AC/DC - Powerage flac album

Rating: AMany critics dismiss early AC/DC and run straight to Highway To Hell and Back In Black. I don’t know why, but I’d advise you not to make the same mistake, because Powerage is another fun party record that's filled with gloriously unhinged guitar licks from riffmeister Angus Young matched to a terrific batch of tunes. And though originality isn’t this bands stock in trade, their kickass beats (AC/DC are one of the greatest groove bands ever) and Bon Scott’s ragged screeches render such concepts as trivial. Besides, this is one of the few AC/DC albums devoid of obvious filler. I mean, even the lesser tracks here have their virtues, as “Gimme A Bullet” grooves like nobody’s business, while “Gone Shootin’” offers up a relaxed change of pace. Elsewhere, the escalating blooze beats of “Down Payment Blues” are matched to an everyman lyric that we can all relate to, though the band’s misogynist streak unfortunately rears up its ugly head on “Kicked In The Teeth,” one of the album's lesser tracks. Even so, that song still rocks, and the band’s lean, ferocious assault produces other undeniable hard rock winners such as “Rock N’ Roll Damnation” (which has the album's catchiest chorus), “Riff Raff” (Angus at his best), “Sin City” (Bon at his best), and “What's Next To The Moon” (like the aforementioned, even better “Down Payment Blues,” notable for its great toe tapping groove, as is the fed up “Up To My Neck In You” as well come to think of it). Sure, I suppose that none of these songs are major AC/DC classics, but Powerage is chock full of minor classics, even though it's less heavy than its pummeling predecessor, possibly due to a less lively production that yields a tinnier sound. But the songs are catchier and yes, better overall, especially since the band still supplies plenty of wattage. In short, no fan of this electrifying band should be without this killer album, which can power up any party. Note: Cliff Williams replaced Mark Evans on bass guitar duties on this album, giving the band not only a better bass player but another backup singer along with ace rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young (Angus' older brother and by most accounts the band's actual leader, certainly so after Bon died). P.S. I'd argue that Powerage is the most underrated and unjustly ignored album from the Bon years, being all but ignored by radio, and the band themselves have played little from it live over the years (really only "Sin City" and "Riff Raff"), nothing in recent times. In short, this album is for the diehards - most of whom love it.

AC/DC man! Their genius is so close to idiocy it’s amazing. Malcolm Young especially—he’s got the lizard-mind. Maybe intellectually his riffs are nothing special, but backed by Phil Rudd and Cliff Burton or George Young they’re incendiary. To be fair, Powerage is the smartest album of AC/DC’s career. “Down Payment Blues” is a minimalist epic, probably Malcolm’s finest five minutes, along with the incredible adrenalin-fuelled “Riff Raff” and the abstract “What’s Next to the Moon”, whose open-string arpeggio is so simple and beautiful you wonder how no-one else thought of it. Ditto “Gimme a Bullet”—now that is mindless, but pump-your-fists-in-the-air perfect, and not a guitar solo in earshot. (It doesn’t need one: George’s walking bass takes the lead, with once-in-a-career results.) “Sin City” ain’t half bad neither, and it’s where Bon Scott comes to the fore: “Bring on the dancing girls and put the champagne on ice.” (Though it’s “Down Payment Blues” that’s the message song, one of Bon’s most heartfelt moments: “No I ain’t doin’ much but doin’ nothing means a lot to me.”) If ever a band was more than the sum of its parts it was AC/DC: isolate any one of these performances—Malcolm’s blunt power-chords, Cliff’s droning bass, Phil’s utilitarian four-on-the-floor, Bon’s three-note melodies—and listeners could well be mystified. Of course there’s Angus, a stone-cold virtuoso, but those who think AC/DC is his show are missing the point. He’s the gravy. Malcolm and the boys are the meat. “Gone Shootin’”, now that is genius, the kind of groove you just know Keith Richards’d love to muscle in on. Oh, and “Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation”—about as Stonesy as they ever got. Apparently it was added last when the record company said there were no hits on the album, and it ain’t bad: great sound, even if the riff’s a little tired. But make no mistake, “Riff Raff” is the hit here. If a shuttle gets sent to space with an AC/DC song onboard and it ain’t “Riff Raff” I’m going after it. 100% brutal full-blooded groove rock’n’roll. Powerage is a dream you don’t wake up from. Career-defining genius. Pure gold.

Powerage continues with the riff-powered sound that AC/DC established on their previous record Let There Be Rock. However, on Powerage, the lyrics are sharper and the blues come out and become a larger part of the AC/DC repertoire. It helps the overall sound as well with the addition of bass player Cliff Williams. A very solid record, and the mix of blues and wordplay lead up to a unique visual and listening experience. Best songs are Down Payment Blues, Sin City, What's Next To The Moon, and Up To My Neck In You.

Rock 'n' Roll Damnation - 8/10Down Payment Blues - 10/10Gimme A Bullet - 9/10Riff Raff - 7/10Sin City - 9/10What's Next To The Moon - 9/10Gone Shootin' - 10/10Up To My Neck In You - 8/10Kicked In The Teeth - 5/10Overall - 8.3/10

HIGH POINTS: Down Payment Blues, Riff Raff, Rock And Roll Damnation.  LOW POINTS: Gone Shootin', Kicked In The Teeth. From listening to this record, it's even easier to hear the appealing qualities in AC/DC music than usual, as their groove and riff based sound is getting ever catchier and more entertaining than Let There Be Rock, and to my ears it's not very far removed from the next album at all - Highway To Hell is a bit more comically 'threatening' and with more emphasis on 'pop' hooks.  This particular record, though, is still pretty good - it has its' share of glorious anthemic moments, with the songs more to the point than usual and... okay, there's really not all that much to say about this one that doesn't apply to several other of the band's albums that all sound the same (like the last one!).  But still, I get my kicks out of the direct guitar interplay and fun grooves on the album, anyway, especially on side one's tracks.  And there's even a couple of them with sort of 'epic' buildups. These songs are definitely the most worthy here, with the best of them surely being the monster "Down Payment Blues".  What an amazing riff this one has, and it's a testament to how great it is in that riff pretty much gets slammed into your head for 6 minutes repeatedly with only slight key changes and stops here and there, but yet it always remains exciting.  And the lyrics on the subject are actually really clever for once!  "Riff Raff" is the other killer song, with a fast paced barrage of guitar at the beginning that leads into a highly thrilling speed rocker, boasting an overpowering chorus yell.  To a lesser extent, the opener "Rock And Roll Damnation" is perhaps the closest thing to a really memorable, arena rock singalong tune, which is a sort of venture the band really thrives in. The rest of the album is certainly good and listenable, though not really as exciting or distinguishable.  There's more melodic and simplified hard rock tunes in "Sin City" (catchy chorus, and nice minimalistic bass heavy bridge there), the somewhat fun "What's Next To The Moon" (the best parts of this one are the 'it's the love that I want...' breakdown sections) and "Up To My Neck In You" (basically the same song as both of them), plus a mildly addictive guitar groove in the form of "Gimme A Bullet".  So that leaves the only two songs that I really don't care for here - "Gone Shootin'" features a really weak and annoying, constantly repetitive midtempo riff (and doesn't part of that melody rip off "Sin City"?) while "Kicked In The Teeth" is an unconvincing fast rocker attempt that comes when the album has run out of steam at the end.  So it actually might not be a bad idea to shut this one off after track 6 and call it quite an impressive hard rock album, but I get really tired during the last third of it, so I pretty much only call it a 'good' listen.

It's on par with their best record, whatever you think that is. It's my favorite AC/DC album for its classic quirky vibe, and the epic songs like Rock and Roll Damnation, Riff Raff and Gone Shootin'. What's Next To The Moon? is like no other AC/DC song ever recorded, and the rest of the songs are meat and potatoes AC/DC. Sin City is classic as well. If not for the more polished Highway To Hell or the curiously overrated "big guitars" album of Let There Be Rock a year earlier, this one would get a lot more praise.

The ultimate rock and roll album. Powerage is a Powerhouse that is the complete package. Every tune is near perfect. Bon was unbeatable and then.....Riff Raff. It won't be bettered.

Нравится мне грязноватое звучание гитар на этом альбоме. Я считаю, что "Powerage" - один из наиболее удачных у AC/DC.