AC/DC
Powerage

THE REVIEW

After a long time, I am once again about to write a review, talking mainly about an album I discovered late and about which I intend to write today: it's an album by the very well-known AC/DC unjustly forgotten (or almost) by critics, written in 1978 and titled Powerage.

The year 1978 is, for Rock music in general, a year of great changes on the horizon: on one side, the explosion of Punk with the imminent sonic booms of the Sex Pistols and similia, on another, the necessity for once-prominent bands to modify their sound to keep up with the times (see Led Zeppelin in the controversial In Through The Out Door or The Who in Who Are You of those years), but yet again, as in the case of the famous brothers Malcolm (born 1953) and Angus (born 1955) Young, to remain consistent with their starting line, if not even staying "hard as a rock," paraphrasing one of their 1995 songs.

This Powerage, as mentioned, passed unjustly in near general indifference of the time, actually proves this: set between two gems of the caliber of Let There Be Rock and Highway To Hell, it opens with the gripping Rock 'N' Roll Damnation, yet another heartfelt anthem declared by Bon Scott and the two blazing guitars of Malcolm and Angus towards that hard and healthy Rock 'N' Roll of the early days. The following Down Payment Blues deals with the theme of a man living beyond his means, as Scott sings in these verses: "I got myself a Cadillac, but I can't afford the gas." and the sound, spiced with a powerful central solo by Angus, proves engaging with even a hint of a final Blues motif lasting a few seconds this time by Malcolm.

Gimme A Bullet is a "ballad" (in heavy quotation marks), always marked by the roar of the guitars, essentially talking about a love gone sour, but nothing so innovative.

Then we move on to the central section of the album which contains, without a shadow of a doubt, the most beautiful and interesting numbers: it starts with the adrenaline-filled Riff Raff where the excellent Angus literally shows his muscles with an initially powerful chord progression and a middle solo of excellent craftsmanship.

With Sin City, another excellent highlight especially in the band’s concerts, the atmosphere becomes decidedly darker and heavier, thanks also to Scott's usual cutting voice and another masterful number by Angus who pulls another beautiful central solo out of the hat, in addition to a notable bass line by London's British Cliff Williams, the band's new recruit in place of Mark Evans.

What's Next To The Moon, on the contrary, is as fast and playful as basic, but it is quite appreciated.

But the apex of the album is reached, above all, with the Rock/Blues gem Gone Shootin': from a nearly funk-like beginning, thanks to Malcolm's excellent rhythmic work and drummer Phil Rudd, another solid certainty of the band, the song decidedly grows in tone with Angus’s usual monstrous solo and seems never-ending, indeed!

Up To My Neck In You, which can be considered the godfather of Shoot To Thrill from the famous Back In Black two years later, is notable for a long solo always by Angus that goes on for about a minute and a half.

Kicked In The Teeth is the track that closes the album: after an initial Blues outburst by Bon Scott's voice, the song assumes its usual fast but incisive tone with the guitars of the Young brothers always in the spotlight.

In short, this album, which at the time did not achieve any significant commercial success, represents, despite the (inexplicable) criticisms received at the time, not only another fixed point for our Young brothers but above all an authentic springboard towards greater critical and sales successes that will soon be achieved with the band's two masterpieces, namely Highway To Hell and, in particular, Back in Black.