AC/DC - '74 Jailbreak (1984)

 

So, there was once this band called AC/DC. They were either Satanists or bi-sexuals who were popular in the 70s and early 80s. Some people thought that might have some longevity, but they eventually disappeared from the face of the earth and were never heard from again. Shame. They might have amounted to something had they just had a fair shot. 

I was talking with a friend the other day. Well, texting with a friend. I rarely actually talk to friends anymore. But, we were chatting about AC/DC, and both of us are lifelong fans, who just never collected all their stuff for one reason or another. My problem was I became one of those punks who took his "punkness" extremely seriously. I didn't like anything that wasn't under the "punk" banner for a few years there. My poor copy of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap met with the unruly defacing perpetrated by an ignorant and arrogant twit who was wearing my skin and clothes at the time. I also eventually sold off my copy of Back In Black to buy some other record. I would like to get in my Wayback Machine to see what it was I bought. Was I an idiot, or was it a worthy purchase?

Just a few years after such idiotic actions occurred, I eventually started grabbing their material again. I eventually realized AC/DC encompassed more of the punk attitude than almost every punk act combined. The kings of not giving a fuck about what anybody thought of them.

This one, however, never came my way. It came out between two of their "less than loved" releases (Flick of the Switch and Fly on the Wall), and while it was Bon Scott era, it isn't really ideal Bon Scott material. While "Jailbreak" and "Soul Stripper" are pretty good (with "'74" being a little more that pretty good), the others aren't "must hear" tracks. I don't know the exact reasons it was released, but I can only guess it was an attempt at trying to keep people interested in the band after the mediocre showing of Flick of the Switch, which is a fine album, but did nothing for the public. But it is odd that they rolled out Bon Scott era, which almost seems foolish. Was it to prove Johnson superior? To remind people how great Scott was? To show how far they had come in song writing and production? We can say that for anybody who says "AC/DC only does one type of song" might be interested in checking this out. "Jailbreak" is pretty much what one expects out of AC/DC, but the other tunes are a fairly varied bunch, with the cover of "Baby, Please Don't Go" being, while Blues and obviously in their wheelhouse, a rather different sounding tune for them. Angus in particular is not soloing exactly as we expect Angus to solo. There are a few runs he does that are not typical.

Most AC/DC fans have this, and I'm not saying anything new. But, well, there ya go.

Also, yeah, the name makes no damn sense.

Thanks, again, to Colleen for the tunes.