Steve Dawson's a great bassist, and his stage presence and desire for open key songs helped saxon write many of their greatest songs. Ol' Dobby loves to stand on his moniters and raise his fist to get the audience pumping, and by doing this he could only play open strings (Being right handed and raising his left fretting hand in a fist) so he would try to see if the band would write more open tuned songs (Good examples are Strong Arm of the Law and Wheels of Steel) so he could jack the crowd up.

To me, neither Motorhead not AC/DC have made the same album over and over. Angus saying so was tongue in cheek. AC/DC have less variety than Motorhead but the variety is there. I find each album by both bands to be fairly unique in their respective catalogues.

AC/DC have really gone down hill in the past 20 years though. Black Ice is right near the bottom of the barrel of AC/DC albums. I find the dip in quality has coincided with the Youngs taking over lyric duties from Brian Johnson. Johnson was no Bon Scott when it came to lyrics, but compared to the Youngs' gibberish he was like Shakespear.

Somebody needs to fix this bloody reply function as well.

Anyway, to continue without all the jumpy box shite.

Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams lay down some tight groovy rhythm, but I am sorry. I can't accept that it is difficult to play. Cliff often sits on just one note. Sure they have great time keeping but so should any bass player or drummer worth their salt. Best AC/DC bass would be in "Gimme a Bullet", IMO.

I'm looking forward to the new Motorhead album. Glad they got a new producer, might give them a fresh outlook and dare I say it, a kick up the arse. I think the last two albums were arguably the poorest they have ever put out after the briliant Inferno.

I'm not expecting their best work, but I hope for more hooks, more imaginative riffs and a bit more lyrically this time around. Dare I say that Motorhead have been missing "pop" songs of late. By "pop" I refer to stuff that has good hooks and melodies.

It's not technically difficult to play and it's easy for people to think "yeah, I could do that no problem"

But can they really? Maybe they can copy existing drum and bass patterns but how would they fare working up new material with the band? Would the feel still be there? A couple of drummers played with AC/DC when Phil Rudd took time out and the band sounded a little more wooden, just didn't have that swagger. Could any old bass player convincingly replace Dusty Hill in ZZ Top?

I agree it's easy to play bass and drums to an AC/DC song. For about three songs. Then it gets incredibly boring.

Rudd and Williams are pretty unique in that they have laid down such simple beats for such a long time without ever wanting to experiment within the songs, something the songs don't require.

THAT'S what makes the rythm section in AC/DC so great - their willingness to be team players.

Johnny Ramone was a good example of a musician who kept it incredibly simple yet developed his own unique style. His technique was largely limited to powerchord strumming yet his speed and precision was a form of virtuosity in itself. And you need tons of invention to keep churning out new riffs. I've heard guitarists who are supposedly more accomplished try to interpret Johnny's work and they don't convince.

Quite a character was Mr Cummings. Didn't pick up a guitar until he was 25, worked it like a jackhammer for the next 25 and then simply put it down and retired.

Well mate - You play bass? Then please explain why it is not difficult. Are you able to play any AC/DC song in the same style Cliff does?

Or

You don't play bass? Then forget it.

When it was show time the queue was stretching form one end to the other, and the store announced that one thing, and one thing only is to be signed so make your pick...

Yes, I play bass. I wou;d not boast to be as tight as Cliff but my recoreded music is more creative than his. Hard not to be, really.