Maps of Music

Back in Black (1980)

Where the lyrics of Back in Black take you, and where it was really made.

Its all-black cover was a sign of mourning for a singer who died months before the album was recorded.

Key places

Recording at Compass Point, Nassau (1980)

Recording site Compass Point Studios — The album was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, from mid-April to May 1980 with producer Robert John Mutt Lange. The Bahamas was chosen partly for a tax advantage, since no UK studios were available. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing at Electric Lady Studios (1980)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — After recording was completed, the band mixed Back in Black at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Back in Black: seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC
• Released 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records
• First AC/DC album with Brian Johnson as lead singer
• Composed by Johnson and brothers Angus and Malcolm Young
• Estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide, second-best-selling album in music history

Background

• Highway to Hell (1979) brought AC/DC their commercial breakthrough
• Bon Scott died from alcohol poisoning in February 1980 after a night out in London
• Remaining members considered disbanding, then chose to continue
• Johnson had previously been vocalist for Geordie
• Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange also produced Highway to Hell

Recording

• Recorded over seven weeks in the Bahamas, April to May 1980
• Recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau
• Rehearsals at London's E-Zee Hire Studios were cut from three weeks to one
• Mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City after recording was completed

Cover

• All-black cover designed as a sign of mourning for Scott
• Cover accepted by Atlantic Records only with a grey outline around the AC/DC logo

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 critic David Fricke called it the best of AC/DC's six American albums and the apex of heavy-metal art in 1980
• Smash Hits critic Red Starr gave it 3 out of 10, calling the songs indistinguishable from one another
• Red Starr also called the guitar garish and the rhythms dull

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone critic Christian Hoard praised it in a retrospective review as the band's greatest work
• Rolling Stone critic Barry Walters said it still sounds timeless, while noting sexism in some songs
• Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic, writing in his 1990 guide that the band sounded somewhat too primitive
• Kitty Empire of The Observer, writing in 2011, named it her favourite album ever

Records

• Debuted at number one on the British albums chart and topped it for two weeks
• Peaked at number four on the American chart and stayed in the top 10 for more than five months
• Reached number one on the ARIA Charts in Australia in March 1981
• Certified 27× Platinum by the RIAA on 21 August 2024
• Rolling Stone ranked it number 26 on its 1989 list of the 100 Best Albums of the Eighties
• Rolling Stone ranked it number 73 on its 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Atlantic Records disliked the all-black cover but accepted it on the condition that a grey outline be added around the AC/DC logo.
• A crab shuffling across the studio's wooden floor interrupted one take, a humorous anecdote from the sessions.
• The bell sound was recorded with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio after the foundry brought its production forward, since church bell recordings did not work because of birds flying away.
• Johnson's lyrics for the opening of Hells Bells referenced the bad tropical weather that hit the Bahamas around the band's arrival.
• Some of the group's equipment was initially held up by customs, while other gear was slowly freighted over from the UK.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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