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      Infos :       The Powerage Album : 

Released 1978 on Albert Productions.
Recorded at Albert Studios, Sydney.

Running Order
Side One
1. Rock 慛 Roll Damnation
2. Down Payment Blues
3. Gimmie A Bullet
4. Riff Raff
Side Two
5. Sin City
6. Next To The Moon
7. Gone Shootin
8. Up To My Neck In You
9. Kicked In The Teeth
All songs written by Malcolm Young, Bon Scott and 
Angus Young.

AC/DC抯 fifth album Powerage is a 憈our de force of 
1970抯 fun and raucous guitar noise making. Released 
in 1978, Powerage finds the group at their strongest 
and most cocky. Bon Scott抯 lyrics and vocals are 
confident and witty, his delivery is one of a singer who 
has found his place in the world. The Young brothers 
guitar work is dynamic  Malcolm never tiring of 
pumping out those rhythms, Angus expanding on his 
trademark licks. Both guitarists are still hanging on to 
their blues roots at this stage  one reason why this 
album is a joy to listen to. New bassist Cliff Williams is 
now settled in after his 揕et There Be Rock 
introduction, while Phil Rudd is as tight as always.

Productionwise this is classic 70抯 AC/DC. Raw guitars 
flail away without the multi-tracking extravaganzas of 
future albums, while the bass is always there peeking 
through. It always sounded a bit more honest to me. 
The backup vocals  as on all the early albums  sound 
like a bunch of evil pixies hiding behind the amplifiers. 
Producers Harry Vanda and George Young are 
masters of pulling exciting performances out of bands 
in the studio. Virtually anyone who was anyone in the 
rock world in Australia in the 1970抯 felt the touch of 
Vanda and Young who were members of legendary 
Australian band The Easybeats. Engineer Mark Opitz 
later went on to produce major acts like, Inxs, Divinyls, 
Hoodoo Gurus and Cold Chisel.

Opening Powerage is the magnificent Rock 慛 Roll 
Damnation  a song that says so much about AC/DC. 
Based on a fairly standard blues riff played straight, the 
song rocks along with great momentum. The sassy 
vocals show plenty of cheek 揑抳e been waiting all 
night for a bite of what you got (1:45), and by the time 
Angus Young shows up at 2:50 with some red hot tube 
amp grooving you抣l be moving in your seat! 

Down Payment Blues has one of those great 揳in抰 got 
no money type lyrics that only a vocalist with the 
honesty of someone like Bon Scott can pull off 
properly. A moody song that never really releases you 
from it抯 grip of tension, Down Payment Blues is in no 
hurry to get on with the story  but somehow you don抰 
mind the wait. When Bon Scott sings 揷an抰 even feed 
my cat a knowing and rueful smile will creep across 
your face, and when he delivers the line 揹own 
payment blues at 4:57 you will understand why singers 
like Scott are so hard to come by. No matter how well 
Brian Johnson can belt out a tune, he will never match 
the character of Scott in that one line. Release is 
granted at the end of the song with a great traditional 
blues chaser.

Next up is Gimmie A Bullet. Featuring a playful bass in 
the chorus and an insistent beat, this song borders on 
boogie and is a lot of fun. Again featuring Bon Scott抯 
unique lyric style (揼immie a bullet to bite on, something 
to chew? and illustrating his effortless nonchalance, 
Gimmie A Bullet is about as close to a dance song that 
AC/DC has written.

Continuing the momentum the first side of Powerage 
concludes with Riff Raff, a blistering and blues 
drenched number with an irresistible riff. This song 
literally explodes out of your speakers. It doesn抰 matter 
that the lyrics are fairly standard 揹on抰 mess with me 
fare, the delivery and red hot guitars more than make 
up for it. Angus Young抯 first solo here is wild and 
masterfully mad. By the time he rips in at 3:36 your 
speakers will be literally melting (and if not, you haven抰 
got it turned up loud enough) so hook up a new set 
and get set for side two!

After such a frantic side one, there must be some 
come down. Sin City doesn抰 try to compete in the 
outright power steaks, but instead offers a more 
relaxed pace. This is the type of song that AC/DC 
were attempting to emulate on Ball Breaker with less 
success. You can just about hear the live room in 
Angus Young抯 solo  it抯 that kind of sonic difference 
that is missing from so many rock recordings these 
days.

Next To The Moon starts out all moody and 
threatening but never really gets anywhere. Not a dud 
as such, but probably the least successful song on the 
album.

Gone Shootin features some nifty work in the main riff 
with both guitars working well together at different 
ends of the chord - Malcolm going low and Angus 
going high. Mid paced and fun, Gone Shootin leads 
into the double assault of the album抯 conclusion.

Up To My Neck In You sets us up nicely with a great 
70抯 style rock riff and wailing lead vocal. This is 
another in a long line of songs that can only be pulled 
off by a singer with the character of Bon Scott. 

Ending Powerage is Kicked In The Teeth  a blues 
song in spirit, the opening cry of pain and betrayal is 
just great. The band launch into the main riff (which 
has a rather worrying similarity to Let There Be Rock) 
and we抮e off on a ride of hurt and hate! 

So why is this album essential? It抯 a lesson in how to 
set up a track order of songs to the greatest effect. 
From the get go the album hits the ground running and 
never really loses pace. The songs are also of a 
consistent high quality with lots of tasty guitar work to 
be going on with. Production wise it抯 a masterpiece of 
getting a band into the studio and letting them rip  
although admittedly it could probably do with a slight 
remaster to round up the bottom end a little for today抯 
listeners.