Filmed in 1979 in France on the "Highway to Hell" tour, LET THERE BE ROCK shows the Bon Scott-led lineup at their peak, shortly before Scott's untimely death. While not their best outing, the band's performance is certainly good enough to satisfy fans.
LET THERE BE ROCK includes what many believe to be AC/DC's best configuration: Scott on vocals, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young on guitar, Cliff Williams on bass, and Phil Rudd on drums. Over the course of just a few albums, this lineup was responsible for a hell of a lot of great rock and roll,
and LET THERE BE ROCK treats the viewer to some of the gems: "Whole Lotta Rosie," "Live Wire," "Girl's Got Rhythm," and "Let There Be Rock," to name a few. Though categorized as a heavy metal band in the 1980s (with singer Brian Johnson replacing Scott), AC/DC's '70s material, though louder than
god, is really high-energy boogie-woogie--goodtime music about women, booze, and, of course, rock and roll.
In LET THERE BE ROCK, as in any AC/DC performance, the centerpiece is lead guitarist Angus Young; dressed in schoolboy jacket and tie, he is in constant motion, thrashing across the stage like a spitting powerline. (Viewers mesmerized by Angus's antics may even be able to overlook some rather
sloppy bits that were left in, such as Williams's flat tuning and Rudd's broken snare.) Backstage interviews with the band aren't terribly insightful, except for some comments by Scott that rather creepily foreshadow his death. (Scott choked on his own vomit in the back seat of a car in 1980.) LET
THERE BE ROCK was released in theaters after Scott's death, and is dedicated to him. (Profanity.) leave a comment
