Let There Be Rock

Let There Be Rock
Studio album by AC/DC
Released 21 March 1977 (Australia)
23 June 1977 (worldwide)
Recorded January–February 1977, Albert Studios, Sydney, Australia
Genre Hard rock, blues rock, rock and roll, heavy metal[1]
Length 40:19 (Australian)
41:01 (International)
Label Albert
Producer Harry Vanda, George Young
AC/DC chronology
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
(1976)
Let There Be Rock
(1977)
Powerage
(1978)
International edition

Let There Be Rock is the fourth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in March 1977. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott.

It was originally released in Australia on Albert Productions. A modified international edition was released on Atlantic Records in June 1977.

Contents

Overview

Let There Be Rock was also the last AC/DC recording to feature bassist Mark Evans, who previously played on T.N.T. (1975) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976).

On 3 April 1977, AC/DC filmed a live performance of "Dog Eat Dog" for Australia's Countdown. In July 1977, the band further promoted Let There Be Rock by filming a music video for the album's title track. Recorded in a church in Sydney's Surrey Hills known as the Kirk Gallery,[2] it featured Scott as a priest and the rest of the band as altar boys.[3]

The album cover features fretting image of Buffalo's Chris Turner's fingers on a guitar neck.[4] This edition was eventually repackaged with the international version's cover (see image), marking the first time an Australian AC/DC album cover was matched to its corresponding international edition.

In 1980, AC/DC released a live concert motion picture titled AC/DC: Let There Be Rock. In 1997, an expanded audio recording of this concert was released on CD as Let There Be Rock: The Movie, on discs 2-3 of the Bonfire box set.

International release

As with AC/DC's previous albums, there are differences between Let There Be Rock's Australian and ultimate international editions. The original vinyl version of the album made available for international release contained the same tracks as the Australian release. However, Atlantic Records removed the racy "Crabsody In Blue" from the later international version. It was replaced with a shortened version of "Problem Child" from the Australian version of the album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976. "Crabsody In Blue" was later released on the box set Backtracks, which was released in 2009. All international CD releases contain the modified track listing.

The international version's cover also marked the debut of the band's logo, designed by Gerard Huerta. The photograph used for the cover was taken on 19 March 1977 at the Kursaal Ballroom, Southend, Essex, UK.

Track listing

Australia (and original international vinyl)

All songs written and composed by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott

No. Title Length
1. "Go Down" (5:20 for vinyl) 5:33
2. "Dog Eat Dog"   3:35
3. "Let There Be Rock"   6:07
4. "Bad Boy Boogie"   4:28
5. "Overdose"   6:09
6. "Crabsody in Blue"   4:45
7. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"   4:15
8. "Whole Lotta Rosie"   5:22

International

No. Title Length
1. "Go Down" (Length 5:18 for vinyl) 5:31
2. "Dog Eat Dog"   3:34
3. "Let There Be Rock"   6:06
4. "Bad Boy Boogie"   4:27
5. "Problem Child" (Edit) 5:24
6. "Overdose"   6:09
7. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be" (Length 4:21 for vinyl) 4:14
8. "Whole Lotta Rosie"   5:24

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 19
US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[5] 154
UK Chart[6] 17

Certification

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[7] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [8]

Reception to Let There Be Rock was generally positive; according to Allmusic, which gave the album a rating of four and a half out of five stars, AC/DC played "sweaty, dirty, nasty rock" and the band had "rarely done that kind of rock better than they did" on Let There Be Rock.[8] In 2001, Q magazine named Let There Be Rock as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.[9]

References

  1. ^ "The Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums". metal-rules.com. http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=6. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
  2. ^ Murray Engleheart with Arnaud Durieux, AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of the World’s Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band, (New York: Harper Collins, 2006), 201.
  3. ^ Video Footage and Liner Notes, Family Jewels 2-Disc DVD Set 2005
  4. ^ "AC/DC - Let There Be Rock - Chris Turner". Crabsody in Blue. http://crabsodyinblue.com/acdcchristurner.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-27. 
  5. ^ Let There Be Rock at Allmusic
  6. ^ "Chart Stats - AC/DC - Let There Be Rock". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=38502. Retrieved 20 July 2011. 
  7. ^ "American album certifications – AC/DC – Let There Be Rock". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Let+There+Be+Rock%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  8. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Let There Be Rock - Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r79/review. Retrieved 29 November 2009. 
  9. ^ "In our Lifetime #2". Rocklist.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html. Retrieved 7 July 2011. 

External links