If you’re like me, the sad news of the passing of AC/DC’s co-founder, rhythm guitar player, and songwriter Malcolm Young hit you hard. AC/DC has always been a big favorite of mine and I never thought Malcolm got the credit he deserved. The Rock Chick has always shared my proclivity for AC/DC and as documented, AC/DC was our first concert together. Alas, that was the last time I saw AC/DC. It’s another sobering message from the cosmos that came in loud and clear – always, always buy the ticket and go see the show. Pretty soon we won’t have the option to buy the ticket… but as usual I digress.

Needless to say, the Rock Chick and I were both down yesterday after hearing the news. I saw there were a tremendous number of great condolence statements from all across the music world. The quiet, unassuming Malcolm was quite a force in hard rock. So like everybody else, I went to the stereo to put on some AC/DC. It would have been easy to just slip Back In Black on the turntable and turn it up. But that seemed too perfunctory.

Then I realized, The Rock Chick had put together an AC/DC playlist years ago. It’s one our favorite playlists. We’ve played it at parties and it always goes over well. I couldn’t help but think it would be a more fitting tribute to Malcolm to listen to a broader spectrum of his music than just one album. And I must say, turning this music up loud was the balm my soul needed.

Now, like everything in marriage, music is a compromise. I’ve often described my musical tastes and the Rock Chick’s as being a classic Venn Diagram, the famous overlapping circles. And even though we both love AC/DC, inexplicably, my wife doesn’t like the Bon Scott-era. She’s all in for Brian Johnson. I chuckle to think that when I first got into AC/DC I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. As my listening became more sophisticated, I realized that Bon had a raspier, bluesier vocal style. I’d also say Bon had a better sense of humor, but the Rock Chick might debate me on that topic. I don’t always subscribe to the theory of “happy wife, happy life,” but in the case of this playlist, I pick my battles.

The Rock Chick’s playlists are always better than anything I can come up with. Her party playlists always get somebody running up to me to ask what these songs are… my playlists tend to get people running up to me to ask if we can change the music. “Yes, Rich, we have some Oasis we can put on…” The Rock Chick tends to avoid songs that were over-played or that were big hits (like say, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” a great tune but we’ve all heard it 1000 times). She goes to the deeper album tracks. There always seems to be the right mix of popular tracks and deep cuts. This playlist is heavy on Brian Johnson tracks, and on their later albums, which is what BourbonAndVinyl is all about in the first place. I am slowly bringing The Rock Chick over to the Bon Scott stuff… track by track she’s getting into Highway To Hell. And I play the criminally overlooked LP, Powerage as often as I can get away with it…(LP Look Back: The Overlooked Gem, AC/DC’s “Powerage”) It was bound to seep in.

So for those of you who were saddened by yesterday’s Malcolm Young news, I will share this, the Rock Chick’s AC/DC playlist. It’s meant to help the healing. I have put it out on Spotify under the title, BourbonAndVinyl.net The Rock Chick’s AC/DC Playlist. As mentioned, you’re not going to find “You Shook Me All Night Long” or much Bon Scott. But as I listened to this yesterday it gave me a real appreciation of Malcolm and his brother’s work across the latter part of their career. It’s not meant to be a complete, best-of, kind of retrospective. It’s just something that gave me solace and I wanted to share it in these sad days.

Without further adieu, here are the Rock Chick’s AC/DC Playlist tracks. This one’s for you Mal:

From Back In Black:

1. Hells Bells
2. Shoot To Thrill
3. Back In Black
4. Have A Drink On Me  (Something I did in Malcolm’s honor)
5. Shake A Leg

From Ballbreaker:

1. Hard As A Rock
2. The Furor  (I realize this was banned in Germany, but it’s a wicked good track)
3. Hail Caesar
4. Whiskey On The Rocks (The perfect BourbonAndVinyl track)

From Black Ice:

1. Rock ‘N Roll Train
2. Skies On Fire
3. Anything Goes

From For Those About To Rock:

1. For Those About To Rock
2. Put The Finger On You
3. Let’s Get It Up
4. Evil Walks
5. C.O.D.

From Highway To Hell

1. Shot Down In Flames
2. If You Want Blood (You Got It)

From The Last Action Hero Soundtrack or Backtracks (Box Set)

1. Big Gun

From Powerage:

1. Gone Shootin’

From Razor’s Edge:

1. Thunderstruck
2. The Razor’s Edge
3. Are You Ready
4. Shot of Love
5. Let’s Make It

From Rock Or Bust:

1. Rock or Bust
2. Play Ball
3. Sweet Candy

From Stiff Upper Lip:

1. Stiff Upper Lip
2. Hold Me Back
3. Can’t Stand Still
4. Give It Up

From Who Made Who:

1. Who Made Who
2. Sink The Pink