80’s at 8: January 4, 2023- DHA Double Play Wednesday With AC/DC
Tonight was a DHA Double Play Wednesday 80’s at 8 and we rocked Double play Style with AC/DC. The first track is the title track to their ninth album from 1983 Flick of the Switch. I really like this album. In my opinion, it has some kick-ass rockin’ AC/DC tunes on it.
I could not believe when I read that the album was a commercial disappointment after it failed to match the sales figures of the band’s two previous releases, 1980’s Back in Black and 1981’s For Those About to Rock, and its release represented the beginning of the band’s commercial decline.
What? What? That can’t be so!! Well, it was. I do not care I like the album and there are a lot of AC/DC fans that like it, SO THERE are Record Companies! Despite this, opinions of Flick of the Switch have been quite positive in the years since its release, and the album has often been mentioned as one of the best releases of 1983.
It is the third AC/DC album to feature lead vocalist Brian Johnson and is the last to feature drummer Phil Rudd before his return on Ballbreaker (1995). The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.
The album is notable for its “dry” sound, with very little of the polish that is evident in their previous effort For Those About to Rock We Salute You. In a 1983 interview that appears on ultimateguitar.com, Angus Young said of the LP, “We wanted this one as raw as possible. We wanted a natural, but big, sound for the guitars. We didn’t want echoes and reverb going everywhere and noise eliminators and noise extractors.”
The album was recorded shortly after their 1982 European tour at the beginning of 1983, the album was originally released with little promotion in the US on 15 August 1983. it reached #15 on The Billboard 200 album chart #4 on the UK Album Chart #3 in their home country of Australia Album Chart. That does not seem like a commercial failure to me but what do I know? I’m just an ol Florida Swamp Rat.
Check out the music video for “Flick of the Switch” here:
The second AC/DC track is from their 1988 album Blow Up Your Video titled “That’s The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll.” It reached #28 on the BB Mainstream Rock Chart. Author Paul Stenning described the song as the strongest from the album. I disagree with that even though it is a kick-ass track.
In 2005, the music video was directed by Peter Sinclair, Brian Grant, and Jiff Morrison, and was released on Family Jewels which is a compilation DVD that features the band’s music videos, live clips, and promotional videos from 1975 to 2008. . The video was shot at their show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and included fans carrying red cardboard Gibson SG guitars.
Check out the music video for “That’s The Way I Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll” by AC/DC here:
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