The folks from Guitar World shared an interesting piece of interview from their archives, featuring AC/DC‘s Angus Young discussing his brother Malcolm‘s guitar playing. Angus noted:
“Malcolm’s really underrated. He makes the band sound so full, and I couldn’t ask for a better rhythm player.
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“Sometimes I look at Malcolm while he’s playing, and I’m completely awestruck by the sheer power of it. He’s doing something much more unique than what I do – with that raw, natural sound of his.
“People like Malcolm, Steve Cropper, Chuck Berry and Keith Richards – they’re all doing something better than the rest of us.
“I can’t deny that Eric Clapton’s and Eddie Van Halen’s lead stuff has influenced a stack of people, but for me it’s the rhythm thing that’s way more impressive and important to a band. Malcolm is a big inspiration to me; he keeps me on my feet.
“Even when I’m tired from running around the stage for two hours, I’ll look back at what he’s doing and it gives me that boot up the backside I sometimes need. [Laughs]
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“Also, he can always tell me if I’m playing well or if I’m not. Mal’s a very tough critic, and I know that if I can please him, I can please the world.
“A lot of people say, ‘AC/DC – that’s the band with the little guy who runs around in school shorts!’ But I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without Malcolm and the other guys pumping out the rhythm.
“They make me look good. Mal is really a great all-around guitarist. I know it says ‘rhythm guitar’ on the album jacket, but if he sits down to play a solo, he can do it better than me.
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“Not a lot of people have picked up on this, but in the early days he used to play lead. But then he said to me, ‘No, you take the solos. I’ll just bang away back here.’
“And what’s more, he actually plays rhythms. He just doesn’t make a noise; he works them out, and he knows when not to play.”