T.N.T. (album)
T.N.T. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1 December 1975 | |||
Recorded | March 1975[a]
| |||
Studio | Albert (Sydney) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:55 | |||
Label | Albert | |||
Producer | ||||
AC/DC chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from T.N.T. | ||||
|
T.N.T. is the second studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released only in Australia on 1 December 1975. This was the band's first release with bassist Mark Evans and drummer Phil Rudd, although the last two tracks feature George Young and Tony Currenti, both of whom previously appeared on High Voltage.
Recording
After the success of the single "
In Clifton Walker's 1994 book Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott, bassist Mark Evans speaks about the band's creative process during this period:
Malcolm and Angus would come up with riffs and all that, and then we'd go into the studio. Malcolm and George would sit down at the piano and work it out. Malcolm and Angus would have the barest bones of a song, the riff and different bits, and George would hammer it into a tune. Bon would be in and out when the band was recording backing tracks. Once the backing track was done, he would literally be locked in the kitchen there at Alberts, and come out with a finished song.
"It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was edited down from an extended jam by producer George Young and the inclusion of the bagpipes was his idea to add an extra dynamic to the track. Singer Bon Scott had played in a pipe band in his teens, so George suggested he play bagpipes on the song, not realizing that Scott had been a drummer, not a piper. Regardless, Scott – who knew how to play the recorder – learned the instrument and went on to play them on stage with the band up until 1976, when he set the bagpipes down on the corner of the stage and they were destroyed by fans. For the next three years, whenever they played the song live, Angus would play an extended guitar solo. Chanting in "T.N.T." was also George Young's idea, added after he heard Angus ad-libbing the "oi" chant to himself, and suggested he record it.[1]
Composition
T.N.T. contains some of the band's best-known songs, including the title track, "It's a Long Way to the Top", "The Jack", and "Rocker." Seven of the album's nine songs were written by the Young brothers and Scott, while "
I believe that the politically correct term is "sexist." Intellectuals like to put a tag on it and say, "these guys are out-and-out sexist." I've always found there's a two-sided thing when it comes to lyrics: someone can call a song "Sexy Motherfucker," and be accepted, and yet we've been writing all songs all these years, and while there may be the rare "fuck" in the lyrics there somewhere, it's all been quite clean cut. Still, people just make the assumption that we're five guys who've just got our dicks in mind. People have frequently commented that for all the notoriety and things we got involved in, we could have capitalized on our reputation and said, "Oh yeah, we're a piece of nasty work." But why bother?
T.N.T. also led to more AC/DC appearances on Australia's Countdown music programme, following those in support of the Australian High Voltage album. These appearances included a live performance of the song "T.N.T.", as well as a music video for "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)". Filmed on 23 February 1976, the video featured the band's then-current lineup, along with members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe Band, on the back of a flat-bed truck travelling on Swanston Street in Melbourne.[3] On 1 October 2004, Melbourne's Corporation Lane was renamed AC/DC Lane as a tribute to AC/DC, with the decision being based in part on this video.[4]
Releases
T.N.T. was originally released by
Two singles were released from the album – "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (December 1975) and "T.N.T." (March 1976). T.N.T. was released in a gatefold sleeve, with the inside depicting the various members on mock-ups of police identification cards, listing apparent aliases and partially obscured personal details including birthdates (only Bon Scott's is readily visible).
The original 1975 LP release featured longer versions of "Can I Sit Next to You Girl", "High Voltage" and "Rocker" compared to the versions heard on later CD releases:
- "Rocker" fades out at 2:52, however on a 1981 LP reissue, the song goes on for a few more seconds before cutting out abruptly at 2:55 as the riff hits its peak (possibly due to the recording tape running out before the song was originally supposed to end).
- "High Voltage" originally finished with a sustained guitar note followed by a single hit of the snare drum which also serves as a segue that leads directly into "School Days". This version was retained for the 1986 CD release, however the 1995 remastered CD release contains the version heard on the international High Voltage album release, which has the song fade out before hitting the sustained note. This was how the original single release ended.
- The versions of these songs included on the Deluxe Edition of the 2009 box set Backtracks are credited as being the original Australian versions. However, the songs still fade out albeit later than their international counterparts instead of keeping the original edits. When AC/DC's catalogue (except the Australian releases) became available on iTunes in November 2012, the original uncut versions of "Rocker" and "High Voltage" finally saw worldwide release on the digital version of Backtracks.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic calls T.N.T. "a stellar album in its own right, and especially crucial in that it marked AC/DC's definitive break with their now seemingly heretical glam rock inclinations, in order to embrace the blue collar hard rock that would forever after be their trademark."
Track listing
All tracks are written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" | 5:14 |
2. | "Rock 'n' Roll Singer" | 5:04 |
3. | "The Jack" | 5:53 |
4. | "Live Wire" | 5:49 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
5. | "T.N.T." | 3:35 |
6. | "Rocker" | 2:55 |
7. | "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl" (Angus Young, Malcolm Young) | 4:12 |
8. | "High Voltage" | 4:20 |
9. | "School Days" (Chuck Berry cover) | 5:22 |
Total length: | 41:55 |
Personnel
AC/DC
- Bon Scott – lead vocals, bagpipes on "It's a Long Way to the Top"
- Angus Young – lead guitar
- Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Mark Evans – bass guitar (1–7)
- Phil Rudd – drums, percussion (1–7)
Session musicians
- George Young – bass guitar (8–9), production
- Tony Currenti – drums (8–9)[7]
Production
- Harry Vanda – production
- Richard Ford – artwork
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1975–1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8]: 11 | 2 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] | 35 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1976) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8]: 428 | 15 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[10] | 9× Platinum | 630,000^ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[11] | Platinum+Gold | 90,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Notes
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7322-8383-3.
- ^ Saulnier, Jason (30 September 2011). "Mark Evans Interview". Music Legends. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Video Footage and Liner Notes, Family Jewels 2-Disc DVD Set 2005
- ^ Boulton, Martin, "Lane way to the top for AC/DC", The Age, 10 September 2004. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "T.N.T. – AC/DC". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
- ISBN 9781742759791.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Charts.nz – AC/DC – T.N.T.". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 10 October 2020. Type AC/DC in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and T.N.T. in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.