Published on Apr 12, 1999
I have seen AC/DC’s 1983 effort
Flick Of The Switch poo-poohed so much in the press, and by
fans as well. I might be one of the few people out there who is
bold enough to say, it’s not a
bad album. I mean, if it came down to listening to this
album or having to do beekeeping naked, the choice would be
easy.
But by 1983, the juggernaut of AC/DC’s popularity was grinding
down. The material that Angus Young and crew was putting out was
nowhere near as stellar as the songs that made up
Back In Black. Even their chart-topping album
For Those About To Rock We Salute You was not on the same
level.
Add to this that producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, for whatever
reason, was not involved in this album, and that tensions in the
band were rising to the point that drummer Phil Rudd was about to
make his exit. (I won’t get into the rumored reasons for his
departure.) By all rights,
Flick Of The Switch should have been a disaster.
In some senses, it has the signs of trouble clearly evident. The
overall sound of the album, which was the first (and, so far, only
one) produced by the whole band, is muddy. The crispness that Lange
brought to the mix is gone, and AC/DC just don’t have the studio
panache to pull it off.
Also, some of the material sounds like leftovers the band
decided to throw together. Cuts like “Deep In The Hole,” “Brain
Shake” and “Bedlam In Belgium” are not exactly AC/DC’s finest
moments. (I swear, if I ever get the chance again to talk to Angus
Young, I’m going to ask him what the title of “Bedlam In Belgium”
means.)
But in the midst of the mediocrity, there are flashes of the old
AC/DC. “Nervous Shakedown” is a plodding number that is sure to set
your neck snapping and the air guitar wailing. “Badlands” is not as
strong an example, but is an enjoyable number. The crowning moment
is “Guns For Hire,” the track that easily could have been a hit
single. (Coming in a close second is “This House Is On Fire”.)
But in the end, what stands out on
Flick Of The Switch is the mediocre material. Tracks like
“Rising Power,” “Landslide” and the title cut all show that AC/DC
was a band in serious need of a vacation. They did take one, and
regrouped with new drummer Simon Wright (though
Fly On The Wall – a grossly underrated album in my book –
hardly lit the world on fire).
Side note: At one time about 14 years ago, MTV was showing a
live concert of AC/DC from the
Flick Of The Switch tour, recorded in Detroit. If you have
the home video
Who Made Who, the version of “For Those About To Rock We
Salute You” is from that show; if you have the “Who Made Who”
single, the live version of “Guns For Hire” is from the Joe Louis
Arena. I seriously wish that Atlantic (or Elektra, or whoever
considers themselves AC/DC’s label these days) would release this
show, ’cause it made some of this material sound great. If anyone
has this show, let me know.
(Editor’s note: Since this review ran, I have indeed obtained
the video of this show.)