For Those About to Rock We Salute You

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For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
ForThoseAboutToRock ACDCalbum.jpg
Studio album by
Released20 November 1981 (1981-11-20) [1]
RecordedMay – September 1981
Studio
  • Family (Paris)
  • H.I.S. (Paris)
Genre Hard rock
Length40:10
Label
Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange
AC/DC chronology
Back in Black
(1980)
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
(1981)
Flick of the Switch
(1983)
Singles from For Those About to Rock We Salute You
  1. "Let's Get It Up"
    Released: January 1982 [2]
  2. "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"
    Released: June 1982

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (shortened to For Those About to Rock on its cover) is the eighth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was released on 20 November 1981 in the United States and on 27 November 1981 in the United Kingdom. [3]

Contents

The album is a follow-up to their highly successful album Back in Black . For Those About to Rock has sold over four million copies in the US. It would be AC/DC's first and only No. 1 album in the U.S. until the release of Black Ice in October 2008. In their original 1981 review, Rolling Stone magazine declared it to be their best album. In Australia, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. [4]

The album, recorded in Paris, was the third and final AC/DC collaboration with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Christgau's Record Guide C [7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 8/10 [8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Metal Storm 8/10 [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

For Those About to Rock became the first AC/DC album to ever hit No. 1 in the US on the Billboard chart and stayed on the top for three weeks. To date, in the US, it has achieved four million sales. In the UK, the album's two singles, "Let's Get It Up" and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)", made it to No. 13 and No. 15, respectively. The album has sold an estimated seven million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest sold AC/DC albums worldwide.[ citation needed ] However it marks a major drop-off in sales in the United States, only selling 4 million as follow-up to the 25× platinum Back in Black. In a 2008 Rolling Stone cover story, David Fricke singled out the title track for praise, noting its "unusual stop-start effect that hooks you just as hard as their usual railroad drive."[ citation needed ] Robert Christgau stated: "Brian Johnson takes over, defining an anthemic grandiosity more suitable to their precious-metal status than Bon Scott's old-fashioned raunch. Also dumber. 'Let's Get It Up' is a limited sentiment in any case. But I'd appreciate some indication that Johnson knows the difference between his dick and the light tower." [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"5:43
2."Put the Finger on You"3:25
3."Let's Get It Up"3:53
4."Inject the Venom"3:31
5."Snowballed"3:23
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Evil Walks"4:23
7."C.O.D."3:19
8."Breaking the Rules"4:23
9."Night of the Long Knives"3:25
10."Spellbound"4:28
Total length:40:10

Personnel

AC/DC
Production

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [31] 5× Platinum350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria) [32] Gold25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [33] Gold50,000^
France (SNEP) [34] Platinum400,000*
Germany (BVMI) [35] Platinum500,000^
Italy (FIMI) [36]
sales since 2009
Gold25,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [37] Gold50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [38] Platinum50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [39] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [40] 4× Platinum4,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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