Song Lyric Sunday: One Hot Angel

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This week for Song Lyric Sunday Jim is inviting us to play a song that made a great opening track on an album, as he tells us in his aptly titled post Kick It Off. I don’t know about you, but while some of my favourite albums kind of creep up on you gently I don’t think you can really beat being blasted out of your seat by the opening track: it sets the tone for what is to follow. And it helps if it’s loud, so I’ve decided to go with one of my favourite bands for this: AC/DC.

To be honest, if you look at their catalogue you’ll see that I could have chosen just about any of their opening tracks for this, but I’m going with this one:

That was, of course, Rock ‘n Roll Train, which was both the opener to AC/DC’s 2008 album Black Ice and, as here, on their double album, Live At River Plate, which was recorded in December 2009 and came out in 2012. And before I forget, how about some lyrics:

One hot angelOne cool devilYour mind on the fantasyLiving on the ecstasy
Give it all, give it, give it what you gotCome on give it all a lotPick it up and move it, give it to the spotYour mind on a fantasy, living on ecstasy
Runaway train(Running right off the track)Runaway train(Running right off the track)
Runaway train(Running right off the track)I’m on runaway train(Running right off the track)
One hard ring a bellOld school rebelA ten for the revelryJamming up the agency
Shake it, shake it. take it to the spotYou know she made it really hotGet it on, give it up, come on give it all you gotYour mind on a fantasy, living on the ecstasy
Runaway train(Running right off the track)Yeah, the runaway train yeah(Running right off the track)
On the runaway train(Running right off the track)Runaway train(Running right off the track)
One hot southern belleSon of a devilA school boy spelling beeA school girl with a fantasy
One hard ring a bellAll screwed upTo ten on the revelryYou’re darling of the agency
Shake it, take it, take it to the spotYou know she make it really hotGive it all, give it up, come on give it all you gotYou know she’s just like it
Runaway train(Running right off the track) she’s coming off the trackRunaway train(Running right off the track)
Get it on, get it up, come on give it all you gotRunaway train(Running right off the track)Runaway train(Running right off the track)
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Angus Young / Malcolm Young
Rock N Roll Train lyrics © J. Albert And Son Pty Ltd.

 

Black Ice was released in October 2008, and was the band’s fifteenth album. It was the last one they released with founder member Malcolm Young, who left in 2014 after he was diagnosed with dementia, and passed away in November 2017 at just 64. It was a big success, selling more than 6m copies worldwide, 2m of those in the US and 500,000 in the UK. It went to #1 in 24 of the 28 countries for which Wikipedia gives details, was #2 in another and #3 in the remainder. Of course, those #1s included both the UK and the US, and also Argentina, which is where they recorded that live album. The crowd is a seething mass of humanity, and if you ever wanted to get a view of the euphoric feeling it must be to play on stage in front of so many fans I think you’ll get the idea from this. They seemed to quite like the band, didn’t they!

The Live At River Plate album didn’t fare as well but still sold in respectable numbers, and peaked at #7 in Argentina, #11 in their homeland of Australia, #14 in the UK, but only #66 in the US. The album was notable for marking the first ever release of AC/DC records in a digital format, and they were rewarded by the remarkable statistic that the top ten of the UK Rock and Metal Singles Chart at that time comprised entirely AC/DC tracks – a unique distinction. Sales for the album might have been higher had it not been pre-empted by the release of the concert DVD in May 2011, which is when I first bought it. That DVD went Platinum in the UK, selling more than 300,000 copies, while the album managed just 100,000 and Gold.

I teased the thought at the beginning of this that I could have chosen loads of AC/DC’s album openers to play, and I’m tempted to add in another. Are you with me? OK then, here’s the opening track to Back In Black:

Back In Black was released in July 1980, the first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead vocalist after the death in February 1980 of Bon Scott. It got to #1 in the UK, France, Germany, Canada and Australia, but only peaked at #4 in the US. Despite that relatively low chart placing it has sold more than 27m copies in the US, going 27x Platinum, out of an estimated 50m worldwide. Not bad, eh?

Time for one more before I go? Oh go on then, if you’re twisting my arm:

Highway To Hell was their previous album, released in July 1979, when Bon was still with us. The album reached #8 in the UK and #17 in the US, but is another whose sales belie the chart placings: 8m copies in the US, 900,000 in Canada, 500,000 in Germany and 300,000 in the UK, making it their second biggest seller behind Back In Black. 

I’d better stop there, before I play you all of their album openers. An honourable mention goes to Thunderstruck, from the 1990 album The Razor’s Edge, another multi-million seller. It was a tough choice to leave it out, but I had to stop somewhere!

That’s it for today. I hope you’re well and enjoying your weekend, and that I’ll see you again for Tuesday Tunes.

Take care 😊

60 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: One Hot Angel”

  1. Pingback: My August | Take It Easy

  8. I’ll be the dissenter today Clive. Loudness? Yep. Subtlety? Nope. Brashness? Yep. Crowd pleasers? Yep. Nuanced vocals? Nope. Long term success? Yep. Evolving as a band? Nope. Ploughing a very similar refrain and furrow over the same old familiar ground for forever? Yes. My cuppa tea? Hmmmm, how can I sweeten this? No thanks. I know, I know, I’m on the outer here!

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  10. Clive I love these guys… the ability to take 3-4 chords over and over with different riffs for decades is inspiring. I’m happy that they never tried to bend to styles of the time. Two great openers.

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  13. AC/DC’s fans are incredibly enthusiastic and dedicated to the band and that is shown clearly in your first video. Their consistent, high-energy rock and roll sound, iconic riffs, made for some electrifying live shows. Nice choice Clive rocking it out for the theme.

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  17. I often joke about AC/DC being the one band that can write the same song over and over and still make it work. I think they hit their peak with Back in Black and For Those about to Rock and I moved away from them until The Razor’s Edge.
    They will always be great hard rock band that brings back good memories.

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