Maps of Music

Flick of the Switch (1983)

Where the lyrics of Flick of the Switch take you, and where it was really made.

The ninth album was recorded in the same Bahamas studio as Back in Black, but it marked the beginning of the band's commercial decline.

Key places

Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Bahamas (1983)

Recording site Compass Point Studios — AC/DC returned to this Nassau studio to record the album, the same place where they had recorded Back in Black with Mutt Lange in 1980. For this album the band produced the record themselves. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Flick of the Switch: ninth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC
• Released 15 August 1983; in the US it was first released on 19 August 1983 with little promotion
• Third AC/DC album to feature lead vocalist Brian Johnson
• Last album with drummer Phil Rudd before his return on Ballbreaker (1995)
• Re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series

Background

• The band's two previous releases were Back in Black (1980) and For Those About to Rock (1981)
• The album did not match their sales figures and was deemed a commercial disappointment
• Its release marked the beginning of the band's commercial decline
• Recorded shortly after the 1982 European tour, at the beginning of 1983
• Robert John Mutt Lange had produced the band's three previous releases; this time the band produced the album themselves

Recording

• Recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, the same studio where Back in Black was recorded
• In commentary on the Live at Donington DVD, the band members said the album was an attempt to make the band raw again
• Drummer Phil Rudd was fired midway through the sessions, after he had completed his drum parts
• B.J. Wilson was hired to help complete the recording if needed, but his contributions were not used
• Simon Wright was hired after more than 700 auditions in the US and UK

Cover

• Pencil-drawn picture of Angus Young hanging from a giant power switch, illustrated by artist Brent Richardson
• Angus had sketched it to reflect the simple, raw approach of the album
• Atlantic Records disliked the cover
• Angus wanted the graphics embossed as on Back in Black, but Atlantic would not spend the money because it believed the album had no hit singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young.
• The band name comes from the AC/DC symbol on the adapter of their sister Margaret's sewing machine.
• Their music has been described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal, though the band calls itself simply a rock and roll band.
• Their early sound was rooted in Australian pub rock.

Members

• Angus Young (lead guitar) and Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar) were the founding core of the band until Malcolm retired in 2014.
• Bon Scott was lead vocalist until his death in February 1980.
• Brian Johnson became lead vocalist in 1980.
• Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and Stevie Young have also played key roles.

Career

• Their 1980 album Back in Black became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• The band has sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide.
• They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's David Fricke wrote that the band-produced album was not quite the monster blowout Back in Black had been
• Fricke also said the Young brothers' retooling of old riffs for new hits sometimes teetered on self-plagiarism
• Cash Box said the title track blasts off with a basic hard rock guitar riff from Angus Young and Brian Johnson's equally basic hard rock squeals

Reappraisal

• Canadian journalist Martin Popoff called the album the blinding furious peak of the Brian Johnson era
• Popoff wrote that AC/DC recaptured the raw edge lost during the Mutt Lange years, even though the songs were starting to relive past glories
• AllMusic's Steve Huey agreed, writing that the band seemed to be running out of ideas at an alarming rate
• Huey noted that the record sales began to reflect this
• Malcolm Young later said the album was thrown together real quick and that he would not call it a great album

Records

• Reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 15 in the US
• Certified platinum by the RIAA
• The album was deemed a commercial disappointment compared with the band's previous two releases

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Critic Steve Huey called the record's original title I Like to Rock utterly generic and idiotic
• Bedlam in Belgium was inspired by the band's appearance at Kontich, where a riot nearly broke out after police tried to close the show
• On tour in support of the album, Guns for Hire opened the set
• Frustrated by mixed reviews and dwindling audiences in some cities, Malcolm Young fired tour manager Ian Jeffrey
• Band-produced sessions were recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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