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List Price: $16.66 | | Publisher: William Morrow
Salesrank: 65255
Released: October 13, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.77 |
| Used Price: $5.25 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
Australian rock giants AC/DC have sold more records in the U.S. than Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and than the Rolling Stones, yet have always been undervalued and unappreciated by mainstream rock music critics. In Why AC/DC Matters, former Rolling Stone staff writer and New York Times bestselling author Anthony Bozza addresses this inequity, penning a just tribute to these monsters of rock. Brimming with fascinating stories and insights from musicians, fans, music scholars, and the author himself, Why AC/DC Matters is an overdue homage to arguably the greatest rock and roll band of all time.
Why AC/DC Matters Reviews:
Why does AC/DC matter? 
2009-12-08 - I grew up in the 80s listening to Queen, Blondie, Michael Jackson, Human League, and everything else that was played on MTV. I grew up in Marin County where AC/DC was very popular at my school (Sir Francis Drake). But I never listened to AC/DC. So when I came across this book I thought I'd find out what I missed.
What I got from the book is that AC/DC plays simple chords very well and they've been doing it for a long time without changing their style. The author tells us this over and over. I also listened to several of their CDs with both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson as lead vocalists.
I don't want to turn this into a review of my opinion of AC/DC. I will say the author did a good job of interviewing music professors, teachers, and notable musicians for the book. It was presented in easy to follow chapters. This book presents some background stories which I found entertaining.
Overall I think the author did a good job. I enjoyed reading the book. In the end I still don't feel I really know why AC/DC matters. I like their music, especially the Bon Scott era. They've sold a lot of albums and been around a long time which is quite a feat I agree, but I guess it really comes down to opinions. The author really likes AC/DC and wants to share his feelings with the reader. I've never seen them live so maybe if I did that would convince me that they matter.
Generally interesting book 
2009-11-14 - What puts this books above mere worship for the YOung Brothers, is on single passagem when the author admits that most of their work in the eighties ("FLy On The Wall" and "Blow Up YOur Video", mainly, was a creative low for the band. Also, there are some comments by specialists talking about how Brian Johnson's voice is really damaged and that Bon' voice had a lot more more diversity, without taking any credit away from Johnson. I made a particular comment about that because, BACK IN BLACK and FOR THOSE apart, I can't understand how some people cannot perceive that Scott was a much, much, much better singer than Johnson, even before Johnson exploded his vocal chords by singing always above his range since his first record in AC/DC.
There are some interesting comment on the book, and in genearl is a plesant reading, but it's not at all undispensable.
Should have been an article, not a book....
2009-11-09 - I will preface this by saying I do love AC/DC, have always been a fan, have seen them a number of times in concert, etc. I probably would never have bought this book, as I already think AC/DC is arguably the best rock n' roll band, but I won it in a contest so it was cool to read it for free. In any case, while I do agree with Bozza's whole argument that despite what the music "critics" seem to think, AC/DC is an important band, I am not sure whether it was worthy of a book, even one as compact as this. He makes some good points about why what they do is unique for its' simplicity and power, and obviously the whole series of events leading up to 'Back In Black' [and it's subsequent success] speak for themselves. But, providing a good overview on the bands' history does not equate with a justification of why they matter.
Overall, I am not sure who this was written for exactly, except perhaps Bozza himself. For someone who already likes AC/DC, there is really nothing new here. For someone who doesn't particularly like them, or even dislikes them, I doubt they would even pick it up in the first place. And honestly, reading a book about a band is not going to suddenly make you respect or even like that band: I could read that Nickleback has incredible similarities to Beethoven, but I will still think they suck [sorry to any Nickleback fans, but they do... ;) ]. At the end of the day, I think this would have made a much better magazine article than a book - and likely gotten to a wider audience.
But, really, if there's any doubt and if you want to know why AC/DC matter, just get a copy of 'Highway To Hell' and 'Back In Black'. If that doesn't do it for you, then you're clearly never going to be convinced.
a fan magnum opus 
2009-10-18 - basically this is the ultimate fan love poem,its like if your teacher said give me 100,000 words on why you love ac/dc and its great,almost to the point where i reccomend it to haters more than fans for the simple fact that it does so beautifully just what it says, it explains why ac/dc matters.it examines every character first the young brothers, then the lead singers, then the rhythem section and it explains how they work together to create the best band in the world with spectacular live shows and one of the greatest fan bases in the world.
this doesn't contain any new info for fans,but it is a nice read for the person who loves all things ac/dc and those curious people who want to know what all the fuss is about some old rockers who always play the same three chords.
