A.R.S.E.

Earlier announcements that AC/DC's Malcolm Young was to retire permanently due to ill health have been been clarified by reports that he is suffering from dementia:

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I've never been that big a fan of AC/DC but this guy is another matter. I can't think of a better rhythm guitarist ever. He was the band's engine room.

Apparently Stevie Young, Malcolm's nephew, sounds pretty much exactly the same. The only problem is that Malcolm was the driving force and principal songwriter.

Malcolm's rhythm under Angus's lead is iconic!

[youtube] [/youtube]

Listen to the left channel in this, especially in the middle part:

[youtube] [/youtube]

He's carrying the majority of the load.

It's a shame Mal didn't do more solod because he was actually probably a nicer lead player than Angus but he didn't want to. He would joke that it gave him more drinking time.

Brian Johnson said that if you give a guitarist space they will fill it. The good ones, according to him, know when to shut up.

Seems to me that he knew it was better to be the best rhythm player going than to be an okay lead player (I'm not a fan of Angus). That means knowing your place and not many people in bands have that kind of ethos. Being a good rhythm player is a very different skill from being a good lead player.

Izzy Stradlin when he was in Guns and Roses sums up what Brian said very well. There's a few damn fine rhythm players out there.