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Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson


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Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson  

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Unfortunately I never got to see Bon Scott live, but I've seen Brian Johnson twice, so I guess I'm a bit partial to him. Also, Back in Black is probably in my top 5 or 10 all time favorite albums.

I love AC/DC, but kind of like Guns, I was always a bigger fan of the guitarist here. For me it's mostly about Angus, but I think Brian did a stellar job filling in when he did and made a great band even better.

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They sound pretty much the same, so by default it's a tie in my book.

wut.

i like both a lot a year or 2 ago i would have said brian but im leaning bon on both, but brian is still awesome as well.

I go through phases too, at least with the voices. I know Bon was a better frontman and I won't deny that. And I'll have times where I can't get enough of Bon's voice, and other times when I can't get enough of Brian's voice. Right now I'm in a Brian phase. Those first 3 albums with Brain - man, he sounded fucking killer.

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no doubt they knocked it out of the park with brian. it is so rare that a replacement singer can come in and continue to add to the legacy of a band. i mean in the states ac/dc only had 4 released albums at the time of bon's death. if brian came in and the fans didnt like him and back in black wasn't the album it turned out to be, i dont think ac/dc becomes as popular as they have.

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With Bon the songs were a lot more "original", I guess it's because the Young brothers fell into "the recipe" with Brian and not his fault per se. But with Brian AC/DC became bigger than I think they would ever be with Bon. Both are legends. And I mean, they're both one of the best frontmen of all time. It's hard but I guess in an album setting, Bon. In a live setting, from what I've seen, Brian.

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With Bon the songs were a lot more "original", I guess it's because the Young brothers fell into "the recipe" with Brian and not his fault per se. But with Brian AC/DC became bigger than I think they would ever be with Bon. Both are legends. And I mean, they're both one of the best frontmen of all time. It's hard but I guess in an album setting, Bon. In a live setting, from what I've seen, Brian.

I think they were well on the way to being the polished behemoth we know them as now with Powerage and Highway To Hell, had Bon lived on he would have IMO matured into something unparalleled.

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Has to be Bon Scott but to be fair i ain't heard fuck all of the other one except the song Thunderstruck. I actually got into AC/DC cuz of someone on this forum, one of the Aussies, i can't even remember who, i think his name was Johnezz but it might've been HV. Anyway, he reccomended me Highway to Hell and High Voltage something or other, fuckin' brilliant albums.

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Has to be Bon Scott but to be fair i ain't heard fuck all of the other one except the song Thunderstruck. I actually got into AC/DC cuz of someone on this forum, one of the Aussies, i can't even remember who, i think his name was Johnezz but it might've been HV. Anyway, he reccomended me Highway to Hell and High Voltage something or other, fuckin' brilliant albums.

Back In Black is great. Unfortunately the rest of the Johnson stuff is hit or miss. BIB is right up there with classic AC/DC, tbh it's probably more well known among the general populace, maybe it even sold better? I don't feel like looking up the numbers.

Edited by OmarBradley
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Has to be Bon Scott but to be fair i ain't heard fuck all of the other one except the song Thunderstruck. I actually got into AC/DC cuz of someone on this forum, one of the Aussies, i can't even remember who, i think his name was Johnezz but it might've been HV. Anyway, he reccomended me Highway to Hell and High Voltage something or other, fuckin' brilliant albums.

Back In Black is great. Unfortunately the rest of the Johnson stuff is hit or miss. BIB is right up there with classic AC/DC, tbh it's probably more well known amounts the general populace, maybe it even sold better? I don't feel like looking up the numbers.

Yeah, I'm pretty positive it sold more too. It's kinda like THE AC/DC album, isn't it, along with Highway. I'm well aware of it and it's hallowed position in rock history, I've just never got round to it. In fact y'know what i might have once listened to it, getting this irritating feeling like i did but i don't recall. At any rate if i don't recall i might as well not have.

I like em chiefly cuz it's like the best aspects of metal, what few there are but still with a foot in the rhythm of blues, makes it sound truly powerful. In many ways they 'got' the power of rhythm and blues more than a great many people because they understood that it was designed to make cellars rumble.

Edited by Lennie Godber
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Bon Scott was a bear bone rock n' roll vocalist far from being perfect and if anything Brian helped pave a perfect tribute to his legacy even though the earlier albums are among some of the best in rock n' roll ever created. Couldn't hold up after awhile gig after gig, clearly becoming more warn out but all in vein of rock n' roll in his distinctive style despite not having cords bluesy like Brain does who took them to so many heights that Bon can probably feel their presence as much as AC/DC brought his out from beneath the grave and after 35 years later are still strong. No reason to not love both of them, and i must also mention my recent concert marathon over two cerwin vega 215s which is where i was blown away at how great of a job Brian did at taking over. Really a phenomenal job that couldn't have been better suited for anybody else.

Edited by Street Of The Blues
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The Bon era is real AC/DC imo. I like the Brian Johnson era as well, and it is the more well known era for sure. But its more well known because of the ground work established with Bon. Back in black IS the best AC/DC album to most people, and to be fair it is the essential album by them. If you don't like Back in black, you don't like AC/DC, period. Honestly its up there with Appetite and Zep 4 for best hard rock album ever, so it deserves our respect. So the Brian Johnson era is a force to be reconed with. Also, not only can Brain boost the Back In Black album, he also has For those about to rock, who made who, thunderstruck, and money talks all of which are instantly recognizable AC/DC songs. So it is not fair to dismiss the Brain era.

But having said all that, the Bon era was superior imo. Outside of the album Back In Black, imo Brian never produced another complete album, only good songs here and there. Bon on the other produced quality albums every time they entered the studio. Powerage, High Voltage, Dirty Deeds, Highway to Hell, and Let There Be Rock are all stellar albums imo. If Back In Black is the best AC/DC album (although not my fav, it is probably thier "best") than Bon's entire discorgaphy comes in right behind it. While the next great Brian album comes in faaarr after all of Bon's. So by the numbers alone, Bon has to be considered better. But thats's just my opinion, I know many hardcore fans don't like Back In Black anymore, but to be fair, I do think it is the quintessestial AC/DC album. But the Bon era was still MUCH better overall.

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Bon every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Here's the thing in a nutshell: Bon was an amazing vocalist and amazing frontman. He worked wonders complimenting Angus on guitar. Maybe it was just luck that he was there at the beginning when they had all their amazing albums, or he was key in all of AC/DC working out the way he did. Thing is there never was anyone quite like Bon and in 7 years or so he created a legacy that not many other frontmen have in their whole career. He was one in a million.

Having said that, I obviously echo the statements that Brian was the best replacement. No one has ever really moved on in a band the way AC/DC did. It was seamless and it felt completely natural. And then on top of it, and here's what makes it hard, they then released maybe the best album they ever did with Brian. Back In Black, in every sense of the word, is one of the more important rock albums in history. Above all other AC/DC albums, it is probably their most consistent, with riff after amazing riff and every song kind of sounding like a single. They channelled something and while Powerage is my favorite AC/DC album, Black In Black may be their "best" (even though it sounds wrong to say that because Bon isn't on it).

Brian has Back In Black on his side, and the fact that they were able to remain relevant because of his presence. However, the albums with him were always kind of subpar, and nothing stacks up to 70s AC/DC. Throw in Bon live and all the amazing songs he made with the band and unfortunately its no contest. I think even Brian Johnson would say that.

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Here's another way of looking at it: as good as Brian is as a vocalist and a frontman, since 1980 AC/DC has always kind of been the Angus Young show. Brian has the swinging on the Hell's Bell, but thats about it. In the 70s, it was always Angus AND Bon. They were both loose canons and you can't discount or undersell how important Bon was to live AC/DC that ultimately made them popular. He had enough energy and unpredictably to match Angus, and make AC/DC their own Jagger/Richards, Tyler/Perry, Axl/Slash, etc. Thats why he was better.

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