The latest edition of Classic Rock magazine celebrates the 50th anniversary of AC/DC, with members of Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick and more sharing stories of the band and their favorite albums. One of those sharing is KISS’ Paul Stanley, who reveals why 1980’s Back in Black is his favorite AC/DC record.
“When Brian Johnson joined AC/DC, I was curious – like everyone was – about how that would impact the band and the chemistry they had with Bon Scott,” Stanley says about the band’s first album following Scott’s February 1980 death. “But what they created with Back In Black was just monumental.”
He adds, “They were building on what they’d done before, moving forward. That kind of bare-bones grit they had in the early days was replaced with this driving sonic overload. But it was so brilliant. I thought what was gained overrode what was lost.”
Stanley says he knew AC/DC were “the real deal” after the first time he saw them perform at the Whisky A Go Go in the seventies. He notes, “They were so gritty, and the adrenaline level was just crazy. The amount of energy that Angus [Young] was expending on stage was mind boggling.”
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