High Voltage
	Produced by Vanda & Young
	Released on May 1976
	US CHART POSITION #146 . . . GOLD RECORD (3/2/81), 2x PLATINUM (11/30/93)
	Find it at GEMM
CS 36-142 cover

W ell, the satyr’s in seventh heaven with this one. This isn’t the original Australian version of High Voltage (their first elpee) but the US version that was essentially a repackage of TNT. (For some reason, American distribution companies seem to delight in doing albums from Down Under all over.) As such, this version of High Voltage served as AC/DC’s first American release, penetrating the bottom of the charts (sorry, it’s contagious) and eventually selling over two million copies here. It’s an electrifying debut, the band’s signature sound already established: the power chords, the flashy guitar solos and Bon Scott’s salacious sneer. What separated AC/DC from the rest of the rock & rollers was an animal intensity colored by eccentricity. You could look back at bands like Mott The Hoople or Alice Cooper and find some precedent there, but they were really glam bands, touched by a certain feyness that’s totally absent in AC/DC’s music. (The band’s name and Scott’s cross-dressing stunt suggest they toyed with the idea originally.) On this album, all the hallmarks are there: the double entendres (“The Jack”), the anti-establishment attitude (“Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer”), the trenchant force of their music. If their music hasn’t changed much over the years, maybe it’s because AC/DC has steadfastly refused to grow up. The perspective would change, of course, as the band went from pursuing fame to living with it, but they’ve always forsaken more mature pastures for the kingdom of Id. The formula was refined on later albums like Dirty Deeds, though at the cost of some of their original intensity. On High Voltage, it’s all intense, balls-to-the-wall action from start to finish (only the early “Little Lover” lacks their patented punch). If you like Bon Scott-era AC/DC, you’ve got to check this out. You’ll be shocked how good it sounds.

TRACK LISTING

1. IT'S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP (IF YOU WANNA ROCK 'N' ROLL)
2. ROCK 'N' ROLL SINGER
3. THE JACK
4. LIVE WIRE
5. T.N.T.
6. CAN I SIT NEXT TO YOU, GIRL
7. LITTLE LOVER
8. SHE'S GOT BALLS
9. HIGH VOLTAGE

CREDITS

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