Most of the time, it’s the electric guitar solo that empowers the song. Many musicians aspire to be guitarists after being impressed by the lead sections of their favorite songs, leading them to want to master how to play them. In talented guitarists’ hands, guitar solos contribute to the song’s expressiveness and make them timeless pieces. However, shredding these iconic solos is not as easy as it seems, as it requires a lot of practice and years of experience.
We all know Angus Young for never losing his energy on stage and delivering iconic AC/DC riffs with his eyes shut. However, it took him years and years of guitar playing and practice to get to this level. Looking through the immense music catalog of AC/DC, there are many songs a casual guitar player may find challenging to play. However, according to Young, one particular AC/DC song required an hour of warming up his fingers before he attempted to play it on stage.
One might think that a guitarist like Angus Young won’t have any trouble playing even the most intricate guitar riffs. This assumption isn’t far from the truth, as the 67-year-old guitarist has enough experience and talent to handle the lead parts of all AC/DC songs. Still, it’s not surprising that some tracks are more challenging than others. According to Young, one of those songs is the lead single from 1990’s ‘The Razors Edge’ — ‘Thunderstruck.’
Speaking to Vulture in 2020, Angus Young revealed the AC/DC songs that had a meaning for him. When it came to the guitar solo that was ‘the biggest endurance test,’ Young said ‘Thunderstuck’ without a second thought. The guitarist recalled when his brother Malcolm encouraged him to improve the solo and then admitted that he had to sit down for an hour to warm his fingers up to start playing it. As Young said, ‘Thunderstruck’ has an unrelenting complexity.
“I had been playing around with an acoustic guitar,” Angus Young recalled, “of all things, and Malcolm heard what I was playing and kept pestering me about it. ‘You should keep working on that!’ When you hear it, it all comes into place. When we perform it live, I have to sit down for an hour and make sure I’ve got my fingers warmed up to take on that track. It’s got an unrelenting intricacy. I have to be confident whenever I play it.”
Apparently, Angus Young believes that ‘Thunderstruck’ is a challenging song that has complex riffs to play. Although the song dates back to 1990, it seems Young still has to practice a lot during a warm-up session to play it without any mistakes. So, he would like to feel confident enough whenever he has to play ‘Thunderstruck’ live on stage.
