Hey Satan, Paid My Dues, Playing In A Rocking Band (Highway To Hell - AC/DC)

Member Name: DixieChick101

Product:	Highway To Hell - AC/DC
Date:	06/02/09 (256 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bon Scott's voice, Great riffs, great lyrics

Disadvantages: Some of the songs sound the same

===============
Who are AC/DC?
===============

ACDC are a hard rock band formed in Sydney Australia back in 1973. It was formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young who are still with the band today. Lead singer Bon Scott died of over use of alcohol in 1980 and they had to quickly find a new lead singer. When they found Brian Johnson, they released hundreds more albums.

So far since them forming in 1973 they have released a fantastic 17 albums.

===============
The Tracks
===============

My opinions on the tracks, so you can choose which ones to download of Itunes.

====================
Track 1: Highway To Hell
====================

I first heard this song on an episode of Supernatural, I was already a big fan of their song Back In Black but I could listen to this song brilliantly, first and foremost you will not like ACDC if you don't like heavy music, that is what the band is about, heavy drums and heavy guitars and powerful voices, for me this is some brilliant music and it sounds brilliant it if you put it on your speakers as loud as possible.

Bon Scott's vocals are something very special, he has a weird sort of voice, he'll never get through the American Idol or X Factor auditions but he sure can sing better than most of the people that audition. I think his voice is what made this song absolutely brilliant, I have yet to hear more than one song of Back In Black album, so I can't say much about the new vocalist.

The lyrics below are just brilliant, I always find myself singing along to these babies, they really sound brilliant with Scott's voice, well worth checking out if you've never heard this song before in my opinion.

Final Opinion: 10/10 (A brilliant track, one I can listen to for days upon days)

"No stop signs, speed limit,
Nobody's gonna slow me down,
Like a wheel, gonna spin it,
Nobody's gonna mess me around,
Hey satan, payed my dues,
Playing in a rocking band,
Hey momma look at me,
I'm on my way to the promise land"

====================
Track 2: Girls Got Rhythm
====================

No where near as good as Highway to Hell but a good song, which has a great riff throughout, it really works with Scott's voice which is not as brilliant as the previous track but it sounds brilliant. The riff for me is what makes this song just brilliant, I can listen to it over and over again and boy does it sound good on a great pair of speakers.

I think the whole song is alright, I won't say it's fantastic however, I think they could have done better, it doesn't seem to rock as much as Highway to Hell, the riffs are the only thing in my opinion that work in here, well the riffs and the beat throughout, I don't think Scott's voice works very well in this kind of song. The lyrics are not up to par as well, I think after them repeating Girls Got Rhythm over and over again you do get quite bored, however I definetly think it's a car album, and you'll adore it if you're on a long journey.

Final Opinion: 6/10 (It was an alright track with a great beat but it became too repetitive)

"I've been around the world
I've seen a million girls
Ain't one of them got
What my lady she's got
She steals the spotlight
Knocks me off my feet"

====================
Track 3: Walk All Over You
====================

I didn't know what to expect with this track, it starts off with someone playing the drums and then a guitar riff joins and it takes a long time to actually get going, it begins to get faster and faster and then Scott's voice joins in, his vocals are disappointing on this track. I'm not really a metal fan and this is what this band falls under the category of, I do think it's a good song, however for me, the vocals have to be immense to make a great track and his vocals are not up to par.

The song has some great riffs I can really see this on one of the guitar hero things and I'm sure I'll be sat here on Easy still struggling to get out all of the riffs they are that complex and that brilliant. A good song, not as good as the first track Highway to Hell, but it is better than Girls Got Rhythm mainly because its not repetitive and this sounds absolutely brilliant on max on your speakers. An okay song, but Bon Scott's vocals could have been 100x times better.

Final Opinion: 7/10 (An okay song, I think the vocals could have been better)

"I've been around the world
I've seen a million girls
Ain't one of them got
What my lady she's got
She steals the spotlight
Knocks me off my feet"

====================
Track 4: Touch Too Much
====================

The song begins off with a great riff and drum beat and then Bon Scott's voice joins in and this is what I'm talking about a brilliant vocal from Scott who is able to do it. This really is a brilliant track, for me Track 2 was too repetitive and track 3 had okay vocals. For me on this track Scott's vocals are just brilliant, they work with the beat and the lyrics which are just fantastic, this is definitely going to be one of the best on the album.

The lyrics are just brilliant, if you played this in your car with your windows down I'm sure you'll get some looks, this is AC/DC anyone who knows them, will agree with me here, they only sing about five things, drugs, sex, women, achohol and rock n roll. This track is very much about sex and it's brilliantly done, it's just a brilliant track which just works with everything given to it. They have some great vocals, a great beat throughout and some amazing lyrics and some great riffs, just a brilliant track.

Final Opinion: 10/10 (As good as Highway to Hell, it really is a brilliant track with some great lyrics, I hope I'm allowed to put them)

"She has the face of an angel,
Smiling with sin,
The body of Venus with arms,
Dealing with danger,
Stroking my skin,
Like a thunder and lightening storm,
It wasn't the first, It wasn't the last,
It wasn't that she didn't care,
She wanted it hard, and wanted it fast,
She liked it done medium rare"

=========================
Track 5: Beating Around The Bush
=========================

Another very heavy start to this track, it is probably the heaviest track so far, but Bon Scott's vocals are very powerful, it's no where near as good as Touch Too Much or Highway to Hell, but the riffs are out of this world and as are his vocals, the production of the song is just brilliant, I love the way the guitars get heavy and then disparate whilst his singing them come back very heavy.

A good track, it really would make good use of your speakers, at the moment I'm listening to the album on my crappy laptop speakers, and I have to say that I can hear the song praying to be let loose on a great pair of speakers. A good heavy song which is just brilliant.

Final Opinion: 8/10 (Not as good as some but it's a true AC/DC song)

"Smiling face and laughing eyes,
But ya can't keep on telling me all those lies,
How'd you expect me to believe?
Honey I ain't that naive"

====================
Track 6: Shot Down In Flames
====================

Another heavy track, Bon's vocals are good but there not on the forefront, they're hindered by the heavy music, this is one of the weaker tracks on my opinion, only for one reason the chorus is too repetitive, everything else is great however the chorus they repeat shot down in flames way too many times for my liking.

This is a good headbanging track though without a doubt, the lyrics are brilliant, maybe not as good as some other tracks but they are sung brilliantly by Bon Scott. I was quite disappointed with this track I have to say as I was really expecting something better, the guitar riff and drum beat keep this song alive throughout however, I think the repetitiveness of the chorus just grated on me way too much.

Final Opinion: 7/10 (An okay song, with great riffs, great vocals but the chorus is way too repetitive and it ruins the overall tone for the song)

"She was standing alone,
Over by the juke box,
Like she'd some thing to sell,
I said baby what's the goin' price,
She told me to go to hell,
Shot down in flames"

====================
Track 7: Get It Hot
====================

Another good track, the only problem I seem to be having with the album so far, they are not very diverse, you either get very heavy songs, or songs like this where they have heavy music but it's quite slow and Bon's voice is strong but not brilliantly strong. I think this is a good song, but I have heard it before on the track. On it's own it is a good track, it really does sound good, I think there are a great number of better tracks on the album but it is a good track.

The lyrics again are just brilliant, even though the lyrics are repetitive I think I managed to deal with this one, it didn't really bug me that they were saying 'get it hot' over and over on the choruses, Bon's voice is very good on this track, it has been better but it's good.

Final Opinion: 8/10 (An okay track, it doesn't sound very diverse and I've heard it before on the album)

"Moving down the motorway,
Got a whole lotta booze,
Got myself a sweet little number,
Who's got nothing to loose,
I'm gonna bend you like a g string,
Conduct you like a choir,
So get your body in the right place,
We'll set the world on fire"

====================
Track 8: If You Want Blood
====================

A great riff begins this track and it just rocks, it takes a while for Bon's voice to join but by that time you're loving the song already, his vocals are powerful and raw. I really do like the verses to this however again the chorus is very repatative, for someone who is such a magician when it comes to lyrics I was amazed to see that half of the songs repeat the title over and over in the chorus. I was expecting more.

I think this is a good song however and I will listen to it when I put it in my car and things like that and it is one of the stronger tracks on the album, it does have some great lyrics and for me the riffs are just immense as is Bon Scott's vocals which are just some of the best from the whole album. He really does have a talent there, no doubt about it.

Final Opinion: 8/10 (Another strong track, the chorus is a bit repetitive but everything else makes up for it)

"It's criminal, there ought to be a law,
Criminal, There ought to be a whole lot more,
You get nothing for nothing,
Tell me who can you trust,
We got what ya want,
And you got the lust"

====================
Track 9: Love Hungry Man
====================

It sounds like a slower track from the start, the riff used isn't as heavy as you'd come to expect from AC/DC and Bon's voice is not as loud, but it is a great song. The drum beat keeps your head banging throughout the whole track, I think it's something very powerful when a heavy metal band, manages to put everything that makes them heavy metal into a slower song and this song is one of those examples.

The song sort of builds into a crescendo, it starts off very slow and as the song goes through it begins to get louder and louder, the drum beat get's faster as does the riffs used throughout, one thing you can never say about AC/DC is they are awful musicians, listen to half of the riffs used throughout this album, just amazing, they really do sound out of this world I have to say.

Final Opinion: 9/10 (A slower song compared to the others on the album but it works just as well, some of the most powerful lyrics, vocals and riffs on the whole album)

"You're the one I've waited for,
I need your love more and more,
I don't know what your name is,
I don't know what your game is,
I want to take you tonight,
Animal appetite,
Cause I'm a love hungry man"

====================
Track 10: Night Prowler
====================

This is one of the songs I've heard about but not for a good reason, I had never listened to the song before, but a friend of mine that loves this band, said that because of this song, a serial killer was called the Night Prowler or something, the lyrics to the song could be taken the wrong way, however I have just read that they were about a boy climbing into his girlfriends bedroom at night.

Despite all the controversy surrounding this song I have to say I really think it is one of the best songs on the whole album, the guitars sound very different, the song has a very bluesy feel to it and Bon Scott's voice amazingly fits with this genre as well, his voice is very raspy with this song, I think it works just brilliantly. The song is very powerful, it begins off quite slowly and then instruments begin to get louder as does Scott's voice and you can still hear that it is AC/DC performing this track. I think this is a brilliant magnificent track.

Final Opinion: 10/10 (A fantastic bluesy track by this brilliant band)

"A rat runs down the alley, and a chill runs down your spine,
And someone walks across your grave,
And you wish the sun would shine,
Cause no ones gonna warn you,
And no one's gonna yell attack,
And you don't feel the steel,
Till its hanging out your back"

====================
My Opinion
====================

I brought this album off EBay for a very cheap price, I managed to buy this one and Back In Black for just around £3 which is very good. I was really surprised by this album, I had heard of it's brilliance before but I didn't think it would live up to the expectations that I had read about. I am glad I brought this album as I think it is one of the best in my collection, yes there are some downsides to the album which I'll talk about later.

This album is very special due to the fact it was the last time that the band had their co-writer and more importantly their lead singer Bon Scott died of over consumption of alcohol. Their next album Back In Black features a different lead singer, and became their most famous album, however this is the best album when Bon Scott was lead singer.

Scott in my opinion has a fantastic voice, like I said in the track by track review, he would never get through Idol or anything like that, but he really does have something unique, a very talented musician, well the whole band are but for me, Bon's voice shone throughout the whole album, I have always adored his voice on Highway to Hell but on other tracks like Night Prowler and Touch Too Much his voice is just out of this world, this guy was very talented and it's a shame that he died at quite a young age.

The rest of the band are just as brilliant as Bon Scott of course because they carried on until the present day without them, the band with features the two brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, Angus is the reason behind the brilliant riffs on the tracks and what made this album so brilliant for me. They also co-wrote all the tracks with Bon Scott and created some brilliant tracks.

The title track on the album is Highway To Hell which I'm sure a lot of you would have heard, it was advertised a lot for the show Supernatural, which features a lot of this kind of music, but this was the music used to advertise it. Other films have used this song, and it is probably their most famous track for very good reasons.

There are some great songs on this album without a doubt, I did have some problems, I found that a lot of the songs sounded the same, I read somewhere that the guitarist Angus Young said that they had released the same album 17 times pretty much as they are not that diverse and all their music does sound the same. The other problems I had with this album was that in some tracks they repeated the title of the song too much in the chorus and for me this was quite annoying, and it really did do nothing for the song and grated too much on me.

====================
Should You Buy The Album?
====================

You are looking at paying around a tener on play.com so I would take a look at EBay, I managed to get this and Back In Black for just over three pounds and I'm sure you can do better than that. This album is brilliant and I think a lot of people will appreciate it.

Kirsty (C) Hope this helped.

Thanks for reading and rating, and please take the time to comment as well if you can be bothered. :D x

Summary: See review #