Cornerstone: Malcom’s retirement

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Malcom Young appears to be retiring, although not of his own choice.

Who is Malcom Young, you say? If you’re not familiar with who he is, you’ve probably heard of the band he has been the de facto leader of for more than the last forty years, AC/DC. He’s also the guy on the far left of the “Highway to Hell” album cover.

While his brother Angus has been the band’s mascot, it has been Malcom, the older brother, that has played the primary leadership role, albeit from the shadows.

Reports this week say that Malcom is very sick; some rumors suggest that Malcom suffered a stroke. Either way, indications are that he will be unable to recover to the point of getting back in the studio or onto the stage.

Regardless, singer Brian Johnson says the remaining members of the band will be getting together next month to possibly record new material.

Plans had also been in the works to celebrate the band’s fortieth anniversary, but taking a victory lap without Malcom may seem rather hollow; his absence would be the elephant in the room wherever the band goes.

But I can’t say I’d blame the guys for getting together anyway and giving the fans that have been so supportive some kind of farewell.

And what a band they’ve been. When it comes to blues-based hard rock, nobody has done it better than AC/DC. Nobody has even come close.

Most people have only heard the hits off of “Back in Black,” the first album with current singer Brian Johnson, which have been overplayed and maybe a couple of others.

How overplayed are the songs on “Back in Black”? I remember when I lived in Flagstaff that the barmaid at the bar close to my apartment said that if I wanted to stay on her good side I shouldn’t play any songs off of it, if that tells you anything.

While “Back in Black” is an excellent record for a lot of reasons, I also reached my lifetime quota of listening to “You Shook Me All Night Long” a long time ago.

But there is a lot more to the story than just that one record. There are a lot of great songs the radio doesn’t get around to. Take a listen to “Live Wire” or “Bad Boy Boogie” or the rarities “Cold Hearted Man” and “Love Song” and you’ll hear some clues to an extremely solid catalog.

The classic albums AC/DC made with original singer Bon Scott (who either froze to death or choked on his own vomit in the back of a car – I’m not sure it really matters) were classic. In part because of Bon Scott. In part because of the Young brothers song writing partnership.

But also in part of the sparse production on those albums.

Take a listen to “Let There Be Rock,” for example, and the band sounds like they were recorded live in the studio without any overdubbing or studio mumbo-jumbo. You can hear the hum of the amplifiers and the picks hitting the strings, and they sound like greatest bar band you ever hear playing in one of those seedy bars your mother told you to stay away from.

They would later polish that sound a bit and go on to tremendous success in the succeeding decades all while delivering what was expected and not developing a reputation for bad behavior, which, for the most part, died with Bon Scott.

And after working so hard and delivering so much all these years, the band certainly deserves to go out on its own terms and ride off into the sunset, which makes Malcom’s sickness so tragic.

God bless, Malcom. Our prayers are with you.