Sat Eye Candy: AC/DC

AC/DC is currently on a world tour they began with the release of their 15th studio album (and one of their best), Black Ice, last October. The band keeps adding fresh dates, which now extend shows well into this fall, returning to America for a third time on this tour. Persistent rumors abound that this may be AC/DC’s last hurrah as a touring entity, so we thought we’d throw a two-fingered salute their way for being one of the most long-lived, heavy duty, apparently indestructible live bands ever. If you’ve never experienced the spectacle and glory of AC/DC in concert you’re missing out on one of life’s least sublime pleasures. JamBase will be in San Jose on September 2 to cover the current madness in detail but in the meantime we offer this assortment of Eye openers for your weekend.

Highway To Hell was released July 27, 1979. In honor of that damned assortment’s 30th anniversary we begin with a double shot of the title tune, one from Bon Scott and one with Brian Johnson singing about the pleasures of a life of sin.

If there’s a more frenetic, primal chunk of rock ‘n’ roll than “Let There Be Rock” we’ve never unearthed it. This is taken from a university gig in 1978. Yes, some unbelievably lucky yobs attending college got to see AC-freakin-DC in their dang dining hall!

Somewhat underrated within their massive catalog, Flick of the Switch is actually one of their toughest, densest offerings. Here’s the title cut and killer “Bedlam In Belgium” from the 1983 tour.

Perhaps the granddaddy of “being in a rock band” songs, this one simply never gets old.

Yeah, these guys have listened to Chuck Berry. Dig the massive Angus Young statue that was the centerpiece of the previous world tour.

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Few bands do memorable intros like AC/DC and often it’s Malcolm Young that’s laying ’em down. This one endures still as part of the live repertoire but has rarely simmered better than this 1976 performance, the group’s first big European TV appearance.

What a delightfully nasty lil’ tune!

There’s little else like being in the middle of thousands and thousands of serious AC/DC fans when this one explodes from the stage.

Punk rock really owes this band a real debt of gratitude.

You never forget seeing a man deliver a balls-out rocker atop a wrecking ball. The Olympian size of their productions in the past couple decades is just crazed.

We conclude with another cut from Highway To Hell, a track that exemplifies every good, rough, wonderful thing about this incredible rock institution. The video is from the stellar 2003 tour and here is the official video from back in the day.

And don’t forget, you can eyeball video sweetness 24/7 with JamBase TV.