“I remember a cover me and my brother did together going way back [November 1995],” Angus Young told Guitar World in 2020. “That was nice, because there was always a tendency for people to only look at solo guitarists, while Malcolm was an out-and-out rhythm player. A lot of people forget that there's some great rhythm players out there. And the two of us were doing it together.”
Angus Young has written some of the most memorably riffs in hard rock, but his solos are equally hailed as some of the greatest. The Aussie guitarist was heavily inspired by the electric guitar work of players like Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry. Among his most celebrated solos can be heard in songs like “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Thunderstruck,” “Highway to Hell” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You):”
Yet to hear Angus tell it, his contributions aren’t nearly as important as those of the group’s rhythm guitarist. For much of AC/DC's history, his late brother Malcolm held down the rhythm end, often with a Gretsch Jet Firebird in his hands. Since 2014 that role has been filled by his nephew Stevie Young, who took over when Malcolm retired due to dementia.
Speaking with Guitar Player in our February 1984 issue, Angus told assistant editor Jas Obrecht, “That's the easiest part, the solos. There's no great thing in being a soloist.”
Which cuts contain the essential Angus Young?
That's hard, because I never look at them as a solo thing. It's our band; we all play together. The guys all around me — it's just like a little team. I could tell you the best songs. I like "Let There Be Rock" very much. “Whole Lotta Rosie" I love, the song "Back in Black," "What Do You Do For Money Honey" — the list is endless.
Do you play all the solos on AC/DC records?
Yeah, my brother's too lazy. It interferes with his drinking.
What is the difference between your brother's and your roles in the band?
I'm just like a color over the top. He's the solid thing; he pumps it along. His right hand is always going. In that field, I don't think anyone can do what he does. He's very clean; he's very hard. It's an attack. Anyone that sees him or knows about guitars can tell.
Does the fact that you're the most recognizable member of the band ever bother Malcolm?
No. He was the one that shoved me in the first place. He got me into it: "I want you to do all of this." In the early days we used to fool around on some of our first albums. He would do little bits of guitar. We would double up, swap, do a solo here, a solo there. Malcolm's more experienced at it than me.
Playings solos or rhythm?
Anything. He knows what he's doing with it. He's got his own style and his own sound.
Could you switch roles?
I could copy it. I don't think I could fill it, not like he does.
Could he play your solos?
Ah yeah, easy [laughs]. I look at it this way: That's the easiest part, the solos. There's no great thing in being a soloist. I think the hardest thing is to play together with a lot of people, and do it right. I mean, when four guys hit the one note all at once — very few people can do that.
Will he ask you to redo solos?
Yeah, if he thinks they're not happening — if he think they’re not rock enough or don’t suit the song. It’s mainly the songs that we worry about. I won’t sit there and spend 12 hours on a guitar solo. I couldn’t. That’s pointless. I like to go in and just go — bang away at it.
Do you have a fairly good idea of what you're going to do with the solos?
No, I never work that out before, unless there's an important part, like if it's part of the song.
Are your parts ever double-tracked?
No, it's never been an important element. I'd rather go for something that's natural than to double-track. You can make it sound thick by double tracking. You can make it quiet; you can add acoustic guitars to bring it down. There are a lot of tricks like that. We've done things in the past, but it's mainly been the natural sound that we've always ended up with.
What should an Angus young solo do?
I just want to add to the song, I don't want to take away from it. You don't want to suddenly give a raging solo in a song where really it should be sitting in there. Sometimes it can go over the top. Guys will try to get in every lick they can get, cover every bit of space. We just like to go with what the track requires.
Most of your leads and fills are blues based.
I'm a sucker for that. Yeah.
How do you construct solos? Do you work out of the chords?
It's mainly spontaneous. I mean there are some things I've played where I've gone, how in the hell did I do that? You can sit there and try to figure it out for years and there's nothing to match that. In the early days. If you're playing an A chord you might play a solo that's in A. But then again, you might put progressions or notes in there that don't sound right. It sounds like you're playing in the wrong key or something, and sometimes that works.
Do you know what you're doing in musical terms?
I haven't a clue.
AC/DC are currently preparing to launch the North American leg of their Power Up tour. It marks the first time in nine years that the rockers have toured in the United States. The road stint is named for the group’s 2020 album. Since its release, the band have played just one U.S. show, on October 7, 2023, as a co-headlining act of the Power Trip music festival, in Indio, California. The Power Up tour launches April 10 in Minneapolis, and concludes May 28 in Cleveland. Tickets are available for all dates as of this story’s publication.
