Musical Thoughts: “I like the old stuff”

A lot of people utter the phrase “I like their old stuff”, particularly when it comes to actors, directors, and authors. 

But, boy does it come into play with musicians and bands. 

For instance, in my opinion, Aerosmith was better before their 1980 break up.  The Stones reached their peak with Sticky Fingers. Glass Houses was Billy Joel’s epoch. 

But the peak of all this discussion to me is AC/DC.  Their best stuff hands down was the Bon Scott era. Powerage, Let There Be Rock, and Highway to Hell are amongst the greatest hard rock albums ever.

But with that, comes a bit of a mystery.  I fell in love with AC/DC at the age of 9 with Back in Black . This, of course was their first record after Bon died, sadly from alcohol induced aspiration in January of 1980. 

Bon was a legendary gutter poet. It’s true many of their songs were about sex, booze, and Rock and Roll, but Bon had a way with double entendres and turns of phrase that made the lyricism smarter than it’s topics.  Unlike the post-Back in Black material however, Bon could venture into territory that stretched a bit.  What’s Next to the Moon, Down Payment Blues, Overdose, and If You Want Blood were songs about the human condition and even ventured into political or somewhat romantic territory. 

This is where my question lies.  Back in Black's lyrics were gutter poetry at its finest.  And Bon’s replacement, Brian Johnson, never wrote lyrics like the ones that appeared on that album ever again.  Despite the bands insistence that Brian wrote all the lyrics, did he then only have one album in him?  

What about the episode of VH-1’s Behind the Music where Malcom Young stated that the music was set and the rest of the band were “ready for bon” just before he passed away?  I don’t know that I believe the songs were complete without the lyrics and even some of the vocals being demo-ed.  Historically, I don’t know that the band worked that way. 

We will never really know, but when I listen to You Shook Me All Night Long, Have a Drink On Me, and Rock and Roll aint Noise Pollution,  I have my doubts about the author of Back in Black's lyrics. Especially knowing that What Do You Do For Money Honey had been written as far back as Powerage. 

It’s all a mystery, and will remain so.  It’s been said Bon played drums on some of Back in Black's demos, and past interviews stated Bon contributed “a little bit” lyrically. 

Who knows?  

If you read The Last Highway by Jesse Fink, I think you’ll be further convinced.