Customer Reviews

Highway to Hell

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Guilty pleasures aplenty populate this hard-rock classic, the last AC/DC album featuring Bon Scott. And here the band is at its peak on all fronts -- catchy songwriting, insatiable riffing, deep-grooved and confident, Bon Scott singing better than ever, a marriage between raspy-throated goblin and starry-eyed sex symbol. The first four songs of the album swing like mad -- the classic title track, featuring one of the most famous guitar riffs in rock; the sexy grind of "Girls Got Rhythm"; Scott's soaring growl on "Walk All Over You"; the libidinous interplay of racy lyrics and chiming guitars on "Touch Too Much". And "Beating around the Bush" sends those famous Young fingers a-flying with one of AC/DC's speediest, most jittery riffs. It all boils down to a damned catchy pot of hard-rock classics, purely enjoyable, once and for all beating past my inhibitions about this band's juvenile lyrics and sexism. It's just too much of a good time to miss.

HIGHWAY TO HELL was legendary hard rock band AC/DC's breakthrough album. Released in the summer of 1979, the record kept climbing higher and higher on the Billboard charts, finally peaking at #17 and quickly going gold by the end of the year. But every high is undercut by a staggering low. Bon Scott, the original lead singer of AC/DC up to this point, died just months later by axphisyation from drinking too much alcohol. He became another cliched rock & roll tragedy, but we can revisit Bon's power and passion on this masterwork of sleazy blues/metal.

Although I love BACK IN BLACK (the praised follow-up featuring Brian Johnson on vocal duties), I believe now that HIGHWAY TO HELL is a far superior effort. Bon Scott's vocal range and abilities are superb on this album, but he's quite possibly the most clever lyricist this side of Steven Tyler. Plus, he has a greater sense of melody and direction than Brian Johnson does. This album is chock full of so much energy...it's insane!

The record starts off with the classic title track, which still gets radio airplay 22 years later. "Walk All Over You" and "Beating Around the Bush" are two great examples of AC/DC's style: simple blues-based heavy metal played with the speed and energy of punk rock. Angus Young shines on both tracks, as his lightning-fast riffs tear through your speakers like a buzzsaw. Bon's lyrical talent and range are showcased perfectly on "Touch Too Much." My personal favorite off this album is the last track, "Night Prowler." This is the darkest and most atmospheric song AC/DC have ever done. Angus Young's bluesy guitar solo is absolutely amazing, probably his best, as it expertly accompanies Bon's menacing delivery and Malcolm Young's steady and quiet backup rhythm.

This album is just great--simply put. It's louder, faster, and heavier than BACK IN BLACK. The solid grooves of drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams are nitch-perfect, the songs stick in your head like glue, and Augus and Malcolm Young make a great guitar duo. I love HIGHWAY TO HELL. Bon Scott, may you rest in peace, sir. You were the man.

This is the most essential AC/DC album around. It is the last one before lead singer Bon Scott died. Every song will rattle your teeth and leave you begging for more. The band also shows it can play hard blues, as the closing track "Night Prowler" proves. The title track, "Shot Down In Flames," "Walk All Over You," and "Girls Got Rhythm" will have you banging your head. If you are a fan of this band and do not own this album, then pic it up immediately.

This is one of the best rock n roll records ever. My personal faves are "Walk Over You" "Night Prowler" and "Shot Down In Flames" Bon Scott made this the best AC/DC album and it is easily better than Back In Black.

Everyone thinks that Back in Black was their best album, but I beg to differ! AC/DC started out with somewhat repetitive guitar and comedic lyrics, which was cool in its own right. Then came a slight transition of Let There Be Rock and Powerage (both are excellent), which had a slightly harder edge to them. The last album that Scott sang on was Highway to Hell, an almost macabre prediction of where he was headed just months after the album released. This album is an excellent collection of love songs (lol), that really tell the story of how a rock band deals with groupies and bimbos, but written brilliantly to express the positive and negative emotions involved in one-night stands. Add to that the best guitar playing of the band so far in their career, and you have a rock album that stands alone in history. Every song is good, the tempo is right for the group, and Scott puts his heart and soul into every lyric. Its a must have for anyone who likes rock, whether or not they like AC/DC.

This album is on my top ten list of all time. Not because I'm a fourteen year old, but because i once was. This album always makes me feel like it's 1979 again. Before Reagan, before Clinton, back when things were as complicated as "will Allison Morgan ever notice I exist?" It's a good thing to retain some aspects of your tormented youth. I encourage all males born between 1962 and 1970 to rediscover this great album and to go smash someone's mailbox. It will make you feel young again.

This album is a true classic. HIGHWAY TO HELL is the last AC/DC album to feature Bon Scott on vocals before his death a few months after its release. The album starts off with the classic title track that is full of energy and great riffs. After that, the album is full of energy that the listener will enjoy listening to. Standout tunes on this album are GIRLS GOT RHYTHM, WALK ALL OVER YOU, TOUCH TO MUCH, SHOT DOWN IN FLAMES, and NIGHT PROLWER which is a great blues/metal song. I think 2 underrated songs from this album are GET IT HOT and IF YOU WANT BLOOD. I think this album and BACK IN BLACK are right up there as two of the greatest albums ever to be made, one being the end of an era, the other the beginning of one. I dont think any rock fan will be disappointed in owning this album. Highly recommended

Bon Scott's career-best vocals and the swaggering confidence of the production go a long way to masking the fact Highway To Hell can't hold it's own with its classic predecesors Powerage and Let There Be Rock. The big, jaunty FM-friendly production is immediately evident on the crisp, clear opening bars of the title track. That production itself is not the problem, although its a million miles from the snarling pared-down boogie of Let There Be Rock or the raw introspective blues of Powerage but rather its the simple matter of the quality of the songs. The title track and Touch To Much aside, repeated plays reveal tracks like Shot Down In Flames, Beating Around The Bush and If You Want Blood to be anodyne, formulaic and short on hooks when compared to the addictively tuneful killer riffs showcased on classics like Bad Boy Boogie, Riff Raff, Whole Lotta Rosie or Up To My Neck In You. This was the beginning of AC/DC makers of multi-platinum anthemic, party-rock and the end of an altogether darker, dirtier, leaner and meaner rock n' roll band.

This album is a KILLER album, I must say that much to open this review. I must also say that this was a Hell (no pun intended) of a way for Bon Scott to go with AC/DC. There is not a single bad song on this album at all (with the possible exception of "Love Hungry Man", which doesn't compare to the rest on the album). It kicks off with "Highway to Hell", which everyone knows, and is certainly a great song, and an AWESOME way to kick off the album. Next comes "Girls Got Rhythm", which is one of my favorite songs on the album. From there, on in, the whole album is pure gold. "Walk All Over You" has a bit of a long opening, but in a little while, the song is so great that it doesn't even matter. Then comes the very artful "Touch Too Much", but my favorite cluster starts with "Beating Around the Bush" (my absolute favorite on this album), then the song "Shot Down in Flames". The former has killer opening guitar lick and awesome vocals by Bon Scott, and a great guitar solo by Angus. "Shot Down In Flames" only proves you don't need a complicated guitar riff to make a Hell of a song. The riff is awesome, but it probably isn't the hardest to play on guitar. And Bon Scott's vocals on the song are extremely searing ones. Then come "Get It Hot", a short and sexy song. It has a "good ol' days" feel to it, and AC/DC often brings that feeling back, it is basically what heavy metal would sound like in the 60's had it existed before Steppenwolf. Then comes the raw and ravaging "If You Want Blood", and there ends the cluster of songs that I adore about this album. Bon Scott's vocals are raging, and so is the guitar riff. Then comes "Love Hungry Man", which is out of place on this album, and is probably more fitted on "Dirty Deeds". Then, the album concludes with the bluesy and evil-spirited "Night Prowler", which supossedly influenced the infamous Night Stalker, but in fact is just about sneaking into a girlfriend's house while the parents are sleeping at night, or something like that. Only shows how uptight the media is about this.

I cannot stress the quality of this album enough. IT is an AWESOME album, and it is Bon Scott's goodbye to the music world, and this is one of the best goodbye's I know on an album. This is when the LEGENDARY AC/DC died, but a whole new era of awesome songs emerged with lead singer Brian Johnson.

I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great heavy metal/rock and roll blend. There is nothing about this album you wouldn't like then. AC/DC prooved that rock doesn't have to be complicated, it's just about having fun... and this album proves it to the fullest. Best AC/DC album ever, even Dirty Deeds, which was something I doubted. But, it's true, in my opinion. Buy it, AC/DC fans, you'll LOVE it!

I had the good fortune of seeing AC/DC appear as a surprise guest for Aerosmith and Foreigner at Comiskey Park, and AC/DC gave one hell of a performance. I was deeply saddened when I heard that Bon had left us, but at the same time not too surprised either knowing that Bon was what he preached, or sang. This is Bon's last dance with AC/DC, and it's a lasting tribute to that front man who, to me anyway, will always be the essence of what AC/DC epitomized. The chemistry of Bon & Angus on stage together was unique in and of itself to experience, and I often find myself wishing I could re-live that hot summer afternoon at the old White Sox Park one more time.

By the way folks, Bon's voice is real and is not the result of studio or technical manipulation.