Back in Black
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| Back in Black | ||
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| Studio album by AC/DC | ||
| Released | July 25, 1980 (original) February 8, 2005 (Dualdisc) |
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| Recorded | April - May 1980 at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 41:59 | |
| Label | Atlantic, ATCO; Epic Records (2003 Remaster/2005 Dualdisc) | |
| Producer(s) | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| AC/DC chronology | ||
| Highway to Hell (1979) |
Back in Black (1980) |
For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981) |
| Back cover | ||
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Back in Black is the seventh studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980 (see 1980 in music). It is also AC/DC's sixth international studio album. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson.
Back in Black was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who died unexpectedly in February 1980. The band considered disbanding following Scott's death, but ultimately decided to continue and shortly thereafter hired Johnson as their new lead singer and lyricist. Though the Young brothers had begun work on their next studio album prior to Bon's death, and Bon Scott had written lyrics for potential new songs, the decision was made to redo the album from scratch upon hiring Johnson. Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had previously worked with AC/DC on Highway to Hell, was again brought in to produce.
Designed as a tribute to Scott, and built on a theme of mortality and hedonism, the resulting album contained some of AC/DC's biggest hits, including the title track, "Hells Bells", "You Shook Me All Night Long," and many others. It went on to become AC/DC's most popular album, the second best-selling album of all time[1] and the biggest selling album by a band of all time, with more than 42 million copies sold worldwide. In 2006 Back in Black was certified by the RIAA as the fourth best-selling album in the United States, tied with Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & II with 21 million copies sold[2].
The album was remastered and re-released first in late 1994, then again in the Bonfire box set in 1997, and as part of the AC/DC Remasters Series in 2003. In addition, a Dualdisc version was released in 2005, featuring the album in enhanced LPCM Stereo format and the video documentary The Story of Back in Black.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Hells Bells" – 5:12
- "Shoot to Thrill" – 5:17
- "What Do You Do for Money Honey" – 3:35
- "Givin' the Dog a Bone" – 3:31
- "Let Me Put My Love into You" – 4:15
- "Back in Black" – 4:15
- "You Shook Me All Night Long" – 3:30
- "Have a Drink on Me" – 3:58
- "Shake a Leg" – 4:05
- "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" – 4:16
- All songs written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson.
[edit] Personnel
- Brian Johnson — lead vocals
- Angus Young — lead guitar
- Malcolm Young — rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Cliff Williams — bass guitar, backing vocals
- Phil Rudd — drums
[edit] Production
- Robert John "Mutt" Lange — Producer
- Benji Armbrister — Assistant Engineer
- Bob Defrin — Art Direction
- Robert Ellis — Photography
- Ted Jensen — Remastering
- Tony Platt — Engineer
- Brad Samuelsohn — Mixing
- Jack Newber — Assistant Engineer
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Album charts | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | ARIA - Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1980 | UK - Album Chart | 1 |
| 1980 | US - Top Pop Albums | 4 |
| 1988 | US - Billboard 200 | 4 |
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | "You Shook Me All Night Long" | US - Pop Singles | 35 |
| 1980 | "You Shook Me All Night Long" | UK - Singles Chart | 38 |
| 1980 | "Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" | UK - Singles Chart | 15 |
| 1981 | "Back In Black" | US - Mainstream Rock | 51 |
| 1981 | "Hells Bells" | US - Mainstream Rock | 50 |
| 1981 | "Shoot To Thrill" | US - Mainstream Rock | 60 |
| 1981 | "Back In Black" | US - Pop Singles | 37 |
[edit] Trivia
- There have been some interesting tribute albums released that have been entirely dedicated to Back in Black - one example being Back in Baroque... The String Tribute to AC/DC released in 2003. U.S. death metal outfit Six Feet Under released their second covers album Graveyard Classics 2 in 2004, which was also an entire remake of Back in Black.
- Christian parody band ApologetiX have re-written two songs from this album: "Back Intact" (about Jesus' resurrection); "You Booked Me" (about Adam and Eve).
- In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Back in Black the 82nd greatest album of all time.
- In 2006, VH1 featured Back in Black in the show Ultimate Albums (who labelled it the sixth highest-selling album of all time instead of the second).
- In 2003, the album was ranked number 73 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- The song "Back in Black" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[3]
- The song was also used as an entrance theme by professional wrestler Chris Candido during his days in ECW.
- Lewis Black's segment on The Daily Show is titled "Back In Black", and features a soundalike version of the song as it's theme.
- In 2004, the album took the number 14 spot on Much More Music's "Top 40 Albums from the past 25 Years".
- InMe play a part of Back in Black when they play Firefly live.
[edit] References
- All Music Guide - Back In Black, Charts & Awards
- EveryHit.com - Top 40 Hit Database
- Wal-Mart - Back in Black DualDisc
[edit] Notes
- ^ Global All-Time Top 20 Albums EveryHit.co.uk. Retrieved on 8 October|, 2006
- ^ Top Albums RIAA
[edit] External links
- Lyrics on AC/DC's official website
- Back in Black at MusicBrainz
- PopMatters' Adam Williams claims that Back in Black 's importance in the development of 1980s music cannot be "overstated"; the album revitalized popular music and helped make radio-friendly heavy metal and hard rock music possible.
