A new 3CD edition brings Brian Johnson’s pre-AC/DC recordings with Geordie back into circulation, alongside early Bon Scott material and a disc of AC/DC covers, but its history of the two singers is far from complete.
by Paul Cashmere
AC/DC fans looking for the roads that Brian Johnson and Bon Scott travelled before AC/DC have a new archival collection to explore, with The Many Faces Of AC/DC issued as a 3CD set through French label MPO Records and distributed in the UK by Lasgo Records.
The most compelling part of the release is not the familiar AC/DC material on CD1. It is the second disc, which collects 14 recordings from Brian Johnson’s Geordie years, a period that is considerably harder to find than the AC/DC catalogue that followed.
Johnson was already a successful rock singer before joining AC/DC in 1980. Geordie’s “Can You Do It”, included here, reached number 13 in the UK in 1973 and was also a Sydney chart record, peaking in the low 30s on the 2SM chart.
The Geordie material gives listeners a useful perspective on the voice that AC/DC would later put on Back In Black. “Don’t Do That”, “All Because Of You”, “Electric Lady”, “Black Cat Woman”, “She’s A Teaser”, “Goodbye Love” and “Can You Do It” document Johnson in a very different musical setting, rooted in the glam and hard rock sound of early 1970s Britain.
Geordie formed in Newcastle upon Tyne with Johnson alongside guitarist Vic Malcolm, bassist Tom Hill and drummer Brian Gibson. “Can You Do It” was one of the band’s UK successes, reaching number 13, while “All Because Of You” went to number six.
That history makes CD2 the set’s strongest reason for existing. Geordie’s records are not nearly as ubiquitous as AC/DC’s catalogue, and the collection brings together the A and B sides represented across the band’s early singles. The material also provides an opportunity to hear Johnson before his defining role in AC/DC was even imaginable.
CD1 is more familiar territory. It presents cover versions of AC/DC songs including “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock & Roll)”, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, “Back In Black”, “Highway To Hell”, “Thunderstruck”, “T.N.T.”, “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Jailbreak”. Former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade is among the musicians represented, alongside players including Tracii Guns and Keri Kelli.
CD3 moves back to Bon Scott’s formative years, but this is where the collection needs to be viewed as a selection rather than a complete history.
The disc includes “Every Day You Have To Cry”, associated with Scott’s time in The Valentines, along with “Peculiar Hole In The Sky” and “She Said”, and recordings connected to his later work with the Mount Lofty Rangers, including “Round And Round And Round” and “Caret Gully”. The material therefore touches several stages of Scott’s development without attempting to document every band or recording he made before AC/DC.
Most notably, there is no substantial Fraternity representation. Scott joined Fraternity in Adelaide in 1970 and recorded the albums Livestock and Flaming Galah with the group. Fraternity’s version of “Seasons Of Change” became an important Australian recording during Scott’s pre-AC/DC period, but it is absent from this collection.
There is another significant omission for listeners following the Young brothers’ path into AC/DC. The Marcus Hook Roll Band, the studio project associated with Harry Vanda and George Young, is not represented. Malcolm and Angus Young were involved with the 1973 Sydney recordings that became Tales Of Old Grand-Daddy, giving that project a direct connection to the brothers before AC/DC.
That distinction is important. The Many Faces Of AC/DC does not provide a complete genealogy of the band. Instead, it works as a snapshot of selected recordings around two of AC/DC’s most recognisable singers, with the rare Geordie material making it particularly relevant for collectors interested in Brian Johnson’s career before 1980.
The current MPO Records edition was issued in August 2026. The value is therefore less about hearing AC/DC songs again and more about filling in part of the musical map that existed before Back In Black and Highway To Hell.
For listeners who have only known Brian Johnson as the voice of AC/DC, those 14 Geordie tracks offer the clearest new perspective. The Bon Scott disc tells part of another story, but deliberately leaves some of the most important chapters still waiting for a more comprehensive archival release.
CD1: The Songs
It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock & Roll)
You Shook Me All Night Long
Who Made Who
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Hells Bells
Back In Black
Whole Lotta Rosie
Thunderstruck
Highway To Hell
Jailbreak
T.N.T.
Rock N Roll Train
Gimme A Bullet
If You Want Blood
CD2: Brian Johnson & Geordie
Don’t Do That
Francis Was A Rocker
All Because Of You
Ain’t It Just Like A Woman
Can You Do It
Red Eyed Lady
Electric Lady
Geordie Stomp
Black Cat Woman
She’s A Teaser
We’re All Right Now
Ride On Baby
Goodbye Love
She’s A Lady
CD3: Bon Scott & The Early Years
Round And Round And Round
I Can’t Dance With You
Sookie Sookie
Every Day You Have To Cry
Love Makes Sweet Music
I Can Hear The Raindrops
Why Me?
Peculiar Hole In The Sky
She Said
To Know You Is To Love You
Caret Gully
If you want to track down the album for Australian fans, contact Frog at Songland Records in Canberra.
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