| For Those About to Rock We Salute You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by AC/DC | ||||
| Released | 23 November 1981 | |||
| Recorded | Spring-Autumn 1981 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues-rock | |||
| Length | 40:10 | |||
| Label | Albert | |||
| Producer | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |||
| AC/DC chronology | ||||
|
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Blender | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | (C) [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. | |
For Those About to Rock We Salute You is the eighth Australian and seventh international studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1981. The album was a follow-up to their highly successful album Back in Black. For Those About to Rock has sold over four million copies in the US. It would be AC/DC's only No. 1 album in the US until the release of Black Ice in October 2008. In their original 1981 review, Rolling Stone magazine declared it to be their best album. In Australia, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[5]
The album was the third and final produced for the band by Robert John "Mutt" Lange.
The name of the album was inspired by a book Angus Young read, entitled For Those About to Die, We Salute You, about Roman gladiators. The gladiators' final words to the emperor were "Ave Caesar morituri te salutant" – or, "Hail Caesar, we who are about to die, salute you". The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC remasters series.
Contents |
All songs written and composed by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" | 5:44 |
| 2. | "Put the Finger on You" | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Let's Get It Up" | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Inject the Venom" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Snowballed" | 3:23 |
| 6. | "Evil Walks" | 4:23 |
| 7. | "C.O.D." | 3:19 |
| 8. | "Breaking the Rules" | 4:23 |
| 9. | "Night of the Long Knives" | 3:25 |
| 10. | "Spellbound" | 4:30 |
According to the official AC/DC website, the second track is "Put the Finger on You".[6] On some versions the title is shown as "I Put the Finger on You".[1]
Recorded in a rehearsal space on the outskirts of Paris. The band had found it difficult to come up with their desired sound while on their previous rehearsing location (an abandoned factory in France).
The album became AC/DC's first US No. 1 album. After its release the band embarked on its first arena tour of North America (late 1981 through early 1982). For the title track, large cannons were placed on stage, set to go off in accordance with the song on the album.
In Spain, early copies of the album featured a sleeve with the colours reversed, i.e., a gold cannon on a black background.
The title track's popularity was such that in almost every live concert AC/DC has done thereafter, the song is performed as an encore and is always accompanied by firing cannons on stage.
It was re-released in 2003 in CD format. That edition consisted of digitally remastered material from the original masters.
The National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) used this song as a wake-up call for their STS-98 mission on day 7.
This is the only AC/DC studio album where the group filmed no promotional videos.
For Those About to Rock was also the name of a movie including live performances by AC/DC, as well as Metallica, The Black Crowes, and Pantera.
The album's sales, although good, paled in comparison to sales of Back in Black. Nevertheless, the album became the first AC/DC album to ever hit No. 1 in the US on the Billboard chart and stayed on the top for three weeks. This is the first of two AC/DC album to make it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart, the second being Black Ice. The album held this position for three weeks. To date, in the US, it has achieved four million sales. In the UK, the album's two singles, "Let's Get It Up" and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)", made it to No. 13 and No. 15, respectively. The album has sold an approximated seven million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest sold AC/DC albums worldwide.
Album
|
Year
|
Chart
|
Position
|
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart |
1
|
| 1981 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[5] |
3
|
Singles – UK (United Kingdom)
|
Year
|
Single
|
Chart
|
Position
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Lets Get It Up" | UK Pop Singles |
13
|
| 1982 | "For Those About To Rock We Salute You" | UK Pop Singles |
15
|
| Country | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4,000,000 | 4x Platinum |
| Preceded by 4 by Foreigner |
Billboard 200 number-one album 26 December 1981 – 15 January 1982 |
Succeeded by 4 by Foreigner |
|
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