Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson, who is better?
Some musicians shared their opinion on who’s a better AC/DC singer in Greg Prato’s book ”A Rockin’ Rollin’ Man: Bon Scott Remembered”. Let’s see what musicians debated on the two AC/DC singers:
Pantera’s Phil Anselmo: “Different vocalists, different feels a bit. They both have great attitude and different voices. The visionaries in AC/DC would be the Young brothers. The fact that they picked Brian Johnson, I’m thinking they were really thinking ahead… or either they just lucked out because they’re both great in their own right.”
Testament’s Chuck Billy: “They’re night and day. And I think especially lyric-wise for sure, I totally see the difference. But, something about Brian’s technique and his style of vocals because he’s unique, really made him fit in there with a unique band. I think if they had someone ordinary, I don’t know if it would be the same AC/DC, they had to have that unique thing as the lead person out there. And I think Brian Johnson was that guy.”
Former Skid Row singer, Sebastian Bach: ”AC/DC didn’t try to clone the singer that they had before, like some bands make the mistake of trying to hire a guy that clones or impersonates the dude before. And there are a lot of examples of that. But AC/DC did not do that, because I don’t think it’s possible to clone Bon Scott. I don’t think anybody is capable of impersonating Bon Scott. But Brian Johnson had a completely different style and sound. So, there really was no comparison, because they’re so different.”
Steve Souza: “Nothing against Brian, I like the AC/DC stuff with Brian, but I don’t go to it. If I’m in my car and I’m listening to AC/DC, it’s not Brian Johnson-era stuff, it’s Bon Scott-era stuff. It’s my preference, nothing against it. I mean, come on ‘TNT.’ As soon as anybody hears that, they start singing ‘TNT!’ When I play that, the whole f*ckin’ crowd is going ‘TNT!’ Everybody loves it, little kids know that song, y’know?”
Devin Townsend: “They’re both great. I just preferred Bon Scott. And I didn’t dislike Brian Johnson, it wasn’t like how I felt about Van Halen when Sammy Hagar was in there, where I was like, ‘Oh… I don’t like this as much.’ I did like Brian Johnson, and I did think that he had a cool voice. It’s just it was a different feeling that came out of the speakers. Bon Scott was like, in the room with me, in a sense. And Brian Johnson, it was maybe to do with production or the time in which it became popular, but I was more separated from it. And there was a real sense of intimacy with those old AC/DC records, that I just think were fantastic. Some of my favorites, actually Powerage and all that. I love all that stuff.”