Powerage [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

AC/DC

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 29, 2003)
• Original Release Date: May 1978
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00008WT5E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,475 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #53 in	Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Hard Rock
  #79 in	Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
AC/DC's fourth album is the lull after the triumph of Let There Be Rock and before the mighty peaks of If You Want Blood You've Got It and Highway to Hell. Powerage contains all the familiar AC/DC trademarks: Bon Scott's rather less than Yeatsian lyrical vision ("Rock & Roll Damnation," "Up to My Neck in You"), Angus Young's brilliantly minimal guitar playing, a rhythm section as relentless and efficient as an infantry regiment, and the astute production of former Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young; however, it lacks a truly transcendent moment, a "Whole Lotta Rosie" or a "T.N.T." Of course, even an average AC/DC album is an eloquent lesson in the fundamentals of rock & roll, and by that token Powerage still blows most opposition out of the water. Bon Scott's exultant declaration of working-class solidarity, "Riff Raff," is worth six Bon Jovi albums on its own. --Andrew Mueller

Product Description
2003 remastered reissue of 1978 album packaged in a digipak with 16 page full color booklet containing all original album art, many unpublished photos, classic memorabilia, and liner notes. Epic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just AC/DC's Best Album...., August 8, 2005

By	BillM (SLC, UT) - See all my reviews

Ah, how far to go here? Well, I'm older now, and I'm as 'zen' on this subject as any other. Sooo...

Powerage is the best rock 'n roll of album of all time. Not the most important or most influential; not with the widest variety nor highest reach(although this IS AC/DC's widest & highest album); not the most seductive or inspiring; but the best.

Sgt Pepper, Exile On Main Street, and Physical Grafitti are all timeless masterpieces too, but whatever Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard & Jerry Lee Lewis were aiming at all those years ago, Powerage hit dead center.

An amazingly raw, blistering sound, but at the same time incredibly tight grooves. Hard rock you can headbang AND dance to, indeed. Like someone once said, AC/DC does what no one else can do, better than anyone else.

This was the first album w/Cliff Williams and he kicked the band up to a whole new level. Fantastic production by Vanda/Young, the last one they did before Mutt Lange took over. The remastering is indescribably brilliant, showcasing the equally brilliant interplay between Angus & Malcolm. The lead & rhythm guitars are distinct, loud, and powerful. No way you'd believe this album was released in 1978 if you didn't already know.

And what rhythms and leads they are. Nine incredible riffs, instantly memorable. Easy to play(the riffs NOT the solos, of course), perhaps, but almost impossible to write. And the seven solos are among Angus' best, especially on Gone Shootin'. Fast solos, medium solos, slow solos, and on Damnation & Bullet no solo at all.

There is simply not a wasted or extraneous second here. Yngwie, Satriani, Vai, and all the rest of the shredders never wrote anything close to Sin City or Riff Raff. This album is the one that clearly places Angus alongside Hendrix, Page, & Gibbons.

Bon's best lyrics, devastating beats from Cliff & Phil. Highway To Hell's production sounds thin & poppy(despite the great songs), and Back In Black's writing seems somewhat uninspired and derivative in comparison. Imagine the best qualities of Overdose, Touch Too Much, and Shoot To Thrill wrapped together and you have Powerage.

Back In Black has a great sound and all the legendary anthems, no question, but this is the real apex of the "cooler than a body on ice, hotter than the rolling dice, wilder than a drunken fight" ideal. And all topped off by Bon giving you a wink/nudge and offering you another beer after each track.

I have friends that aren't into heavy music at all, but I always tell them that like Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue is to jazz, Powerage is the hard rock album for people that don't like hard rock.

Buy this album and you WILL burn tonight.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BON ERA ALBUM, MAYBE THE BEST OF ALL TIME TOO, November 10, 2004

A Kid's Review

I definatly think that this was ac/dc's greatest effort with bon scott, i think it blows away the overrated/overplayed "highway to hell" stait to hell.this is really what this band is all about, albums like this that are just strait out blues based hard rock. i think this album and "flick of the switch" are ac/dc's greatest recordings. my favorites are "sin city" "down payment blues" "gimme a bullet" "riff raff" and "whats next to the moon". maybe they should give this album airtime instaed of highway and bib all of the time.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite AC/DC Album., May 16, 2004

By	Patrick W. Schubert (Santa Ana, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Albums like LET THERE BE ROCK, HIGHWAY TO HELL, and BACK IN BLACK have long overshadowed POWERAGE in terms of overall sales and popularity. However, song-for-song, POWERAGE is the strongest collection, in my opinion.

WHY?

Well, to begin with, LET THERE BE ROCK, may contain more well known classics, such as "Problem Child", "Rosie", and the title track. But, it also contains more forgettable material like "Go Down" and "Badboy Boogie". On the other hand, there simply isn't a weak cut on POWERAGE. Plus, the production is better.

HIGHWAY TO HELL and BACK IN BLACK are classics, no doubt about it. However, I feel that Mutt Lange seriously robbed the band of its power with his slick production techniques. Compare HIGHWAY TO HELL to POWERAGE and the songs are about as equally good. But, POWERAGE, while well-engineered, has a rawness and intensity to it that Lange's pop-friendly production does not. HIGHWAY may be easier to digest, but POWERAGE is tougher and more unrelenting.

BACK IN BLACK is automatically docked points in my book because Bon isn't on it. I mean no disrespect to Brian Johnson, but Bon was the definitive AC/DC frontman, hands-down. And, again, I think Lange drained much of the intensity out of some excellent songs in order to achieve a sound that was more easily accepted by the masses. I know, alot of AC/DC fans will argue that BIB sounds "HUGE". Granted, it's very well engineered and produced, but, to me, it sounds way too glossy. This sound may work well for Def Leppard, but it just neuters AC/DC's sound. I think that Young and Vanda had a better understanding of how AC/DC should sound on record.

So, there you go. Take or leave this review, but don't skip POWERAGE.