Customer Reviews

Highway to Hell

5 star:		(174)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Hello fellow AC/DC fans, I have 2 thoughts on this release and it goes for the rest of the catalog reissues as well. If you have never bought this release or bought a copy before 1994 then I would definitely buy this. The package and the sound are great.
However, if you, like myself bought the first "original tapes remastered" version released in 1994 , I would pass. It sounds exactly the same as the new "original two track remasters". If you want to upgrade for the pkg(new cd booklet) then go for it. If you are looking for miracle updated sound forget it. By the way, the 5 stars are for the point of view of "I don't have this yet and wonder if its worth it." For me the person on the third round of AC/DC reissues, it rates 2 stars for the Digipak and Book!

"Highway To Hell", released in 1979 was lead singer Bonn Scott's last album with AC/DC due to his untimely death. The album was a landmark for AC/DC and included their first ever radio hit (in the U.S.) in "Highway To Hell". The album is a hard rock lover's dream, with big power chords, lead breaks and powerful vocals. The songs that standout on this release (which make up for more than half the album) are the title track "Highway To Hell", "Girls Got Rhythm", "Shot Down In Flames", "Get It Hot", "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)", "Walk All Over You", and "Touch Too Much". This newly remastered cd which is now under the Epic label sounds much better than the older 1994 remastered version. The bottom end, mid-range and output level have all been increased dramatically. I've actually compared them and found this new release to be the superior of the two. The digipak that holds the cd is very attractive and includes a booklet with colorful photos, etc. If you enjoy groups such as Judas Priest, UFO, Def Leppard, Krokus, Scorpions, etc. than you'll won't be disappointed with "Highway To Hell".

Wow.... this is what remastering is good for. The sound, the energy and intensity is incredible. This sounds like it was just recorded yesterday! Now, if you haven't heard at least one song off this album, chances are you are a complete recluse. This is one of the ultimate hard rock/heavy metal masterpieces of all time. Every song rocks hard and every song is a winner. No fillers here. So quit wasting your money on all this nu-metal and modern pop garbage and get some of the REAL stuff.

"Highway To Hell" is a great rock & roll album. It has a famous 1-2-3-4 punch ("Highway To Hell", "Girls Got Rhythm", "Walk All Over You", "Touch Too Much"), not to mention the title song from their first live album "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)", as well as the blues classic "Night Prowler". The tiresome argument - as to whether this is the best AC/DC album, or 1980's "Back In Black" with Brian Johnson - is moot. They are BOTH classic and they sit on the same high pedestal. You can't say that Bon Scott is better or worse than Brian Johnson... they're simply different in their own right. It's like saying Sammy Hagar was better with Van Halen than David Lee Roth. Sure it's hard to replace an original, but the successors can grow to be classic rock Gods as well. Such is the case here with AC/DC. This delux digipak has fantastic remastered digital sound along with a 16-page booklet complete with original album artwork and various assorted photos (dig the picture of Angus standing in front of the band throwing the can full of paint). "Highway To Hell" is full of catchy hooks and driving intense songs for serious head bangers. Bon Scott's last album is a timeless piece of music that still sounds incredible today.

Ignore the naysayers who criticize this album and AC/DC in general. AC/DC is one of the greatest bands in rock history. Whether you consider them blues-rock, hard rock, heavy metal, or just down-to-earth rock 'n' roll, they do it great. Don't believe me? Look at all the albums they've sold and their tremendous fan base.
Anyway, back to the review...
Even though I wasn't born in the '70s, it was a great time for music. Bands like Led Zeppelin, KISS, Aerosmith, Queen, Rush, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult etc. etc. etc., were achieving great success and producing great albums. AC/DC was no acception.
Although such early albums like "High Voltage" and "Let There Be Rock" were hard-rockin' classics, AC/DC was never really considered a "commercial" success. And by that, I DO NOT mean a sell-out band. I just mean that their records didn't sell as well as some other bands. However, that all changed with "Highway To Hell". I read that as of May '06, "Highway..." sold more than 7 million copies. More than that, Highway To Hell was a statement. If the '70s were closing out, they were closing out with a bang.

"Highway To Hell" 10/10: Absolutely killer song! The heavy guitar, especially in the solo section, and the groovy, pounding drums partner with the anthemic lyrics. Great rocker with a great hook. This is the type of song that everybody can like. My mom even loves this song whenever she hears it on the radio!
"Girl's Got Rhythm" 10/10: Terrific follow-up to the title track. Fantastic, blues riff and great chorus. I wouldn't be surprised if this was released as a single.
"Walk All Over You" 10/10: This five-minute headbanger shows AC/DC's maturity as songwriters. Love the progressive intro and the fast riff and drumbeat show just how hard these guys can rock. Awesome solos and great ending, THIS is a great song.
"Touch Too Much" 10/10: Very cool song with a catchy chorus and some hard-rockin' guitars/drum combo. I just love it when Bon Scott sings "She's got the body of Venus with arms.".
"Beating Around The Bush" 10/10: SPECTACULAR!!! I love this song, in fact, it's ones of my favorites on the album. The lyrics are funny and do a great job accompanying the rhythm that boasts a killer guitar riff.
"Shot Down In Flames" 8/10: Very good opener to the B-side of the album. Like I said, there are no weak tracks, but this one doesn't stand out as much as some tracks from the first half of the disc.
"Get It Hot" 10/10: Probably the first AC/DC song I know that's only two and a half minutes, but definitely NOT filler. The riff is simple, but catchy, and this would serve as a great song to dance to.
"If You Want Blood (You Got It)" 9/10: Another catchy one that just seems to be an awesome track to listen to while driving down the highway, for some reason or another.
"Love Hungry Man" 9/10: Once again, the lyrics really accompany the rhythm, and this is a great track about a common rock and roll topic... basically, finding a great woman by love at first sight. It's been done before, but this is something of a stand-out.
"Night Prowler" 10/10: Slower, almost epic song and an interesting way to close out the album. Although it's kinda dark, I heard somewhere it pokes fun at something or another. I don't really know what, but this song is, kinda obviously, something to listen to at night. Right at the end, Bon Scott quotes Mork and Mindy by saying, "Shazbot! Nanu nanu!" This was rumored to be the last take ever recorded by Scott, and the creepy thing about it is how "Shazbot! Nanu! Nanu!", was a way Mork used to end transmissions with his home planet with.

Anyway, "Highway To Hell" is a classic rock album that should be in everybody's collection, especially if you love '70s music, hard rock, blues-based stuff, and of course, AC/DC! Rock on!

The last of the '70's Bon Scott albums, "Highway to Hell" is arguably the best AC/DC CD, save for "Back in Black". What Bon had that his successor does not is an authentic bluesy swagger, and wolf- like howl. When Bon sang it, you believed it. This is real bar brawl music and requires a swig of whiskey and some Camels to thoroughly enjoy. These songs rock from start to finish, and with no dogs, this is just about as good as AC/DC gets. Highly recommended, especially "Night Prowler", one of the best ending songs ever recorded. Nanu-Nanu

The five stars is for this classic album, whose quality is not in question. As far as the Epic remaster goes, I would probably give it three stars.

Other reviewers have pointed out that Epic's reissue of this album is not an improvement over the 1994 remaster (which was the second CD issue of this album). IMO not only is it not an improvement, but I don't think it even sounds as good as the 1994 version; although it is a definite improvment over the original CD issue, which was not very good.

The Epic remaster has a crisper, fuller, bass than the 1994 remaster, but unfortunately the bass tends to saturate the guitars in many places. Among a large collection of metal CD's, I have a handful of metal albums in which the digital remasterings just do not measure up to the sound of the original "records" or tapes, and this is one of them.

One of the things that made this album special--and helped to define the AC/DC sound of the period--was the "ringing" resonance of the Seymour Duncan Invader guitar pickups that was vividly captured by the original engineering. This quality has never been fully captured by any of the CD issues, but it was hinted at most clearly on the 1994 remaster (the original CD issue was just flat out dull-sounding, like the original CD issue of Back in Black). I don't know if this is because this is one of those intangibles that digital technology just can't capture; or if the problem has been engineers who, 25 years removed from Highway to Hell's original release date, just didn't quite "get" that this full, ringing, guitar sound is one of the things that made this album special. For example, the goal of the Epic engineer's remastering seemed to be to focus on the bass, perhaps based on the oversimplification that metal albums should always be "bass heavy." You can almost hear the "ringing" resonance of the guitars in places where the they are not accompanied by the bass, such as the power chords at the beginning of "Walk All Over You" and "Love Hungry Man," but when the guitars are fully backed by bass and drums, esp. in faster passages, the sound tends to become two-dimensional and the resonance of the guitars becomes swamped in bass.

Knowing how CBS/Sony companies have handled the remastering of many albums in the past (they are my least favorite major label, for all genres), I had my doubts about how well that they would handle this reissue, and the result is about as I had expected: as usual, their emphasis is too much on marketing and packaging, and not enough on sound quality. I think it's unfortunate that AC/DC chose to sign with them, and that the rights to their back catalog reverted to Epic. If you are buying this issue because you need to have the "original album art," that's fine; but don't get it if you are expecting improved sound quality; I only picked it up because I exchanged a gift for it. Although the sound quality of my 25 year old cassette of this album has dulled some, it still "rings" truer than the Epic deluxe reissue.

WELL I CAN CONFIDENTLY STATE THAT BON SCOTT IS MUCH BETTER THAN LOU GRAMM WHO SOUNDS LIKE A DECAPITATED DUCK.HIGHWAY TO HELL IS ONE OF THE FINEST HARD ROCK ALBUMS EVER,SO IGNORE ORION A.K.A WHIRLIGIG AND BUY IT.
LONG LIVE AC/DC.

This is AC/DC finest and strongest album since If You Want Blood album. Their songs have a mix of heavy metal and punk rock, something like punk metal. Their songs are strong and clever including their famous song Touch Too Much and their infamous Night Prowler (it would later inspire the Night Stalker). Girls Got Rhythm has a lot of rhythm and backseat rhythm, but just don't be sad if your Shot Down In Flames. The song If You Want Blood, will give you blood including the music video. The songs do get hot especially Get It Hot and Love Hungry Man. You could talk crap about this album, but I'll Walk All Over You. A lot of people like to mess around now in days, but Beating Around The Bush is better. I love this song. Then there is the first song, Highway To Hell. The song is amazing and mesmerizing, it's hard to describe it. Highway To Hell is AC/DC at their best, even if you don't like them... you'll probably like 1 song off this album.

Highway to Hell is by far Bon Scott's best masterpiece. His shreading vocals make this cd recieve ten stars if they were availiable. It is truly amazing.

Highway to Hell- one of AC/DC's best known songs, Bon Scott is simply amazing in this track. You'll find yourself listening to it over and over again. Personal Favorite. 5/5

Girls Got Rhythm- an up-beat song...the lyrics are awesome. a step down from Highway to Hell though. 4/5

Walk All Over You- Incredible song...i must have listened to this song 5,000 times. THe intro is kind of slow, but that only leads to a fast paced bad-ass hard rock song. This song has the best solo on it from any of the songs on the cd... Angus Young is craaazy. 6/5

Touch Too Much- a dark and heavy song, that really captures Bon. If you like this song, catch the earlier version of it on Volts. I like that one too. 4/5

Beating Around the Bush- not a bad song...not one of my favorites. The intro is pretty cool, some fast fretwork on it. 3/5

Shot Down in Flames- SWEET song, i love this one. This is song is not praised as much as it should be...deffinetly a song not to be passed up. 5/5

Get it Hot- a good song, although i like the original version much much better...that version can be found on Volts, which is a CD released in the box set. 4/5

If You Want Blood (You've Got It)- one of my persaonl favorite songs. The intro is pretty cool. If you play guitar this is a good song to play. 5/5

Love Hungry Man- this song slows it down a bit from If You Want Blood and Get it Hot. A lot of my girlfriends like this one. 4/5

Night Prowler- by far the most perfect way to end this album. This song is awesome. The only one worthy of singing this song is Bon Scott...and the intro solo is incredible. 5/5




-Guitar Man