Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the third studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, originally released only in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 1976. The album was not released in the United States until 1981, more than one year after lead singer Bon Scott's death. This was also AC/DC's first album in its entirety to be recorded with the same lineup, rather than including at least one track recorded with a different bassist or drummer.
For the title track, see Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (song).Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
20 September 1976
42:24 (Australia)
39:59 (international)
Background[edit]
AC/DC began recording Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in December 1975 at Albert Studios with Harry Vanda and George Young (elder brother of guitarists Malcolm and Angus) producing. In April 1976, the band went on their first tour of the UK, where "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was released as a single. According to the book AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll, Vanda and Young travelled to the UK to record several songs with the band at Vineland Studios for a scheduled EP, which was eventually scrapped. "Carry Me Home" later appeared in 1977 as a B-side to "Dog Eat Dog", while "Dirty Eyes" remained unreleased and was later reworked into "Whole Lotta Rosie" for 1977's Let There Be Rock. Only "Love at First Feel" was used for Dirty Deeds, but not for the Australian release. A song titled "I'm a Rebel" was recorded at Maschener Studios as well, with music and lyrics written by another elder Young brother, Alex Young.[1][2] This song was never released by AC/DC, and remains in Albert Productions' vaults. German band Accept later released it as a single, and named their second album after it. High Voltage was released in the United States in 1976. However, hampered by visa problems and a lack of interest from Atlantic Records in the US, the band returned to Australia to finish their third album.
Also according to AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll, years later, Stephen King convinced the band to do the soundtrack for his film Maximum Overdrive (the soundtrack released as Who Made Who) by putting "Ain't No Fun" on the record player and singing along to the entire song line-for-line in order to prove how much of a fan he was of their music.
Composition[edit]
The title track would become one of the band's most famous songs. Its narrator invites people experiencing problems to either call him on 36-24-36, an actual phone number in Australia in the 1960s (then properly formatted as FM 2436 – 36 translated to FM on the rotary dial or keypad), or visit him at his home, at which point he will perform assorted unsavoury acts to resolve said problems. Situations in which he offers assistance include those involving lewd high school headmasters, and significant others who either are adulterous or persistently find fault with their partners. The term "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is an homage to the cartoon Beany and Cecil, which Angus watched when he was a child. One of the cartoon's characters was named Dishonest John, and carried a business card that read, "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap. Special rates for Sundays and holidays." On the Live on Donington DVD, Malcolm and Angus explained that the concept of the album was to base it as a Bogartian mystery scenario. This was also backed by author Dave Rubin, who stated in his book Inside Rock Guitar: Four Decades of the Greatest Electric Rock Guitarists that Bogart's movies served as the basis for the album.[3]
In 1981, after the album was released in the U.S., Norman and Marilyn White of Libertyville, Illinois filed a $250,000 lawsuit in Lake County, Illinois Circuit Court against Atlantic Records and its distributors because, they alleged, their telephone number was included in the song, resulting in hundreds of prank phone calls. Their attorney told the Chicago Tribune that the song's 36-24-36 digits were followed by what to his clients sounded like an "8", thus creating the couple's phone number.[4]
Another fan favorite from the album is "Ride On". Atypically for an AC/DC song, it has a sad, slow blues feel and features Bon Scott's reflective lyrics and restrained, soulful delivery. The lyrics concern a man remembering the mistakes he has made in a relationship while drinking. It has frequently been cited as one of AC/DC's best songs.[5][6][7] The track is also significant for Angus Young's guitar solo. AC/DC biographer Murray Engleheart observes in his 2006 band memoir: "Overall, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was rougher than T.N.T. and highlighted the difficulties of recording between increasingly demanding touring commitments. Songs like 'Ain't No Fun,' 'RIP,' 'Jailbreak,' and particularly the lonely resignation of 'Ride On,' were almost character studies of Bon and had a sense of impatience...breaking free and just plain loneliness." "Ride On" was covered by the French band Trust on their self-titled 1979 debut album, after they supported AC/DC live in Paris in the autumn of 1978. Scott jammed the song with Trust at Scorpio Sound Studios in London on 13 February 1980, six days before his death in that city. A recording of this later surfaced on the Bon Scott Forever Volume 1 bootleg. In an interview with Anthony O'Grady of RAM in August 1976, Scott stated that "Ride On" was "about a guy who gets pissed around by chicks...can't find what he wants." In the same 1976 RAM interview, Scott revealed that "Squealer" was about a sexual encounter with a virgin. In concert, Scott would often introduce "Problem Child" as being about Angus. "Ain't No Fun (Waiting 'Round to be a Millionaire)" is one of the few AC/DC songs that has cursing, with Scott shouting on the fade, "Hey Howard, how ya doin' friend, my next door neighbour? Oh yeah, get your fuckin' jumbo jet off my airport!" The rhythm of "There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'" is very similar to that of "The Seventh Son" by Willie Dixon.
Record World said of "Problem Child" that the group "rocks hard, but with a sure melodic touch and satisfyingly raunchy guitar work."[8]
AC/DC
Production