(answered by Don Stuart)
AC/DC is the poster child of no progression. 40 years, 17 albums. Nada.
There’s a reason: Malcolm and Angus, the two guitarists in AC/DC, had an older brother named George Young who was in a 60’s band called The Easybeats.
George and his friend Harry Vanda (both were guitarists too) wrote an international hit with that band called “Friday On My Mind.” It was one of the cooler songs of 1966–67. The Easybeats didn’t get big outside of Australia (where they were huge) but they eventually became underground rock legends.
George and Harry were helping young Malcolm get AC/DC rolling in the early 70’s. They produced most of their 70’s albums, and they remembered what worked for The Easybeats. Only this time there was Angus Young, their “baby brother” guitar prodigy.
They also remembered how The Easybeats got whipsawed chasing the fickle trends of 60’s rock.
As soon as AC/DC had the slightest success in Australia, it was “Nope.” George made them stick to the formula and refine it. The only time they deviated (slightly) was when they signed with gigantic Atlantic Records. The label made them dump George and Harry and brought in Mutt Lange to produce the album Highway to Hell. A little more polish, a little more success.
Then came the monster Back in Black album and the formula was perfected. Malcolm, the undisputed leader, booted Lange after one more album and never let the band change. With George minding the shop — it was always a family business.
Angus likes to joke that he’s been flogging the same guitar solo for 40 years. All the way to the bank, mate.
Postscript: Mutt Lange remembered the formula, too. Compare the boom-crack beat and quasi-rap in “Back in Black” with Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” — Lange’s next monster — and then “Any Man of Mine,” the breakout hit for Shania Twain — Lange’s ex-wife, and the best-selling woman in country music history.
Every Moment Has A Song 