- reasons bands should break up should be over tracklists instead of the standard rock and roll backstabbing. Putting together a set of songs that speak to each other is already difficult on its own, but even when a group gets out on the road to tour for whatever record they’re promoting, there are bound to be disagreements about what should meet the live stage and what works better as an album track that fans have to discover. AC/DC were never ones to skimp out on what the fans wanted, but Brian Johnson did feel a little bit jaded about not playing the song ‘What’s Next to the Moon’ that often.
When Johnson first got the call to be a member of the Australian rockers, though, there was no question he already had big shoes to fill. The spectre of Bon Scott’s still loomed over everything that they were going to do afterwards, but just because one of them died didn’t mean that any of the major hellraising had to suddenly stop
They had made their entire career off some of the most insane rock and roll anyone had ever witnessed, but for all of the great tunes that Johnson spat out after Back in Black, nothing has as much attitude as the record Powerage. Although the group maintained that they were a steady rock and roll outfit throughout their career, this is the closest they’ve verged on punk and metal in some spots.
Fans farewell AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young in Sydney | Daily Mail O
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Rock and Roll Damnation’ may have served them well as a decent lead single, but nothing else really stands out as mainstream because of its forcefulness. ‘Riff Raff’ is still one of the most singularly badass riffs ever to come out of the 1970s, but ‘What’s Next to the Moon’ occupies a much more familiar space for Johnson: the blues.
There have always been pieces of AC/DC’s catalogue that ventured towards the lowdown and dirty side of rock and roll, but given how much space is in between the hits of this tune, Scott’s voice could have easily been substituted for someone like Muddy Waters and no one would have thought the wiser.
Even though Johnson was thrilled at the idea of singing for the group, he admitted that he was slightly miffed knowing that he would only get to play the deep cut a handful of times on tour, saying, “Well, I wish we did it. We only did it [a couple of times], and I loved it to death.”
Fans farewell AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young in Sydney | Daily Mail Online
But listening to Johnson’s screechy delivery, it makes sense why this fell firmly in the untouchable camp for Scott’s era. There are many talents that Johnson is capable of, but when he’s dialled up to ten, that kind of sandpaper vocal style doesn’t really fit in line with singing with that kind of slower tempo.
Then again, maybe it’s time to dust it off when AC/DC take to the road again. After all, Johnson showed off his chops for singing the blues when guesting on the tune ‘Killing Floor’ on Slash’s latest project, so what’s the problem with him trying his hand and channelling his inner Chicago bluesman?
