| Product: |
Highway To Hell - AC/DC |
| Date: |
01/03/08 (34 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: If you like anything by AC/DC you will love this
Disadvantages: May be a little too un-PC for some folk
AC/DC were formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by the Scottish-born brothers Angus and Malcolm Young and in 1979 they released one of their greatest bodies of work. Previous LPs had shown flashes of brilliance and a glimpse to what the band were capable of but it wasn't until 'Highway to Hell' that all the pieces fell into place, all at the same time. Sadly, this was the last album singer Ronald Belford 'Bon' Scott supplied the vocals for as he died the following year after, if you believe the folklore, choking on his own vomit, or, if you believe the coroner, alcohol poisoning. He had always been a very heavy drinker and eventually paid the biggest price for his lifestyle.
'Highway to Hell' and its follow-up 'Back in Black' (often referred to as one of the greatest heavy rock albums ever) saw the band at the peak of its career (albeit with two diferent singers) writing songs that not only had an energy but also with its tongue firmly lodged in its cheek. In fact one of the main differences for me when comparing rock from the late 70's to the form around today is that back then rock had a sense of humour - they may have better production and a gritty outlook nowadays but it can all be a little too serious at times.
Anyway, back to the music. There are ten tracks on the CD which, by todays standards, seems a little thin on the ground but back then, on good-old vinyl, 5 songs per side was usually as good as it got!
The title track (recently heard on TV screens across the country during a trailer for the new series of 'Supernatural' on ITV or in Jack Black's movie 'School of Rock') is a typical, fist-pumping, head-banging, drive-time classic with sharp, choppy guitars and boozy vocals which is a good way of describing just about every track on the album. If you were to listen to the first song and liked it then the chances are the rest of the album would 'suit you sir!'.
Track 8, 'If you want Blood (You've got it)' talks of the hardships of life and the final song, 'Night Prowler', sings of, well, a prowler in the night. It does exactly as it says on the tin.
That's 3 songs - but what about the other seven? Each and every one of them follows the same, generic formula AC/DC have been following for their entire career and that is singing about sex - and Bon Scott was nothing if not a brilliant practitioner of the euphamism. And that is probably the main drawback to this album (if any), there's very little diversity in the subject matter. I can't fault them on fun, good-time rock'n'roll with a large dollop of sexism thrown in to boot as what they do, they do to perfection, but, especially in todays PC environment, some people may find the lyrics somewhat offensive. With song titles like 'Touch too Much' (released as a single and my favourite on the album), 'Walk all over You' and 'Love Hungry Man' I think you get the general drift.
The packaging is the usual affair - front and back covers match the original vinyl version - but you do get the lyrics to all the songs in the little fold-out booklet thingy so you can see all of Bon Scotts wit in the full. It is the typical, entry-level fayre for most CD's these days when not much thought has gone into its presentation.
AC/DC are a fantastic band, delivering with as much energy today as they did 30 years ago, and are a fantastic live band (I saw them in 1982 was blown away). As far as the music goes they are a great entry-level act with which to discover hard rock though as, once you forgive them their sexism, they are just an honest, hard-working band still producing records in that 70's rock vain and who can fault them for that.
For those about to rock (we salute you)!
Summary: Ten tracks of classic, good-time rock 'n' roll
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