In a recent interview with Switzerland’s SRF 3 radio station, Angus Young was asked which AC/DC album he would put on to impress someone who has never heard of the band. He responded (see video below): “‘Let There Be Rock’. ‘Let There Be Rock’, for me, is the album. And the reason why I like ‘Let There Be Rock’ is because my brother, George, who was producing it, when he said to us at the beginning, when we were making that record, he had me and Malcolm [late AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young], and he was sitting with us and he said, ‘What sort of album do you wanna do this time?’ And Malcolm just looked at me, and he said, ‘We just want an album that’s just gonna be pure hard rock guitar.’ And I thought it was great, because everyone else in the world was into whole other genres — there was punk music, there was new wave; it was all this other stuff that was coming out — and I just thought, ‘This is pure magic.’ And that album defined AC/DC in my eyes. That’s when I went, ‘This is a great band.'”
AC/DC‘s latest LP, “Power Up”, is a tribute to Malcolm, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on “Power Up”, along with Angus.
In December 2014, Malcolm revealed he had dementia which forced him to retire from AC/DC. His nephew Stevie Young stepped into Malcolm‘s position.
Angus later said that he realized during the recording of the band’s 2008 album “Black Ice” that his brother’s faculties were impaired.
Malcolm died in November 2017 after failing health for several years.
Hundreds of mourners gathered for his funeral in Sydney, Australia, including Angus and other members of the Young family, along with Johnson, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams.
Malcolm was remembered as a “humble man” and “musical mastermind,” with friend David Albert saying in his eulogy that Malcolm‘s impact on the music industry was nothing short of momentous. Young’s beloved Gretsch guitar, “The Beast,” rested on his coffin during the service.
“Power Up” was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O’Brien, who also worked 2008’s “Black Ice” and 2014’s “Rock Or Bust”.
