Flick of the Switch

Flick of the Switch is the ninth album on which AC/DC again concentrated its force into thick rhythm guitar, a hard beat and Brian Johnson’s shouting singing. Turning from the large production of the previous two albums, the sound is dry, valuing above all the bare push of the riffs themselves over decoration. A will to return to the origin appears clearly. On the title track “Flick of the Switch” and “Guns for Hire,” the plain, clear drive the band does best is pushed to the fore, while from the drive of “Nervous Shakedown” to the momentum of “Rising Power” and “This House Is on Fire,” every song is hard-edged and sturdy. Deliberately avoiding over-polishing, it sounds the frame of rock and roll itself roughly. A stance of recovering the raw energy of the early works, over commercial refinement, runs throughout. Without flash, it is a record that reaffirms the unwavering strength of the AC/DC style. It is a powerful record answering listeners who want unadorned, rugged, hard-edged rock and roll.