
AC/DC
's early records: “It was very obvious in those early albums that the raw material was very much there. The energy is just phenomenal. It really threatens to throw the needle off the records.

“There are little things that they're particularly good at. The way Malcolm and Angus play unison chords but in different positions. So instead of sounding like a double-tracked guitar it sounds like one really big guitar. The Young family is just a musical bunch of people and they have a really good, open, healthy attitude to making music. They don't complicate things unnecessarily.”

That “one really big guitar” has changed music and changed lives. Between them George, Angus and Malcolm Young might have stopped writing masterpieces such as “Evie,” “It's a Long Way to the Top” and “Back in Black” but very few musicians, even the best of the best, get to write one masterpiece in a lifetime. The Youngs have come up with a couple of dozen, if not more. For that, they will go on enduring, can be forgiven some character faults and are more than entitled to be cut some slack. Whatever it is they do, whatever magic they deal in, it's working.

Says Rob Riley, in his inimitable style: “No cunt can take that away from them.”

 

 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

“Who Made Who”

T
ED
A
LBERT
Founder of Albert Productions (Alberts) and producer of The Easybeats. Died in 1990.

B
ILLY
A
LTMAN
Rock critic for
Rolling Stone
.

J
OE
A
NTHONY
Disc jockey for San Antonio radio station KMAC/KISS. Died in 1992.

R
OB
B
AILEY
Bass player of
AC/DC
.

D
ICK
B
ARNATT
Photographer of
AC/DC
.

J
IMMY
B
ARNES
Lead singer of Fraternity and Cold Chisel. Solo artist. Brother of John Swan.

S
TEVE
B
ARNETT
Co-manager (with Stewart Young) of
AC/DC
.

B
ILL
B
ARTLETT
Disc jockey for Jacksonville radio station WPDQ/ WAIV.

T
ONY
B
ERARDINI
Disc jockey for San Rafael radio station KTIM and Boston radio station WBCN.

J
AKE
B
ERRY
Production manager of
AC/DC
.

J
OE
B
ONOMO
Biographer of AC/DC.

A
NTHONY
B
OZZA
Biographer of AC/DC.

H
OLGER
B
ROCKMANN
Disc jockey for Sydney radio station 2JJ.

C
ORAL
B
ROWNING
Sister of Michael Browning. Publicist for
AC/DC
.

M
ICHAEL
B
ROWNING
Manager and co-manager (with Cedric Kushner) of
AC/DC
.

C
LIVE
C
ALDER
Co-manager (with Ralph Simon) of Mutt Lange.

P
HIL
C
ARSON
President of Atlantic Records (UK). Sometime bass player of Led Zeppelin and
AC/DC
.

K
EN
C
ASEY
Lead singer and bass player of Dropkick Murphys.

P
ERRY
C
OOPER
Promotion executive at Atlantic Records. Died in 2005.

T
ONY
C
URRENTI
Session drummer of
AC/DC
and Stevie Wright.

M
ARK
D
EARNLEY
Engineer of
AC/DC
.

J
IM
D
ELEHANT
A&R executive at Atlantic Records.

B
ARRY
D
IAMENT
Mastering engineer of
AC/DC
.

G
EORG
D
OLIVO
Lead singer and guitarist of Rhino Bucket.

J
IMMY
D
OUGLASS
Engineer of
AC/DC
.

P
AUL
D
RANE
Film director of AC/DC.

S
IDNEY
D
RASHIN
Concert promoter of
AC/DC
.

M
IKE
D
URANT
US Army Special Operations helicopter pilot. American war hero.

R
OBERT
E
LLIS
Photographer of
AC/DC
.

M
URRAY
E
NGLEHEART
Biographer of
AC/DC
.

A
HMET
E
RTEGUN
Co-founder (with Herb Abramson) of Atlantic Records. Died in 2006.

N
ESUHI
E
RTEGUN
Executive and producer at Atlantic Records. Brother of Ahmet. Died in 1989.

D
AVE
E
VANS
Lead singer of
AC/DC
.

M
ARK
E
VANS
Bass player of
AC/DC
.

B
RUCE
F
AIRBAIRN
Producer of
AC/DC
. Died in 1999.

B
ERNARD
F
ANNING
Lead singer of Powderfinger.

S
NOWY
F
LEET
Drummer of The Easybeats.

K
IM
F
OWLEY
Producer of The Runaways and The Clingers.

M
IKE
F
RASER
Engineer and co-producer (with Rick Rubin) of
AC/DC
.

A
LLAN
F
RYER
Lead singer of Heaven.

M
ARK
G
ABLE
Lead singer and guitarist of The Choirboys.

T
IM
G
AZE
Guitarist of Stevie Wright.

A
SHLEY
G
ILBERTSON
War photographer.

C
HRIS
G
ILBEY
A&R vice-president of Alberts.

D
AVID
G
LEW
General manager of Atlantic Records. President and chairman of Epic Records.

G
LENN
G
OLDSMITH
Biographer of Stevie Wright.

J
ERRY
G
REENBERG
President of Atlantic Records and Mirage Records.

A
LVIN
H
ANDWERKER
Accountant and manager of
AC/DC
.

R
OBERT
H
ILBURN
Rock critic of the
Los Angeles Times
.

S
AM
H
ORSBURGH
Nephew of the Youngs. Son of their sister, Margaret Young. A&R manager of Alberts.

G
ERARD
H
UERTA
Designer of
AC/DC
's logo.

M
ICHAEL
H
UTCHENCE
Lead singer of INXS. Died in 1997.

P
HIL
J
AMIESON
Lead singer of Grinspoon.

I
AN
J
EFFERY
Tour manager and manager of
AC/DC
.

G
LYN
J
OHNS
Producer of The Easybeats.

B
RIAN
J
OHNSON
Lead singer of
AC/DC
.

J
OHN
K
ALODNER
A&R executive at Atlantic Records.

M
ICHAEL
K
LENFNER
Marketing and promotion executive at Atlantic Records. Died in 2009.

P
AUL
K
OSSOFF
Guitarist of Free and Back Street Crawler. Died in 1976.

E
DDIE
K
RAMER
Engineer of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Producer of Kiss.

D
AVID
K
REBS
Co-manager (with Steve Leber) of
AC/DC
.

C
EDRIC
K
USHNER
Co-manager (with Michael Browning) of
AC/DC
. Concert promoter of
AC/DC
.

M
UTT
L
ANGE
Producer of
AC/DC
.

L
ARRY
L
ARSTEAD
Film director of
AC/DC
.

S
TEVE
L
EBER
Co-manager (with David Krebs) of
AC/DC
.

S
TEVE
L
EEDS
Promotion executive at Atlantic Records.

J
UDY
L
IBOW
Promotion executive at Atlantic Records.

V
INCE
L
OVEGROVE
Lead singer of The Valentines and friend of Bon Scott. Died in 2012.

D
AVID
M
ALLET
Film and concert director of
AC/DC
.

T
ERRY
M
ANNING
Co-owner of Compass Point Studios. Engineer of Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top.

N
ICK
M
ARIA
Sales executive at Atlantic Records.

S
USAN
M
ASINO
Biographer of
AC/DC
.

C
HRIS
M
ASUAK
Guitarist of Radio Birdman.

J
OE
M
ATERA
Rock guitarist and guitar journalist.

M
ARIO
M
EDIOUS
Promotion executive at Atlantic Records.

M
OLLY
M
ELDRUM
Host of Australian TV program
Countdown
.

P
ETER
M
ENSCH
Manager of
AC/DC
.

D
OUG
M
ORRIS
President of Atlantic Records. CEO/chairman of Sony Music.

P
HILIP
M
ORRIS
Photographer of
AC/DC
.

A
NTHONY
O
'
G
RADY
Rock journalist and friend of Bon Scott.

J
OEL
O
'
K
EEFFE
Lead singer and guitarist of Airbourne.

M
ARK
O
PITZ
Engineer of
AC/DC
.

J
ACK
O
RBIN
Concert promoter of
AC/DC
.

J
OE
P
ERRY
Guitarist of Aerosmith.

T
ONY
P
LATT
Engineer and co-producer (with Angus and Malcolm Young) of
AC/DC
.

M
ARK
P
OPE
Concert promoter and manager of Jimmy Barnes.

S
TUART
P
RAGER
Attorney of
AC/DC
.

J
OHN
P
ROUD
Session drummer of
AC/DC
, Marcus Hook Roll Band and Stevie Wright.

F
IFA
R
ICCOBONO
Assistant to the professional manager, label manager, A&R manager, general manager, CEO and finally executive director of Alberts. Friend of the Youngs.