Angus Young can suck on this
No, I’m not a big AC/DC fan.
Its not that I totally dislike them or anything; I respect their ability to write the same song over and over and over and over again.
I keed, I keed. But seriously, AC/DC is going to be performing at Mosaic Stadium here in Regina on Monday night, an event that people are either really excited about or an event people in the media think people are really excited about. I’m honestly not sure which.
I had a conversation with a reporter in our Saskatoon newsroom on Friday in which I expressed the total disdain I feel for the band. He was incredulous. “What about Back in Black?” No, no Back in Black, thank you. I’ve honestly never felt compelled to either purchase or even listen to AC/DC of my own volition. I’ve heard all the hits more times than I’d care to count and yes, there is a sameness to them that I just don’t see the appeal of. I get why people think its fun or enjoyable or whatever. It just isn’t for me.
But I also don’t listen to a lot of “classic rock.” Like hardly any. I have always had a soft spot for Hendrix though; his consistently wanton disregard for expectation and refusal to accept the norms of his time are so completely ingrained in his music it is impossible not to get swept up in it.
Those qualities are most evident on the 1999 sort-of re-release of his Band of Gypsys live stand at the Fillmore East. It expands on the initial self-titled 1970 release, which culled just six songs from a three-night stand at the legendary venue. Having recently disbanded the Experience, he called up the incredibly-talented Billy Cox and Buddy Miles to help him fulfill a contractual obligation to provide a new album to his label.
In my opinion he could’ve done so much better. I’m guessing he chose to give some of the lesser tracks to Capitol as a bit of a kiss-off, saving the real fireworks for re-workings of traditional songs and some
Experience cuts. The Live at the Fillmore East 2-CD set released in 1999 aims to fix that.
It starts off with the cream of the crop: a jaw-dropping take on “Stone Free,” a tune originally put out as the b-side of the Experience’s Hey Joe single in the UK. The live cut is not only about three times faster than the original track but it’s also three or four times longer, transformed into a breakneck extended jam session that goes and goes for nearly 13 minutes. Utilizing custom pedals and his other-wordly abilities Hendrix improvises about eight minutes of it, serving as band leader as well as soloist. This is the sound of an audience’s expectations being fiercely shattered.
Anyway, check out this lovely link for one of the most face-meltingly amazing recordings of life. If I didn’t have to be at the AC/DC show for work I’d be at home listening to Live at the Fillmore East and ignoring the sound wafting across the train tracks from the stadium to my house.
Wow, cool site. I’ll be back to read more that’s for sure.
You’re dead to me, Book. Dead! I suppose I cannot fault you for not loving AC/DC, since I do not love the Tragically Hip. But I simply can’t ever fully trust people who do not have any AC/DC on their iPods. It’s a thing.
I don’t love the Tragically Hip. I only own one of their albums. Let go of the hate!
I have a string quartet tribute track of an AC/DC song. Does that count?