There is only one Bon Scott era AC/DC album I don't care for and it's Let There Be Rock. I've owned this album for a decade or so at this point, and have only listened to it a hand full of times. I find it to be a filler album, that only has a few good tracks on it.
To me this album comes across as a left over album, which is to say that it's made up from tracks that weren't good enough to make it onto any album that came out prior to this one. It could also be that many of these songs sounded too much like other tracks from their previous albums, so that it was best to leave them off.
Take the lead off track Go Down, for example. This track reminds me way too much of Can I Sit Next To You Girl from the High Voltage album. Right down to the thin sounding Bluesy vibe. Also a weak start to the album. I think it should have been switched with the next song instead.
Dog Eat Dog, sounds like T.N.T. meets Dirty Deeds, which makes it a stronger track that the album should have started with, but for the most part it sounds to me like this song was a bit uninspired, at least with Bon's vocal delivery. It's almost like his heart wasn't into it, and he was running on autopilot as he performed the lyrics.
Actually I like the term autopilot, because I find that's the perfect description for how the entire album sounds. The title track is next up. Let There Be Rock is a good song, and I do actually prefer this version compared to the over extended live version I'm more used to hearing, but over all I'm just not a fan of this song. I don't have a good reason, it's just personal taste.
I'm totally neutral about the song Bad Boy Boogie. I understand why people like it, but it barely gets my foot tapping. There is some great guitar work on it, which is what saves my opinion about this song.
Now for some reason, that can't be logically explained, Atlantic Records opted to remove Crabsody Blue's from the album after the initial international vinyl release, and jammed in a slightly shorter version of Problem Child from Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap, and it stuck that way ever since. It would seem that record companies really have an issue with songs about STD's. As for the replacement track, you can visit my review for it on the Dirty Deeds review.
Which brings me to the question of, songs about overdosing are okay, but songs about having crabs aren't? Both are warnings if you ask me. However the next track, Overdose, is not a song I've ever paid attention to. This is another track that sounds thin, and like a left over from another one of the older albums.
To me the best two tracks on this album are the last two. The first of those is Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be, which is a song format that would later be used on other albums with Brian Johnson, I'm thinking specifically For Those About To Rock, but at the time this album came out it would have been a little more original sounding.
Then the album closes with the classic Whole Lotta Rosie. The first time I heard this song I wasn't fond of it. However, over the years it's grown into one of those songs that I can't help but love. Although, I will say I do prefer this song in its live version. It seems more wild and unconstrained.
If you want to be a hardcore AC/DC fan you must own this album, but if you just want to enjoy the good stuff just listening to the songs that can also be found on live albums or video's will be more than sufficient.
5/10 - content
6/10 - production
5/10 - personal bias
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