Martin Popoff is a prodigious producer of heavy metal and hard rock books – 69 so far according to his bio. His books are not places to look for back story, tales from the road, gossip or other shenanigans. His books usually focus on albums as a way of relating the arc of careers, picking through the detail on a song by song basis. Many can be found for a $1 a Pop(off), usually covering a single album.
Here however Popoff has switched gear here, presenting a much more lavish coffee table style book that considers every AC/DC release in turn up to “Rock or Bust”. It’s beautifully produced and comes packed with a wealth of pictures of the band, album and single covers, posters, adverts and tour passes.
It’s an easy book to dip in and out of. Laid out in chronological order, each section starts with a track listing, writing, production and playing credits set alongside the album art. Popoff pens an introductory summary and then a panel discussion using a Q&A format sets out the more substantive narrative.
Although the panel doesn’t stretch to including Angus or Brian Johnson, amongst the eclectic mix of contributors are former drummers Phil Rudd and Simon Wright, “Razor’s Edge / Thunderstruck” producer Mike Fraser, Atlantic Records executive Phil Carson, Megadeath bassist David Ellefson, Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French and Joel O’Keefe, lead vocalist and guitarist with AC/DC clones Airbourne.
Popoff’s work will obviously sell well with hardcore fans; perhaps unlikely to reel in the mildly curious or unfamiliar. I’d describe myself as familiar with some but far from all of AC/DC’s output but I found it an engaging read. The panel’s credentials as fans are clear enough, but it’s not a hagiography. The album “TNT” is described as “charmingly twee” whilst “Fly On The Wall” and “Blow Up Your Video” are “phoned in”. “For Those About To Rock” – “didn’t cut the mustard”, “a yawner” – the difficult second album with the second singer. Thankfully Popoff’s early stylistic reductions of “have to” to “hafta” and references to “gals” in the text aren’t sustained.
Happily, the book illustrates how you can love a band and still see its flaws. Popoff “loved the band instantly but always in a protective way …. We humoured them. AC/DC was a bit unstudied, not much more than Kiss without makeup”. “Simple music from the least pretentious band in the world”. “Powerage” is cited as a long-term favourite, alongside “Highway To Hell” as the “best half an album” ever recorded.
The panel format is more effective on some albums than others – at time a little too much repetition of “what are your favourite tracks” but this is balanced by the personal stories of how the panel members came to the albums. There’s a lot of detailed discussion of individual songs, the production and mixes, and the activities of other band at the time of each release.
The absence of back story and the focus on albums means that Bob Scott’s death gets no discussion – he’s just not on the next album. However, Brian Johnson’s selection as new frontman is debated as part of the albums that follow Bon’s death and yield a few interesting perspectives; he had more vocal range but just as much “paint stripper”; the Van Halen comparison where Scott was like Lee Roth – more personality than vocal prowess, with Johnson like Hagar – better voice, more radio friendly, but less of a frontman. My favourite – Johnson joining made a lot more sense than Buggles joining Yes.
There are some interesting other snippets too. The costumes Angus tried and rejected before he settled on a schoolboy outfit, how Malcolm Young’s guitar is always on the left, Angus always on the right speaker and a great Jay Jay French anecdote about an obliging Johnson being asked to phone a fellow band members girlfriend only to be told to do one.
It's not the definitive history of the band. It didn't set out to be that. But it is a gorgeously laid out look at the band's work, and at £20 reasonably priced too.