| Let There Be Rock | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by AC/DC | ||||
| Released | 21 March 1977 (Australia) 23 June 1977 (worldwide) |
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| 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) |
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| Label | Albert | |||
| Producer | Harry Vanda, George Young | |||
| AC/DC chronology | ||||
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| 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 |
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.
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.
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 |
| 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 |
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 19 |
| US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[5] | 154 |
| UK Chart[6] | 17 |
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
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^shipments figures based on certification alone |
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| 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]
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