Let There Be Rock is the story of AC/DC written by rock journalist Susan Masino, who met the band during their first American tour in 1977. Over the years, she remained in contact with them, watching AC/DC climb to international stardom. Since 1977, Susan has interviewed the band many times and their friendship has lasted nearly three decades. Now she tells the true story of AC/DC's illustrious career and how they became one of the true great rock 'n' roll bands in history. The book traces the band s history, from their beginnings in Sydney, Australia in the early 1970s to trail-blazing the U.S. mainstream to the devastating death of lead singer Bon Scott in 1980. The band pulled together and rebounded to the top of the charts with new front man, Brian Johnson and the watershed album, Back in Black. Through it all, AC/DC continues their quest to build a legion of new fans in the 21st century.
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About the Author
Susan Masino has been a rock journalist 29 years and is the author of Famous Wisconsin Musicians and Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy: My Life and Times With AC/DC, Van Halen and Kiss. She published her own music newspaper, Rock Central, for six years and has written for the WI Music News, a monthly music news column, since 1991. Susan also appears in the 2003 DVD, Van Halen: The Early Years. Since 1977, Susan has interviewed AC/DC many times and their friendship has lasted nearly three decades.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Riff Raff" Of A Book,
By
This review is from: The Story of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (Hardcover)
This book is written as though it was long article taken from Hit Parader or Metal Edge magazine. It reads very much like a fanzine, or, rather, a fan's own perspective, instead of an actual account of the band's history.
Granted, there is some decent material here, and the photos, many of which have never been printed elsewhere, are a nice addition. But, when discussing former members the author fails to give us any insight as to where they are now, or what led to their departure. For instance, drummer Chris Slade is mentioned, then, suddenly, he's not. We all know he was replaced by AC/DC's second, and longest-lasting, drummer, Phil Rudd, but like the band, she fails to mention exactly why he's gone. There were a few details missing from the discography section. The author injects far too many "I" comments, personal encounters, and drops the Young brother's names every chance she gets as though she's trying to justify herself to the reader as to just how "important" she is. It borders on cocky. Throwing in her own experiences with the band in the midst of what is supposed to be a book about the history of AC/DC is uncalled for. If a reader wants to know about her own experiences regarding the band, I'm sure we could find a way to contact her. I wanted to read a book about AC/DC. Instead, I got to read abook about AC/DC and the author. It got to be extremely tiring after a while. Next time, when writing a book about a band, leave it at that.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not very good,
By BayAreaReader "BayAreaReader" (BayArea_CA_USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Story of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (Hardcover)
My main beef with this book is it lacks credibility. There's too much stuff that reads like it was lifted straight out of Clinton Walker's book Highway to Hell (much better book by the way). In fact, I went back and compared some of the passages and they were spookily similar. The other puzzling thing is why is there a whole list of people on the jacket flat who were supposedly interviewed for the book, but among them, not any of the current members of AC/DC? I believe this is an unauthorized biography, but if the author has such a great relationship with them, why wouldn't they authorize her to do a bio? Why did she not get any letters from Bon Scott, who was a prolific letter writer, and was known for keeping in touch with legions of people over the years? She was so close to them; knew them so well, interviewed them so many times, but never a card or a letter? She quotes letters from the AC/DC roadie she was friends with but there's not much specific information in them. I ended up skimming most of it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not much of a story.,
By
This review is from: The Story of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (Hardcover)
This book reads like a list of facts about AC/DC. there is no real personality to it. Masino has written a book based upon her limited aquaintence with AC/DC and thirdhand from numerous books and magazine articles, and it shows. All I read in this book was an account of tour dates and album releases (hell, the book is structured on the albums' releases - that is how the chapters are named.). There is limited info on the members' background, and there is very little on what the guys do besides playing in AC/DC. There are few interesting anecdotes about the band. It does not read like the author knew AC/DC well at all.
From the reviews that I read, I expected to be drawn into the world of AC/DC - both professionally and personally. I got the gist of how hard working these guys are, but I learned nothing about their songwriting or recording techniques, their personal lives (are any of the members besides Angus married? Do any of them have children? What are the names of the wives and children? Where do they live?), or their interrelationships within the band (were there ever any blowouts within the band? What made Phil leave? What made Slade leave? Who was the black sheep? etc.). This book does not even hold a candle to some of the best rock bios out there(i.e. The Love You Make, Hammer of the Gods, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones) - books that get under the skin of the band and make the reader feel like he/she is right there with the band. You've got to be more aquainted with the band than just visiting with them post show whenever they come to your town. That seems to be the extent of Ms. Masino's personal knowledge of AC/DC, and it is not enough to write a book on.
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