Review Summary: While Flick of the Switch is often regarded as AC/DC’s first great disappointment, it’s more underwhelming than anything bad
It’s a little funny to think that AC/DC of all bands would want to go ‘back to basics,’ but that is precisely what they sought to accomplish with 1983’s Flick of the Switch. Feeling that the more polished productions had run their course, the Young brothers elected to produce the album themselves with an aim toward a rawer sound in the vein of their early outings. However, there was a harbinger of uncertain times ahead as longtime drummer Phil Rudd departed after tracking his parts and Simon Wright soon taking his place.
The music never gets as wild as something like High Voltage, but the stripped-down presentation feels more vibrant than the bulk of For Those About To Rock. The guitars have a brighter and more upfront presence this time around and the drums have a solid if somewhat stiff tone. The vocals also reflect Johnson’s full integration into the band at this point, projecting a great deal of confidence and making the most of that raspy siren.
Going along with that, the first four songs also manage to start things off strong. The opening “Rising Power” establishes the particular formula at play with its steady mid-tempo riff and title-chanting chorus, and “This House is on Fire” follows it up with a tighter groove and a brighter hook. The title track and “Nervous Shakedown” hit the album’s real sweet spots, the former picking up the pace and injecting some extra energy with the trade-off vocals while the latter is a crunchy mid-tempo stomper ala “Inject the Venom.” I wouldn’t call these lost classics, but they’re certainly better than the album’s rocky reputation would suggest.
Unfortunately, the subsequent songs end up demonstrating said rockiness. “Landslide” is practically speed metal by AC/DC standards but comes with a somewhat muddled structure while tracks like “Guns for Hire” and “Deep in the Hole” pop up for their title recitals before slipping back into drudgery. Fortunately, “Badlands” makes for a comparably bright spot with its bluesy guitar tone.
While Flick of the Switch is often regarded as AC/DC’s first great disappointment, it’s more underwhelming than anything bad. On one hand, the scaled back production works well and the playing is tighter than ever. But with the prospect of ever having truly impactful lyrics again having left long ago, the simple riffs just aren’t given as much of a solid leg to stand on and the increasingly less memorable songwriting becomes harder to ignore.
I always end up with mixed feelings on Flick of the Switch every time I listen to it. The first half may not be the most striking stuff ever yet I still end up thinking that it’s better than people make it out to be. Then the second half ends up losing my attention though not in a way that’s so awful as to turn me off completely. I’m sure when I inevitably end up giving this album another shot in five or ten years, it’ll still end up in that “yeah, this is fine” bracket.
