AC/DC
POWERAGE
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Merited for its song variety, artistic expression and sonic clarity, Powerage is favored by many aficionados to be AC/DC’s most accomplished performance in a studio setting.
Recorded in Australia circa 1978, Powerage ushered in a new era of sorts, for it marked the debut of London, England bassist Cliff Williams, whose driving eighth-note bottom brought AC/DC’s attack to full caliber. A quarter century later, Cliff’s bandmate tenure is only surpassed by rhythm guitarist (and founding member) Malcolm Young and his lead guitarist brother, Angus.
As they had masterfully done on the band’s prior albums, older sibling George Young and cohort Harry Vanda produced Powerage, their final turn as AC/DC studio recording collaborators during the Bob Scott era.
The production partners’ keen musical savvy is immediately evident on the opening track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation,” where tasty touches of maracas and handclaps detail the semi-biographical tune’s hip-shake groove.
With the tautly arranged, emotionally draining “Down Payment Blues,” however, Bon Scott’s impassioned singing and to-the-bone lyrics set a much darker mood.
“I got myself a Cadillac, but I can’t afford the gasoline” are the sentiments of a man who rarely treads on middle ground.
“Doing nothing means a lot to me,” though, could be the attitude of most anyone desperate for their own free time.
Angus Young’s beautifully wrenching solo brings “Down Payment Blues” to a complete catharsis.
Love and loss are subject matter in “Gimme A Bullet,” a mid-tempo ditty laced with the cantering notes of Cliff Williams’ bass guitar.
Bon’s narrative approach to heartbreak, though, is hardly that found in maudlin prose: “Gimme a bullet to bite on, something I can chew. Gimme a bullet to bite on, and I’ll make believe it’s you.”
Considered together, the middle three songs on Powerage – “Riff Raff,” “Sin City” and “What’s Next To The Moon” – articulate a decibel driven statement of paramount creativity and musicianship.
The stirring introduction alone to “Riff Raff” is quite extraordinary. Angus’ opening figure rises with Cliff’s swelling bass to meet Malcolm’s accelerated counter rhythm, which abruptly shift into breakneck power chords alternating with the Young brothers’ trademark unison riffing.
The band lays back for Bon’s verses, then slams into a higher gear fueled by Angus’ rampaging solo. Amazingly enough, during the ensuing Powerage tour, AC/DC would actually start some concerts with the encore worthy “Riff Raff.”
Paced by the signature groove of drummer Phil Rudd, “Sin City” relates a gambler’s lust for “Lambourginis, caviar, dry martinis, Shangri-La” in a hopeless milieu where “ladders give, snakes take.”
This skillfully arranged, deftly played masterwork is alive with integral AC/DC elements like Angus’ fingerboard flashing fade, Cliff’s blood pumping bass line, and Phil’s kick drum/snare flam transitions, which have made “Sin City” another ace in the hole played in concert. The provocative “What’s Next To The Moon” (titled “Next To The Moon” on early Australian Powerage pressings) is roughly a stream-of-conscience poem structured quite unlike any other AC/DC song.
Accompanied by a patterned guitar phrase woven through the meter of Phil’s hard rock voodoo tom-tom syncopation, Bon the bard recites, to some extent, cryptic musings such as “Heavenly body flying across the sky, Superman was out of town. Come on, honey, gotta change your tune, cause it’s a long way down.”
Another unusual dramatic touch in “What’s Next To The Moon” occurs in the last verse, which Bon, Malcolm and Cliff sing together in distant voices, beginning with “Long arm looking for a fingerprint, trying to find the mystery clue. Hitting me with the third degree, working on a thumb screw.”
As for the meaning of “What’s Next To The Moon,” Bon leaves only a hint in the guitar agitated closing refrain: “If not the sky, oh baby, say bye-bye.”
Sequenced as a relaxed respite, “Gone Shootin’” is a loose, AC/DC styled foray into loping R&B punctuated by Angus’ downright funky solo. “Up To My Neck In You,” though, is a more characteristic pounding rocker. The title conveys an exemplary Bon Scott double entendre.
Fittingly enough, Powerage ends in overpowering fashion with the totally wired “Kick In The Teeth,” a culminating jolt of nonpareil rock ‘n’ roll from an album that, at the very least, set AC/DC apart from other bands in 1978, and for all future years.
– Ernie Welch
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1. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL DAMNATION
2. DOWN PAYMENT BLUES
3. GIMME A BULLET
4. RIFF RAFF
5. SIN CITY
6. WHAT’S NEXT TO THE MOON
7. GONE SHOOTIN’
8. UP TO MY NECK IN YOU
9. KICKED IN THE TEETH
All songs A. Young, M. Young, B. Scott
All titles published by J. Albert & Son (USA) Inc. (ASCAP)
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ANGUS YOUNG: GUITAR
MALCOLM YOUNG: GUITAR
BON SCOTT: VOCALS
PHIL RUDD: DRUMS
CLIFF WILLIAMS: BASS
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PRODUCED BY VANDA AND YOUNG
Recorded at Albert Studios, Sydney, Australia on February/March 1978
Engineered by Mark Opitz
An Albert Production for Albert International Music
Originally Released as Atlantic 19180 on May 30, 1978
Digitally Remastered from the original master tapes by George Marino at Sterling Sound
Mastering Supervision: Mike Fraser and Al Quaglieri
Digital Assembly: UE Nastasi
Original Album Art Direction: Bob Defrin
Original Album Photography: Jim Houghton
Reissue Booklet Design: SMAY Vision
Photography: Original Front & Back Covers: Jim Houghton;
Inside Digipak: © Jeffrey Mayer;
Pages 2-3, 7, 10 (top left), 14: © Jeffrey Mayer;
Pages 4-5, 10 (top right), 11, 12, Booklet Back Cover: Ross Halfin/Idols;
Pages 6, 9: Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve;
Page 8: Brad Elterman/London Features;
Page 10 (bottom right): A.J. Pantsios;
Page 10 (center): Denis O’Regan/Idols;
Page 13: Janet Macoskal/London Features
Additional artifacts courtesy Albert Productions and Arnaud Durieux.
This CD takes advantage of ConnecteD technology and will work as a key to unlock exclusive bonus music, videos, photos and more at www.acdcrocks.com
www.acdcrocks.com
www.columbiarecords.com
COLUMBIA
ALBERT PRODUCTIONS
© 1978, 2003 J. Albert & Son (Pty.) Ltd./ (P) 1978 J. Albert & Son (Pty.) Ltd./ Manufactured by Columbia Records, A Division of Sony Music/ 550 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022-3211/ “Columbia” Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Marca Registrada/ WARNING: All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
EPIC EK 80204
This package consists of previously released material.
