This is my office (I typically meet with elderly clients in the conference room).
Although the topic does not come up very often any more (and probably hasn’t since junior high school in Omaha), when asked which AC/DC album is my favorite, without hesitation, I respond “Powerage.” It seems most veteran AC/DC fans nod with knowing approval to that response, but relative newcomers look bewildered, expecting Highway to Hell, Back in Black, or even Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. But Powerage? Yes, and I will tell you why.
Powerage is AC/DC’s fifth studio album, was released in 1978, and features the classic AC/DC lineup of Bon Scott on vocals, Angus Young on lead guitar, Malcolm Young on rhythm Guitar, Cliff Williams on bass, and Phil Rudd on drums. This album was Cliff Williams’s first with AC/DC. It was also the last album to feature Angus and Malcolm’s brother George Young (along with Harry Vanda) as producers — before Mutt Lange’s production took front and center. While Mutt Lange’s producing talents are legendary, they are also legendarily slick and polished. George Young’s work on this album is incredible — the guitar and vocals sound in top form, but they are remain rough around the edges, giving the album an immediacy, lost in some of AC/DC following albums.
As with any AC/DC album, your attention is first grabbed by the guitar riffs: the pressing syncopated hits of Rock n’ Roll Damnation, the quiet ringing minor licks and driving rhythm of Down Payment Blues, or slow intense build of Riff Raff — perhaps the greatest song opening (if not song) of all time. The album’s lyrics are some of the AC/DC’s darkest, but even at their most depressing and pessimistic, the lyrics remain clever and catchy.
Bon Scott’s range (both vocal and emotional) in this album is breathtaking, and his voice is able to maintain a unwavering presence with Angus and Malcolm’s double-axe assault. His vitriol in Kicked in the Teeth, despondency in Down Payment Blues, and passion in Riff Raff sound and feel sincere and his voice is in top form.
This album also features unique elements that simply work: Gone Shootin‘ has a funky, almost effortless guitar groove that pulses, builds, screams and fades during the course of the song unlike any riff AC/DC has ever done; What’s Next to the Moon has a vocal / guitar call and response in which Bon and Angus seem to try to out-power each other (in an unstoppable projectile/immoveable post sort of way) backed by a rolling, tribal, drum beat; and finally Riff Raff has a ringing guitar intro that builds and creates so much tension that you are almost pulling out your hair trying to get some relief by the time the drums kick in 45 seconds, propelled by driving triplet crashes. Frankly Riff Raff may be the greatest rock and roll song of all time.
Powerage is an incredible rock album, but it also adds a dark sense of loss and gritty reality that provide a new dimension to AC/DC’s music. In sum, if you like AC/DC, or are just a fan of rock n’ roll or blues, give this album a listen.
-jay
Jay Kenyon is a principal of the law firm of Yan Kenyon. His practice is 100% devoted to personal injury law.
