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 (177 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,944 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #45 in	Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Hard Rock
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Track Listings

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

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reissue of 1978 album packaged in a digipak with 16 page full color booklet containing all original album art, many unpublished photos, classic memorabilia, and liner notes.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

20 of 21 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.

11 of 11 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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Lacks a truly transcendent moment?" Are you kidding?!, October 15, 2004

By	Chet L. Young - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What do you call "Sin City" and "Down Payment Blues"? Two of AC/DC's greatest songs, I'd say. The former is a bonafide anthem that the band still plays in concert, and the latter has an absolutely killer riff--one of the best in the AC/DC catalogue. POWERAGE is a fantastic album. It holds up very well against HIGH VOLTAGE, DIRTY DEEDS, and HIGHWAY TO HELL...and it's better than LET THERE BE ROCK(yes, I know it sounds like blasphemy and I know that fans the world over will vehemently disagree with me, but that's how I feel!).
The second "side"(i.e., the last four songs) does drag a bit, but so do the second sides of most albums. Get POWERAGE; it's pure AC/DC and you won't be disappointed.