AC/DC’s Great Return, on a Razor’s Edge

In the second half of the 1980s, the albums of AC/DC had not received much response. The star of the Australian band seemed to have lost some of its shine. Then, on September 24, 1990, the Young brothers’ group returned to the saddle with “The Razors Edge”. The album, driven by the single “Thunderstruck” reclaims the top of the sales charts around the world. Below we retrace its history.

In May 1990, AC/DC entered Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, the hometown of Bruce Fairbairn, the producer assigned to this album: a seasoned professional who had already worked on million-selling titles such as “Slippery When Wet” and “New Jersey” by Bon Jovi, but also “Permanent Vacation” and “Pump” by Aerosmith. The result is a great album, for many a return to the form of the early 80s, which recalls the glories of the productions signed by “Mutt” Lange and contains what is perhaps the last immortal anthem given to the world by AC/DC: “Thunderstruck”.

This piece, as Angus nonchalantly tells it, was born “fiddling with my left hand”.

Malcolm pulls out of his hat a perfect rhythm part for that riff and from the union of the two elements comes an epic piece, with a killer vocal line by Brian Johnson who, according to Angus, sings “like someone who has had a truck fall on his foot”. And then to make the song irresistible there is that chorus scream, “Thunder!”, added to the intro to increase the charge and the dramatic effect. In addition to Thunderstruck, the tracklist features another piece destined to gain great favor among fans all over the world: it is “Moneytalks”, with a text in which Brian – with his usual light-hearted style – ironizes on the perverse mechanisms that regulate the world economy.

A key element in the band’s renewed momentum on “The Razors Edge” is the grit brought by newly hired drummer Chris Slade (who, in order to join AC/DC, turned down an offer to join legendary Irish guitarist Gary Moore’s band). Released on September 24, 1990, the album reached #2 in the U.S. album charts (#4 in the U.K.) and spawned a triumphant tour, prompting the band to release a live album, “Live,” to immortalize and celebrate it in 1992.