THE RECORD CABINET

The Review

I first heard this through the wall of my older cousin’s bedroom when I was ten. He had been told to keep the volume down, which naturally meant he turned “Hells Bells” up until the door rattled. I did not understand mourning, Bon Scott, or even what most of the words meant; I only understood that the guitars sounded enormous. Years later I found my own second-hand copy at a Saturday garage sale, its sleeve softened at the corners and somebody’s surname written beside the track list. “Back in Black” is still the centre of it for me: that pause before the riff returns never loses its authority. The record is almost suspiciously efficient, with no wasted movement. I sometimes find “You Shook Me All Night Long” overplayed, but the needle drops and I forgive it again. This is not subtle music, and thank goodness for that.