Angus Young on Malcolm: "He Could Solo Even Better Than Me”
"He’d come up with some great licks," Angus said. "Whenever I heard his things, I’d always say, ‘How's he doing that?’”
AC/DC are currently prepping for the release of Power Up, their first album since 2014, and their first since the death of the band's co-founder and rhythm guitarist, Malcolm Young, in 2017.
In anticipation of the new album, Angus Young sat down for an extensive interview with Guitar World, where he discussed the new album, his relationship with Malcolm and how his brother's legendary rhythm abilities often obscured his equally impressive lead skills.
“I remember a [Guitar World] cover me and my brother did together going way back [November 1995],” Angus told Guitar World.
“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.
“But what a lot of people never knew was that Malcolm could do a solo probably even better than me. He’d come up with some great licks. Whenever I heard his things, I’d always say, ‘How's he doing that?’”
In another recent interview, Young revealed his all-time favorite Gibson SG, saying "It's a vintage one. The one that I've always had and [that's] been on every album I've ever done is a guitar that now, because it's been on so many AC/DC songs, I just save it for the studio now."
You can order a copy of the Holiday 2020 issue of Guitar World, featuring Young's extensive interview, at magazinesdirect.com.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
“I had just put together a beautiful white Stratocaster. So I said, 'Okay, I'll trade you.' ” Jeff “Skunk” Baxter recalls the questionable deal he made with Jimi Hendrix in the mid 1960s
“There were a few guitars kicking around. But it just didn't fit in this electronic-based track.” The world’s most famous charity rock song lost its guitar parts in 1984. They’re finally back for 2024