AC/DC part II

AC/DC's second album called 'T.N.T.' was released at the end on 1975. It was a huge success, selling more than 100,000 copies and AC/DC became by the way the biggest rock'n'roll band in Australia. But what does it mean on a worldwide level. The next step in AC/DC's conquest of the world was the conquest of the United States. Meanwhile, the British version of 'High Voltage' had been released in America during October 1976. 'Let There Be Rock' was to be released in the US in June, four months before Europe and three months after Australia. AC/DC's first US tour started in the Southern part of the country during the Summer and ended in the Winter, taking them from Texas to Florida. In Florida, they played their first major US gig in front of 13,000 people at the outdoor Hollywood Spartatorium. AC/DC's first trek across the States was a case of small clubs at one end and huge arenas, opening for Reo Speedwagon, in the other. The US tour reached a peak at the Palladium and the CBGB's club in New York. At New York's Palladium, Angus used a cordless guitar for the first time. On October 14, 'Let There Be Rock', recorded in January/February 1977, finally saw the light in Britain after lengthy delays. In November, the album reached No. 17 in the British charts. The US tour was broken in the Fall by a third tour of Europe and Britain in order to promote their new album. As expected, this time they toured Europe as headliners. In November/December 1977, back in the States, AC/DC opened for Rush and Kiss. In New York, the band performed a show for radio broadcast at Atlantic's own recording studios on Broadway, on December 7. The set was sent out to radio DJs as a 'For Promotional Use Only' LP titled 'Live From The Atlantic Studios'. These days very few copies of that limited edition record exist, but it has been released as different bootleg albums since then. 'If You Want Blood You've Got It' closed the first stage of AC/DC's career. Atlantic suggested a change of producer. Eddie Kramer, who in the past had been associated with Jimi Hendrix, Kiss and Led Zeppelin, was the first choice to produce AC/DC's next album. But things just didn't work out. Eventually, Robert John 'Mutt' Lange was chosen to produce the album. As well as changing producer, AC/DC also changed studios, moving into the Roundhouse Studios in Chalk Farm, London. Those changes were followed by a change in management, from Michael Browning to Peter Mensch of the powerful New York-based Leber and Krebs organization. AC/DC which had not previously recorded outside Australia and had never spent more than three weeks working on an album, spent six months in the Roundhouse Studios with 'Mutt' Lange working on the new record. Lange did an admirable job of refining and sharpening AC/DC's sound without losing the raw edge that was the source of the band's original appeal. Released on July 27, 'Highway To Hell' quickly became the band's first UK top Ten hit, peaking at No. 8, and their first US Top Twenty, reaching No. 17. It was even a hit in Australia, where it made it to No. 24, making it the first AC/DC album to chart there in nearly three years. '

Want to play like Agnus Young? Then you NEED guitar control! www.guitarcontrol.com