Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Ahead of this week’s essay, I was pondering which album to highlight and revisit. “Should I do some private press AOR? No. B-league crossover thrash? Nah. How about a NWOBHM obscurity? Maybe next time.” Then it hit me like a Mike Tyson gut punch: Why not carry on the theme of an overlooked album by a household name? After all, I got nothing but positive feedback upon revisiting Def Leppard’s On Through the Night. So without further ado, join us as we look back upon the black sheep of AC/DC’s Bon Scott years, and the all-time favorite album of both Keith Richards and Eddie Van Halen (Talk about high praise!), Powerage.
The year is 1978. AC/DC’s star is rising all over the world, but especially in America. They spent the better part of 1977 touring like dogs in support of their then latest full length, Let There Be Rock. From the filthy quarters of CBGB’s and the Whisky, to opening megadomes for the likes of KISS, Rush, and UFO, these bad boys from down under were armed and ready to decimate dazed and confused rockers with their explosive brand of power chord-driven pub metal. The most incredible thing was, at that time, AC/DC really didn’t sound like anybody. Sure, one might draw parallels to Zeppelin or Aerosmith, but AC/DC were far more aggressive than both, boasting an almost punk rock danger, largely thanks to the antics of frontman Bon Scott.
While ’78 saw many hard and heavy acts succumb to the tidal wave of disco, punk, and other assorted here today, gone tomorrow musical crazes, AC/DC doubled down, walloping the public with their fifth (fourth in America) and most electrifying effort to date, Powerage. The album cemented what many consider to be AC/DC’s definitive lineup, as bassist Cliff Williams joined the fold for his first outing with the band. He remains AC/DC’s bassist to this day, despite retiring from live performances in 2024. Alongside Williams was drummer Phil Rudd, wild-man singer Bon Scott, and of course the brothers Young, Angus and Malcolm, on duel axe attack. Together, the five combined their individual talents, playing off of each other’s chaos, and birthing the beast we know today as Powerage.
The album opens with one of the coolest, swaggering tunes in the AC/DC canon, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation”. Being an AC/DC album, you know there’s gonna be at least one song about rock n’ roll or with “rock n’ roll” in the title. This is Powerage‘s. Propped up by a driving four on the floor beat and earworm of a riff that teeters on the edge of melodic goodness (Don’t worry! We’re still far from Styx territory!), “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” is the perfect tune to blast on a hot summer day, cruising down the highway with the windows down, and that’s a damn(ation) fact!
In true Acca Dacca fashion, we go from rock n’ roll to the blues. If “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” is Powerage‘s feelgood moment, then “Down Payment Blues” is where the nastiness kicks in. In true scumbag fashion, Scott snarls about “living on a shoestring” and being “a fifty cent millionaire”, amongst other lyrical absurdities. He’s got “holes in his shoes” and the “down payment blues”. Don’t we all these days? Accompanying Scott’s typical colorful lyricism are brash riffs from Malcolm and a sizzling solo from Angus. Bluesy swagger aside, it’s that extra heft to the performances and sharpness of the guitars that sonically align AC/DC perhaps closer to metal than hard rock, or at least see them adopted today as an honorary metal band more so than other ’70s hard rock outfits.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always felt “Gimme a Bullet” was the prequel to “Highway to Hell”. Just listen to the chord progression during the verses. “Highway” isn’t a direct lift, but man, it sure is close. I guess if you are going to plagiarize anybody, you should plagiarize yourself, and I don’t doubt the Young brothers would be guilty on multiple counts…well, that, and perhaps lifting a Chuck Berry lick or two. Similar to the opening “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation”, Rudd’s less is more drumming is as prolific as those bouncing riffs and Scott’s signature snarls.
Side A closes with one of my favorite AC/DC songs of all time, if not my all time favorite, “Riff Raff”. While I can analyze this balls-out headbanger six ways to Sunday, I think the best way to put it is this. With the exception of MAYBE Motörhead’s “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)”, no other song in the history of rock n’ roll better captures the debauchery of an all night alcohol fueled bender. It’s fast, loud, raw, chaotic, unhinged. It’s songs like this that foreshadow the arrival of Venom a few short years later with a similarly off the rails tune in “Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil)”. Filth rock eternal!
As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by the album’s sole “hit”, “Sin City”. I use the word hit loosely in this scenario. While you’re more likely to hear “Sin City” on your local classic schlock station than any other cut off Powerage, you’re still not going to hear it a fraction as often as “T.N.T.”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, or any song off Highway to Hell. Upon further appraisal, it is the most anthemic song of the album in a traditional sense, and its whole theme of gambling and carousing in “Sin City” fits the AC/DC ethos to a T.
“What’s Next to the Moon” keeps the party going with its dirtbag blues attitude. It’s as if one can envision the little devil horns poking out of Angus Young’s head as he lays down those seedy riffs. An unholy matrimony of ominous riffs with a fiery chorus, “What’s Next to the Moon” is the perfect song to soundtrack a sweaty drunken weekender fistfight at one of the many pubs in AC/DC’s native Sydney, and I’m sure it served its purpose in that regard.
I’m well aware that some might dismiss Phil Rudd as a one beat pony, but I beg the question: Could you imagine ANY other drummer in the world bringing such a level of cool to a song like “Gone Shootin'”? Sure, I don’t doubt that Neil Peart or Ian Paice or any other number of ’70s virtuosos could play the same part in their sleep, but would they do so with the same feeling? I seriously doubt so. “Gone Shootin'” is all about feeling, from the drums and the riffs, to the lead and the vocals. And that feeling, like most Scott era AC/DC cuts, is one of sleaze n’ unease.
Arguably the most “metal” cut off Powerage alongside “Riff Raff” and the soon to be mentioned closer, “Up to My Neck in You” sees Angus n’ Malcolm turning the volume dials on their amps up to 666, leading the charge for a devilish hard n’ heavy onslaught. Meanwhile, Scott screams at the absolute top of his range, his voice bursting out as profoundly as the guitars on this diabolical slab of ’70s metal goodness. I’m not sure what measures producers George Young (Angus and Mal’s older brother) and Harry Vanda went to as far as capturing that guitar sound goes, but they both get an A+!
“TWO FACED WOMAN WITH YOUR TWO FACED LIES!!!” AC/DC closes Powerage with a bang, saving the most combustible for last in “Kicked in the Teeth”. An aptly titled tune if there ever was one, “Kicked” plays like the musical equivalent of a kick in the teeth. It follows in the same musical blueprint as “Riff Raff”, even down to its familiar chord progressions. Think blues metal mania on steroids and enough alcohol to induce liver failure in the average human. Like every song on here, you can’t turn the volume up loud enough!
Although Powerage was a sleeper upon its release, it has since gone onto become a cult classic, and is revered by many to this day as AC/DC’s finest hour. For a world enamored by the likes of Highway to Hell, Back in Black, and The Razors Edge, Powerage is an album that, nearly half a century since its release, still feels like its for us: The diehard maniacs who glorify this band beyond the radio hits and commercial jingles. Forget those shitty energy drinks that’ll only leave you down n’ out! Powerage will get you as wired as Angus on its cover! Get on it, mate!