Maps of Music

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (1981)

Where the lyrics of For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) take you, and where it was really made.

The first Paris recording attempt was abandoned after ten days, and the album was finished in a rehearsal room instead.

Key places

Recording in Paris (1981)

Recording site Family Sound Studio — The album was recorded in Paris after a week of rehearsals in June 1981. Candidate records name Family Sound Studio, but the source text names H.I.S. Studio, a rehearsal room in Paris, so the exact building is not confirmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• For Those About to Rock (We Salute You): eighth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC
• Shortened to For Those About to Rock on its cover
• Released 20 November 1981 in the US and 27 November 1981 in the UK
• Follow-up to Back in Black
• Sold over four million copies in the US
• First and only US number one until Black Ice in October 2008
• Peaked at number three on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart in Australia
• Re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series

Background

• Recorded after a few months' break following the Back in Black Tour
• Band reconvened in Paris for a week of rehearsals in June 1981
• Most, if not all, of the songs had been written by then
• Third and final collaboration with producer Robert John 'Mutt' Lange

Recording

• Recording began 6 July 1981 at EMI's Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris, with Lange producing
• Sessions were abandoned after 10 days because Lange could not get the sounds he wanted
• Two weeks of searching for another studio followed
• By late July the band recorded in H.I.S. Studio, a rehearsal room in Paris
• The Mobile One recording truck was hired from London
• Sessions were interrupted for the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington on 22 August
• That performance did not go well, partly due to poor weather and lack of time to prepare
• The band grew impatient with Lange's perfectionism and constant tinkering in the studio
• The band parted ways with Lange after the album was completed

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

• In its original 1981 review, Rolling Stone magazine declared it AC/DC's best album

Reappraisal

• In a 2008 Rolling Stone cover story, David Fricke singled out the title track for praise
• Fricke pointed to the track's unusual stop-start effect, which hooks listeners as hard as the band's usual railroad drive
• Robert Christgau said Brian Johnson defines an anthemic grandiosity more suitable to the band's precious-metal status than Bon Scott's old-fashioned raunch
• Christgau also called the album dumber

Records

• First AC/DC album to reach number one on the US Billboard chart, staying there for three weeks
• Over four million sold in the US
• Marked a major drop in US sales compared with the 25x platinum Back in Black
• Two UK singles: 'Let's Get It Up' reached number 13, and the title track reached number 15
• Estimated seven million copies sold worldwide
• Peaked at number three on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart in Australia

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The official AC/DC website lists the second track as 'Put the Finger on You', while some versions of the album show the title as 'I Put the Finger on You'.
• The band interrupted recording to perform at Monsters of Rock at Castle Donington on 22 August, a show that went badly partly because of poor weather.
• The song's lyrics spell out 'C.O.D.' as 'Care Of the Devil'.
• Lange's perfectionism and constant studio tinkering frustrated the band, leading to their split after the album was finished.
• The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact