AC/DC - If you want Blood

In this age of the pious, post modern rock star, the idea of the live album is very much an anachronism. The nearest thing you’re likely to get to a concert recording is a Travis podcast from the Eden Project in aid of homeless charities and let’s face it, where’s the fun in that? To explore this sub genre fully, in order to extract the most prized of gems; we must journey back into the mists of time when the release of the live album was as eagerly awaited as new material.

The 1970’s was THE decade of the live album and there were some corkers: Deep Purple, The Who, Rainbow and Thin Lizzy all released live albums or double live albums, that to this day are regarded as classics. ELP, in true Spinal Tap this-goes-up-to-11 style released a triple album of their ostentatious live noodlings. For the creme de la creme of the live recording, however; an album that achieves the almost impossible in capturing the excitement and intensity of a group at the peak of their powers; one need look no further than AC/DC’s If you want blood, you’ve got it.

This is a recording of the Glasgow Apollo show on April 30 1978. Of course, there is no mention of this on the actual sleeve notes. AC/DC have never concerned neither themselves nor their audience with such piffling trivia. The Rhythm section of Malcolm Young (guitar) Cliff Williams (Bass) and Phill Rudd (Drums) lay a solid, workman-like foundation. Admittedly, there is little deviation from either the 12 bar 2/4 or 4/4 frameworks, but they are unbelievably tight. The quality of the recording, from a technical perspective at least, is dreadful! Even on the so-called “Remastered” CD there is far too much treble, the whole thing absolutely drenched in sibilance. However, this only adds to the charm of it. It really lends something to the dynamics of the chords – Famously, Malcolm plays open chords through using a clean tone from one of his trademark Gretchs, whilst Angus blasts the equivalent bar chord through his overdriven SG. The breadth of their combined sound is uniquely captured here – Angus’s solos assume an additional crispness and bite of tone compared to their studio counterparts.

This is without doubt his best live or studio performance. His soloing throughout, but particularly on the definitive versions of The Jack, Bad Boy Boogie, a barnstorming Whole Lotta Rosie and Let There be Rock is perfectly phrased. The trademark passages of rippling one-handed hammer-ons, wailing vibrato and a veritable aural textbook of call-and-response pentatonics are all perfectly executed. Quite how much touching-up was done in the mix is anybody’s guess and rumours abound as to the validity of this as a “Live” record but live, studio or otherwise, it is a phenomenal performance. It would not occur to anyone who had heard anything but this CD, quite what a gifted blues rock player this guy is.

The Jack aside, the pace is relentless. This was and remains compulsory listening for even the most casual rock fan, without making any concessions to the mainstream. Naturally, the bands live performances declined exponentially in the later years, and it certainly seems that the time to actually catch them live is now passed, which only adds to the value of this as a record of their legendary status as a live act. For the uninitiated and I know it’s difficult to believe but, yes, they really were this good.