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Song by AC/DC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Shoot to Thrill" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the second track on the 1980 album Back in Black. This song is also the second track of AC/DC Live and AC/DC Live: 2 CD Collector's Edition, and is included on the Iron Man 2 soundtrack.[1] Although the studio version was never released as a single, the song is a fan favourite and a staple on classic rock radio stations.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2014) |
"Shoot to Thrill" | |
---|---|
Song by AC/DC | |
from the album Back in Black | |
Released | 25 July 1980 |
Recorded | April – May 1980 |
Studio | Compass Point (Nassau) |
Genre | Hard rock |
Length | 5:17 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Robert John "Mutt" Lange |
Back in Black track listing | |
10 tracks Side one
Side two
| |
Music video | |
"Shoot to Thrill" (Iron Man 2 version) on YouTube |
On 26 January 2010, a new music video for "Shoot to Thrill" was released with exclusive footage from the film Iron Man 2. The live concert footage used in the video was filmed in December 2009 at a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Estadio Monumental, from which the Live at River Plate DVD was filmed.[1]
"Shoot to Thrill (live)" | ||||
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Single by AC/DC | ||||
from the album Live at River Plate | ||||
B-side | "War Machine (live)" | |||
Released | 16 April 2011 | |||
Recorded | December 2009 | |||
Venue | River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 5:47 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | AC/DC | |||
AC/DC singles chronology | ||||
|
Several different live recordings of "Shoot to Thrill" have been released officially. One version, recorded from the Razors Edge World Tour, was released on the 1992 Live album. Another version, recorded from the 1991 Donington show, was released on the deluxe edition of the 2009 box set Backtracks. Another performance, recorded at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires in December 2009, was released as a limited edition 7-inch single (backed with a live performance of "War Machine" from the aforementioned show) for Record Store Day 2011, promoting the live DVD Live at River Plate, which was released in May 2011.
When explaining his lyrical inspiration for the song, lead singer and then-songwriter Brian Johnson recalled reading a British article about a neighbourhood pusher who made daily rounds (almost like a milkman) throughout the London suburbs, selling narcotics to bored, lonely and depressed housewives. These substance-affected homemakers would then peruse the local clubs and bars, seeking out torrid, extra-marital relationships.[citation needed]
Lead guitarist Angus Young has commented that the song's "break-down", which occurs soon after the main solo (a muted and repeating three chord sequence of A Major triad, G Major triad, and a D power chord leading up to a bombastic outro-solo), was inspired by the trio gun-battle climax from Sergio Leone's classic, Italian western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In this seminal scene, gun-fighters Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach stare one another down in the centre of a Civil-War cemetery for minutes-on-end to an eventual shoot-out. Young said this sequence in the song was designed to mirror the actual soundtrack selection "Il Triello" by composer Ennio Morricone. Both compositions feature a slow quiet build-up, increasing in tension to a thunderous, cataclysmic finale.[citation needed]
AC/DC
Production
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Top Tracks[2] | 60 |
Chart (2012) | Peak position |
US Billboard Hot Digital Songs[2] | 75 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[3] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[4] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[5] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[6] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[8] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The song has also been recorded by Halestorm on their EP Reanimate 2.0: The Covers.
This song has been used in several film and television programs including:
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