AC/DC’s timeless appeal can be credited to one core principle: “it’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but I like it.” This unpretentious approach has earned them love across the globe, with legends like Keith Richards even praising their energetic performances and tight sound. Angus Young and his crew have stayed faithful to this ethos throughout their career, proving that simplicity, energy, and authenticity make for an irresistible rock act.
Angus himself believes that many bands lose their magic when they stray from what made them great. While he recognizes the early genius of Led Zeppelin, he feels they eventually lost the plot. He describes their later live shows as “boring” for most of the performance, only to “pull out old rock ‘n’ roll numbers to get the crowd moving.” In his eyes, it’s a clear sign that even the mighty Zeppelin knew where their true strength lay, but had lost the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll as they dabbled in more indulgent and progressive sounds.
“I’ve seen that band live. They were on for three hours. For two-and-a-half hours, they bored the audience,” Young told Classic Rock. “Then at the end, they pull out old rock ’n’ roll numbers to get the crowd movin’. That’s sick.”
To Angus, Led Zeppelin and other bands that veered too far from their roots were just “poor imitators of The Who.” He thinks the genre started to fade when artists began indulging in progressive experimentation that “progressed the wrong way.” But he’s confident that true rock spirit is always revived by fresh talent who know how to keep it real.
When asked about Gene Simmons’ claim that rock ‘n’ roll is dead, Young quipped, “Oh right, who’s he?” He’s heard the “rock is dead” talk before, even when The Beatles were taking the world by storm. “They said, ‘guitar music is finished,’ and it’s still going strong,” he added, echoing the sentiment that rock never truly dies.
Brian Johnson echoed Angus’s thoughts, remarking, “It’s funny how many times rock ‘n’ roll has been dead. How many times people have said it’s dead. And it just keeps coming back like a bloody phoenix.” With their current world tour, AC/DC continues to prove that rock ‘n’ roll is far from finished, thriving with every riff and high-voltage show they put on.
