Quote
DandelionPowderman
What surprises me the most is that the heart of the band (Mal) supposedly is so easy to replace.

Its not that Mal is easy to replace. In fact, he's irreplaceable. But what people are saying is he's been replaced before and he will be again with little to no change in the music. He is the heart and soul of what the band has been, but AC/DC live is the Angus and Brian show. You could replace all the others and most people wouldn't notice and the music wouldn't sound the same. For people like me that care about lineups, it would be noticeable, but in the end the music will 90% sound the same. What those guys were for the history of the band is irreplaceable. As for playing their parts live, unfortunately that can and has been easily done before.

[www.rollingstone.com]

Hard Rock, Harder Times: AC/DC Return Without Two Key Members
Multi-platinum blues-rock band opens up about moving on without Malcolm Young and Phil Rudd

BY DAVID FRICKE | November 14, 2014
The first bad sign came even before AC/DC started recording their new album, Rock or Bust, in Vancouver last May: The group's longtime drummer, Phil Rudd, was 10 days late for the sessions. "One minute he was coming, then he wasn't, then he was," lead guitarist Angus Young recalls. "We're not a band that likes to wait around." At one point, Young says, producer Brendan O'Brien decided Rudd had one last chance to show up." Brendan said, 'If he's not here by Friday, there will be another drummer there.'"

Rudd arrived and, Young says, "did his job." But, the guitarist notes, "I've seen him in better shape. It was not the Phil we had known, after we had finished the last tour. He'd let himself go." In October, Rudd missed an AC/DC photo and video shoot in London. Then, on November 6th, he was arrested at his home in New Zealand, accused of murder-for-hire. The charge was dropped for lack of evidence. But Rudd is still accused of threatening to kill, and of possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

In a press statement, AC/DC strongly implied they were ready to go on the road without him: "Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album, Rock or Bust, and upcoming tour next year." Young confirms this in an interview a week after Rudd's arrest: "The drum situation is a question mark. But we will definitely be out there." The guitarist confesses he was caught off-guard by the extent of Rudd's troubles. "But our problems had begun even before the situation he's in now. And our thing was we were going forward."

Young is referring to a bigger critical hole in AC/DC's boogie power: the loss of Malcolm Young, Angus' older brother and the group's iron-willed rhythm guitarist, who is suffering from dementia and is in full-time care at an undisclosed facility in Australia. Malcolm, 61, does not play on Rock or Bust and is permanently retired from the multi-platinum blues-rock band he founded, with Angus, in Sydney in 1973. That leaves Angus – 59 and still tearing across stages in his trademark schoolboy shorts – to guide singer Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and new guitarist Stevie Young, Malcolm and Angus' 58-year-old nephew, into an uncertain future. But "Mal always wanted the music to go on," Johnson says. "And I'm not going to say no."

"It's something that had actually been happening for a long time," Angus says, speaking publicly for the first time about Malcolm's condition during an earlier conversation in October. The symptoms – lapses in memory and concentration – "had surfaced even before the last project," AC/DC's 2008 album, Black Ice. But Angus says Malcolm was "still capable of knowing what he wanted to do. I had said to him, 'Do you want to go through with what we're doing?' And he said, 'Shit, yeah.' " Malcolm, Angus points out, "liked to finish what he started."

Hunched over a cup of tea in a London hotel, speaking in a soft, resigned growl, Angus reveals that Malcolm was already in treatment during his last tour with AC/ DC, from 2008 to 2010. "He got good help, good medical care," Angus says. Malcolm had to "relearn a lot of things," including riffs he had created for AC/DC's biggest songs, "which was very strange for him. But he was always a confident guy, and we made it work."

Malcolm is eerily present on Rock or Bust. The 11 songs are credited to Young-Young, largely built by Angus from guitar hooks he and Malcolm accumulated while writing previous AC/DC records. Angus did not play any of the new material, as he worked on it, for Malcolm. "With the condition he got in, that kind of faded," Angus concedes. He sought guidance from another older brother, George, a member of Sixties Australian rockers the Easybeats who co-produced AC/DC's early albums. But ultimately, Angus says, "You've got to make the decision yourself: 'What am I doing?' " He and Malcolm, both born in Glasgow and raised in Sydney, answered that question together in 1980 after the death of then-AC/DC singer Bon Scott; they hired Johnson, an ebullient Englishman with a sandpaper howl, and made their biggest-selling album, Back in Black. This time, in late 2013, Angus turned to Stevie, the son of his and Malcolm's oldest brother (also called Stevie). Stevie had filled in for Malcolm on a 1988 tour, when the latter took a sabbatical to beat his alcoholism.

Angus, Malcolm and Stevie were close as boys, attending school together in Australia; later, Malcolm produced demos for some of Stevie's bands. "Angus filled me in on what was going on with Mal," Stevie says. "It wasn't going to be the band the way it was – that was impossible." Stevie, who lives in Birmingham, England, flew to Australia to visit Malcolm, "to see the situation for myself. Mal was physically fine," he contends. "But I don't think he could have done the tour."


"It was awful and great at the same time," Johnson, 67, says of making Rock or Bust. "Angus must have felt strange playing these tunes without Malcolm." But Johnson recalls passing Stevie's hotel room at night "to see how he was doing, and he'd have his things out, doing the songs, learning his riffs. He worked his socks off to make sure he was on the money."

"The super-important thing about AC/DC is the left-right thing in the guitars," O'Brien says. "Stevie understood that. He put on the same guitars, through the same rig, and got the same sound." Williams believes that was inevitable. Stevie is, after all, a Young. "It's in his blood," the bassist, 64, says. "And it shows."

Everything else about AC/DC, including any life they may have after Rock or Bust and the 2015 tour, is up to Angus – alone. "This is Angus' passion, but he doesn't have Malcolm to lean on," O'Brien observes. "At some point, he has to decide, 'Is this something I want to keep doing, or have I said my piece?' "

Malcolm has not heard Rock or Bust. "He still likes his music," Angus says. "We make sure he has his Chuck Berry, a little Buddy Holly." But Angus believes he is pressing ahead on the record and the road – without Rudd if necessary – according to his brother's wishes and standards. "Look, even with his health, Malcolm was touring until he couldn't do it anymore."

Rudd's arrest "is a big blow to us," Angus admits. But, he repeats, "we will definitely be out there. We are committed to this."

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-14 20:04 by powerage78.

Excellent article, answers some questions fans have. I'm a bit surprised that the 11 songs are still Young/ Young. Good to see Malcolm getting songwriting credits. I'm also surprised that Brian didn't do any of the lyrics. I know he hasn't been writing any for a long time but maybe this time would have been different.
It's strange about Phil's situation. Just recently, I read online articles about how he recorded his drum parts in only 10 days in Vancouver. Now I see why! Hopefully he can straighten himself out.

HERALD SUN --- 15 November 2014



ROCKMAN

I feel a bit sorry for Phil. He's paid his dues, doesn't deserve to be thrown under the bus by Angus and the other blokes. They should keep their traps shut and show a little class and loyalty publicly while reaching out a helping hand privately.

The fact that they haven't contacted him since his arrest is pretty cold.

peace

Otoh becoming a meth head in your late 50's is not the smartest thing to do...

Imho what prompted Rudd's replacement was Sabbath's 2013 tour. Original drummer Bill Ward was left out and a hired hand was put on the stool. What happened? Nothing : shows sold out anyway...
Cynical conclusion : nobody cares who plays the drums.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-14 23:14 by dcba.

I thought Angus handled that well. They had a lot to deal with vis-à-vis Malcolm this year, so Phil is battling his own demons has to be very tough for a band that's put out a new album and is planning a tour.

We have no details beyond that so to say that Phil's been 'thrown under the bus' by anyone is stretching it a bit.

We have no details beyond that so to say that Phil's been 'thrown under the bus' by anyone is stretching it a bit.

Well since they have seen fit to discuss his erratic behavior, haven't contacted him and are already discussing replacing him on the tour, I'd say they are at least throwing him under the stage.

Imagine the Stone's giving Keith that treatment after his Toronto bust...there was no question he was behaving erratically and had similar problems showing up for the rehearsals, etc. I obviously don't know the details, maybe they have reached out to him before all this happened but their public statements make it seem like they have completely divorced themselves from their mate and are leaving it to him to solve his issues.

At least someone could have brought him a bit of meth to get through the withdrawals after jail.. peace

Quote
treaclefingers
I thought Angus handled that well. They had a lot to deal with vis-à-vis Malcolm this year, so Phil is battling his own demons has to be very tough for a band that's put out a new album and is planning a tour.

We have no details beyond that so to say that Phil's been 'thrown under the bus' by anyone is stretching it a bit.

It really pains me to say this, but I agree.

People take responsibility (or at least need to) for their own behaviour.

Angus didn't say anything untoward, and you have no idea of how bad the 'erratic behaviour' actually was, particularly difficult as they're grappling with the very serious issue with Malcolm.

You also don't know if Angus did or didn't 'reach out', not that I feel it's even his responsibility to.

He just said there's not been any contact.

So to sum, you actually don't have much information at all, just like the rest of us...in that case, you're choosing to label him and while you may be right, you are just as likely, in fact based on what we actually do know, I'd say more likely, wrong.

As far as Keith is concerned, without Keith there is no band...they had a great many years without Phil. He is a peripheral player.

Quote
powerage78
[www.rollingstone.com]

Hard Rock, Harder Times: AC/DC Return Without Two Key Members
Multi-platinum blues-rock band opens up about moving on without Malcolm Young and Phil Rudd

BY DAVID FRICKE | November 14, 2014
The first bad sign came even before AC/DC started recording their new album, Rock or Bust, in Vancouver last May: The group's longtime drummer, Phil Rudd, was 10 days late for the sessions. "One minute he was coming, then he wasn't, then he was," lead guitarist Angus Young recalls. "We're not a band that likes to wait around." At one point, Young says, producer Brendan O'Brien decided Rudd had one last chance to show up." Brendan said, 'If he's not here by Friday, there will be another drummer there.'"

Rudd arrived and, Young says, "did his job." But, the guitarist notes, "I've seen him in better shape. It was not the Phil we had known, after we had finished the last tour. He'd let himself go." In October, Rudd missed an AC/DC photo and video shoot in London. Then, on November 6th, he was arrested at his home in New Zealand, accused of murder-for-hire. The charge was dropped for lack of evidence. But Rudd is still accused of threatening to kill, and of possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

In a press statement, AC/DC strongly implied they were ready to go on the road without him: "Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album, Rock or Bust, and upcoming tour next year." Young confirms this in an interview a week after Rudd's arrest: "The drum situation is a question mark. But we will definitely be out there." The guitarist confesses he was caught off-guard by the extent of Rudd's troubles. "But our problems had begun even before the situation he's in now. And our thing was we were going forward."

Young is referring to a bigger critical hole in AC/DC's boogie power: the loss of Malcolm Young, Angus' older brother and the group's iron-willed rhythm guitarist, who is suffering from dementia and is in full-time care at an undisclosed facility in Australia. Malcolm, 61, does not play on Rock or Bust and is permanently retired from the multi-platinum blues-rock band he founded, with Angus, in Sydney in 1973. That leaves Angus – 59 and still tearing across stages in his trademark schoolboy shorts – to guide singer Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and new guitarist Stevie Young, Malcolm and Angus' 58-year-old nephew, into an uncertain future. But "Mal always wanted the music to go on," Johnson says. "And I'm not going to say no."

"It's something that had actually been happening for a long time," Angus says, speaking publicly for the first time about Malcolm's condition during an earlier conversation in October. The symptoms – lapses in memory and concentration – "had surfaced even before the last project," AC/DC's 2008 album, Black Ice. But Angus says Malcolm was "still capable of knowing what he wanted to do. I had said to him, 'Do you want to go through with what we're doing?' And he said, 'Shit, yeah.' " Malcolm, Angus points out, "liked to finish what he started."

Hunched over a cup of tea in a London hotel, speaking in a soft, resigned growl, Angus reveals that Malcolm was already in treatment during his last tour with AC/ DC, from 2008 to 2010. "He got good help, good medical care," Angus says. Malcolm had to "relearn a lot of things," including riffs he had created for AC/DC's biggest songs, "which was very strange for him. But he was always a confident guy, and we made it work."

Malcolm is eerily present on Rock or Bust. The 11 songs are credited to Young-Young, largely built by Angus from guitar hooks he and Malcolm accumulated while writing previous AC/DC records. Angus did not play any of the new material, as he worked on it, for Malcolm. "With the condition he got in, that kind of faded," Angus concedes. He sought guidance from another older brother, George, a member of Sixties Australian rockers the Easybeats who co-produced AC/DC's early albums. But ultimately, Angus says, "You've got to make the decision yourself: 'What am I doing?' " He and Malcolm, both born in Glasgow and raised in Sydney, answered that question together in 1980 after the death of then-AC/DC singer Bon Scott; they hired Johnson, an ebullient Englishman with a sandpaper howl, and made their biggest-selling album, Back in Black. This time, in late 2013, Angus turned to Stevie, the son of his and Malcolm's oldest brother (also called Stevie). Stevie had filled in for Malcolm on a 1988 tour, when the latter took a sabbatical to beat his alcoholism.

Angus, Malcolm and Stevie were close as boys, attending school together in Australia; later, Malcolm produced demos for some of Stevie's bands. "Angus filled me in on what was going on with Mal," Stevie says. "It wasn't going to be the band the way it was – that was impossible." Stevie, who lives in Birmingham, England, flew to Australia to visit Malcolm, "to see the situation for myself. Mal was physically fine," he contends. "But I don't think he could have done the tour."


"It was awful and great at the same time," Johnson, 67, says of making Rock or Bust. "Angus must have felt strange playing these tunes without Malcolm." But Johnson recalls passing Stevie's hotel room at night "to see how he was doing, and he'd have his things out, doing the songs, learning his riffs. He worked his socks off to make sure he was on the money."

"The super-important thing about AC/DC is the left-right thing in the guitars," O'Brien says. "Stevie understood that. He put on the same guitars, through the same rig, and got the same sound." Williams believes that was inevitable. Stevie is, after all, a Young. "It's in his blood," the bassist, 64, says. "And it shows."

Everything else about AC/DC, including any life they may have after Rock or Bust and the 2015 tour, is up to Angus – alone. "This is Angus' passion, but he doesn't have Malcolm to lean on," O'Brien observes. "At some point, he has to decide, 'Is this something I want to keep doing, or have I said my piece?' "

Malcolm has not heard Rock or Bust. "He still likes his music," Angus says. "We make sure he has his Chuck Berry, a little Buddy Holly." But Angus believes he is pressing ahead on the record and the road – without Rudd if necessary – according to his brother's wishes and standards. "Look, even with his health, Malcolm was touring until he couldn't do it anymore."

Rudd's arrest "is a big blow to us," Angus admits. But, he repeats, "we will definitely be out there. We are committed to this."

Rumour of gitarists playing under the stage with The Rolling Stones came up during 2002-2003. This was when AC/DC was opening some shows and Angus and Malcolm were allowed to play Rock Me Baby on stage.

I hope lots of people say "No Malcolm, no Phil, I ain't going to see them"...that just means a better ticket selection for me!

[twitter.com]

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

Quote
BluzDude
I hope lots of people say "No Malcolm, no Phil, I ain't going to see them"...that just means a better ticket selection for me!

My ticket is free for sure. Won't be fun BluzDude without the AC/DC army behind you and the band incomplete. I was part of it 1978-2008.

Quote
powerage78
[album artwork]

I'm pretty torn on this AC/DC (minus 1-2) situation. They are one of my favorite bands and I am looking forward to hearing the album.

There is always room for new music from great longtime artists (Are you reading this Keith and Mick?). My first new music by these two great bands was Voodoo Lounge and Ballbreaker. I was kinda late to the party, but it's not closing time yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-15 02:14 by SharksWillCry.

You also don't know if Angus did or didn't 'reach out', not that I feel it's even his responsibility to.

He just said there's not been any contact.

Well kinda hard to reach out successfully without any contact, but you are right we don't really know the details, maybe he tried and Phil just rejected it.

But I do believe we have a bit of responsibility to reach out to friends in trouble.

Basically I just feel sorry for the guy, he obviously doesn't look too well. And I have enjoyed his drumming for years, steady, basic , balls to the wall rock and roll.. Hope he gets it all worked out and surprises everyone with a solid performance on this upcoming tour. peace

Wow, looks like AC/DC could be down to one original member. If they called it the Angus Young band instead of AC/DC, the 2015 world tour would probably consist of playing mostly little clubs instead of huge arenas...

Quote
its good to be anywhere
Wow, looks like AC/DC could be down to one original member. If they called it the Angus Young band instead of AC/DC, the 2015 world tour would probably consist of playing mostly little clubs instead of huge arenas...

to quote Bluzdude...bring it on...at least there'd be great tickets!

Just watched this great documentary about Back in Black. Phil was obviously important to the band then and Mal's presence and input was likely the foundation. I'm not sure I can imagine them without those two.

Back when disco was still happening and arena rock was starting to suck, these guys came along and reminded everyone the simple, solid hard rock was still at the top of the heap where it belonged.

I wonder how this record effected the Stones? They seemed to be leaning toward the disco side of the fence with Emotional Rescue, released about the same time and even recorded at the same studio in the Bahamas (Compass Point).

I think the Stones have never really recovered (creatively) from that loss of direction and they must agree somewhat, based on the age of the set list selections anyway. They used to be the nasty hard rock cutting edge but after Back in Black most people realized that they definitely weren't. If only Mick was hanging around Bon Scott instead of David Bowie, lol.

Man we could sure use another record these days to shake things up like Back in Black did! peace

[www.youtube.com]

As far as Keith is concerned, without Keith there is no band.

Although I think the Stones would go on without Charlie or Ronnie.

Quote
Father Ted
As far as Keith is concerned, without Keith there is no band.

Although I think the Stones would go on without Charlie or Ronnie.

Agreed and the guy who plays bass...

Quote
Father Ted
As far as Keith is concerned, without Keith there is no band.

Although I think the Stones would go on without Charlie or Ronnie.

If Charlie, Mick or Keith says "no more", then it is over. They define "the band".

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

Rock or Bust is a good rocken song

Feel The Fear
And Do It Anyway

They basically reinvented Back In Black riff.

[www.highwaytoacdc.com]

"That won't be Bob Richards" (for the next tour). Angus Young.

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

Dave Lombardo then?
that would be fun...

The more I listen to the two new songs, the more I like! Play Ball!

Quote
mtaylor

Quote
Father Ted
As far as Keith is concerned, without Keith there is no band.

Although I think the Stones would go on without Charlie or Ronnie.

If Charlie, Mick or Keith says "no more", then it is over. They define "the band".

I'd still love to see the Who one time just because I've never seen them but I don't really see them as the Who anymore. Even though the drummer is great, the bass player can't really be replaced in their case, if you lose two of the four members the band is gone IMHO.
Without Charlie there's no Stones. Wyman already left too much of a hole in the sound. Ronnie, thank god, will never quite but if he in theory did Taylor could replace him. That's still the Stones the Stones to me but definitely different. It's probably a great sounding band because a former member is playing but it's still very weird to see them without Ronnie.

As for AC/DC, I was very surprised that they kept going without Malcolm. It's their good right to do so but it won't be the same for me. If they lose the drummer as well it leaves a very big gap. They replaced Rud once before and they sounded great but sometimes it's not just about how they sound.

Cheers,
Wuudy

imo this is the last album and tour for ac/dc