AC/DC Graces Cover of Latest Issue of Rolling Stone

Much the way they recently recognized and acknowledged the achievements of Canadian rock icons Rush, Rolling Stone has decided to feature AC/DC in the most recent issue of their publication. It’s clear from some of the fan comments on the Rolling Stone website, that many fans believe this attention is long overdue.

It appears that Rolling Stone has dedicated a hefty portion of the issue to the Australian rockers who have rocked their way back into the spotlight with their latest album Black Ice and a tour that is currently underway.

In the excerpt of the cover article on their website, Rolling Stone talks with frontman Brian Johnson about the group’s lead guitarist, Angus Young, whose trademark schoolboy uniform certainly distinguishes him from his rock star peers in a very unique way.

Johnson also speaks about Young’s boundless energy on stage, a phenomenon I witnessed not all that long ago when I had a chance to review their No Bull DVD. But like Alice Cooper recently talked about, the man on the stage and the man off the stage are two quite different people.

When not gyrating around the stage during one of their hard-rocking performances, Angus Young is known as a “a passionate, quietly dogged craftsman pursuing the endless possibilities in Fifties-R&B and Sixties- British-rock guitar, in the fundamental slash and drive of Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, the early Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. Offstage, without the suit, in AC/DC practice and recording sessions, Angus is “dead still,” Johnson says. “He smiles, smokes, concentrates.”

And, as the article points out, Young actually plays while sitting down under those circumstances. Something that many AC/DC fans might find hard to picture.

For more, visit Rolling Stone.

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Tags: AC/DC, Angus Young, Cover, Rolling Stone Magazine

Rush And Rolling Stone Magazine Bury The Hatchet

It wasn’t too long ago that Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson said this in reference to Rolling Stone magazine: “They’ve never been much in the way of fans of ours — in fact, totally the opposite of that for the longest time. There’s been quite a bit of friction between them and us.”

That was his reaction after learning that Rolling Stone wanted to send a reporter to spend some time with the group.

From that, we learned recently, that the relationship between the long-enduring Canadian rock trio and the magazine was showing signs of improvement, and now it appears official. The latest edition of Rolling Stone has a nice feature on the group which centers mostly around the group’s history, and quite a bit of talk about drummer Neil Peart in particular.

The feature is not yet available online, but as things typically work in the age of the internet, you can still check it out courtesy of some fan with a document scanner. This post on the “Rush Is A Band” site will lead you to the scanned images. The pages may have been a bit too wide for the scanner that was used, but you can still read pretty much the whole thing.

For Rush fans it’s really kind of nice to see them get some attention from a major music publication like Rolling Stone. Maybe they are finally being accepted more as a mainstream group, and that’s something that both the band and their fans may have mixed feelings about.

Tags: Rolling Stone Magazine, Rush

Rush To Bask In New Recognition?

It’s been said so many times. When it comes to the subject of Canadian rock trio Rush, people either love them or hate them. I suppose it is obvious to regular readers here that I categorize myself firmly among the former.

Many Rush fans feel that the group has never received the attention and recognition that they deserve. Some fans are particularly galled by the group’s omission from the Rock And Roll Hall of fame.

Times may be changing however, according to some recent comments by guitarist Alex Lifeson.

It was reported that Rolling Stone magazine, a publication that has not had the friendliest relationship with the Canadian rockers, has sent a reporter to Canada to spend four days with the group doing interviews, which makes Lifeson wonder if they are planning a cover story featuring the group.

"If they want to do a cover story on Rush, then something’s changing somewhere,” Lifeson says.

For more on this story, see the Providence Journal.

Tags: Alex Lifeson, Rolling Stone Magazine, Rush