AC/DC: Flick of the Switch

AC/DC: Flick of the Switch

1983

Atlantic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing:  1. Rising Power  2. This House is on Fire  3. Flick of the Switch  4. Nervous Shakedown  5. Landslide  6. Guns for Hire  7. Deep in the Hole  8. Bedlam in Belgium  9. Badlands  10. Brain Shake


This album came out when I was in first grade and I always remember the record being around our house as a kid...It always stuck out in my mind because of  that  embossed cover...as blinding white as "Back in Black" was pitch black....come to think of it, AC/DC has had quite a few memorable embossed covers...

Where did the embossed record cover come from, anyway? The oldest one I can think of is the "White Album?" If it wasn't the first, it had to have been the one to popularize it...unless I'm overlooking another real obvious one...

anyway....

For some reason (ahem...For Those About to Rock...) this record remains one of AC/DC's most overlooked.  I think this one would've been a bit more successful if it was the follow up to "Back in Black." It has a bright, upbeat, rocking sound that seemed like it should have been more popular than it was. Hard to say what happened... Maybe it didn't have the promotion that the previous records had...Maybe people were just sick of AC/DC at the time...But it's definitely not the fault of the music...AC/DC were back and self producing their album this time and It sounds just like AC/DC should sound, stripped down and tight.. The lean attack of  "Rising Power" explodes from the speakers.  Real, raw rock n' roll. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Besides, "Bedlam in Belgium" is a freakin' cool song title.,..even though "Belgium" makes  me think of waffles...



and the Smurfs....



...I love waffle and Smurfs! Belgium is bad ass!

 And let's not forget about the band's heartfelt cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," where Brian Johnson's subtly aching vocals add a uniquely male interpretation of Stevie Nicks feminine mysticism....

I'm just joshing ya...It's the kind of skull-rattling blues that you thought died with Bon Scott. "Nervous Shakedown's" stuttering riff also brings to mind the pre-Back in Black glory days. There's really no shortage of great stuff here and I'm even going to say this is probably the second best album AC/DC made with Brian Johnson as vocalist.

I notice myself using the word "riff" quite a bit, when I'm talking about AC/DC. I can't help it! Riff riff riffity riff! These guys were all about the riffs!

Let's check out the video for the title track, I can recall MTV showing this around 1990 on Headbanger's Ball...Why were they showing this in 1990? I don't really remember, but it was better this than Poison or Trixter.. So let's count our blessings and listen to "Flick of the Switch."