High Voltage

High Voltage was the first album AC/DC released outwith Australia. The band had originally released two albums in their home land and in their place internationally was this record. It was originally released in 1976 and was essentially a compilation of tracks based on the Australian exclusives, the album with the same name, High Voltage and T.N.T.The album is well known for containing a number of the band's early classics and being the ground work for the legendary albums that followed. On this record, you will find great songs like the title track, It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll), Live Wire and the live fan favourite, The Jack. Most of the tracks originally featured on the album T.N.T. and a couple being from the original album of the same name.As an album, it's a very good record. It goes from one great song to another just oozing energy and power. The production is a little thin compared to the albums that followed but is still a good sounding album overall. The 2003 remaster (which this review is based on) sounds good. It has a bit more punch behind it than the old CD versions I've got but it isn't perfect. Like a lot of modern remasters, it is a tiny bit loud and has a couple of moments where the sound distorts. But in terms of overly loud remasters, it could be considerably worse and is nowhere near the worst offender.If you're an AC/DC fan, there's no chance that this album isn't already in your collection. If you're new to the band, it's a perfect place to start. It is a great record and a must have. It may not be the band's fastest, heaviest and sleaziest but it's a classic all the same.

Arrived safely and in good condition

Great album

Still has the impact of the 1970s original vinyl pressings

I bought this album about five years ago, after buying "Back In Black" and being so impressed that I decided to delve further into the Aussie rockers' back catalogue. "High Voltage", their international début album comprised of highlights from their first two 1975 Australian albums ("High Voltage" and "T.N.T."), lives up to its name, with the album being comprised mainly of high octane, hard-riffing rock classics. There are many AC/DC fans who consider this their finest moment and it's not difficult to understand why as there are more than a handful of excellent tracks. "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is a fantastic album opener, resplendent with a great riff and one of the best uses of bagpipes in rock music. "The Jack" is an enjoyable chugging, bluesy number using a card game as a euphemism for VD, "Can I Sit Next To You Girl" reminds me of Status Quo at their seventies hard rock peak and "High Voltage" itself finishes the album with a catchy, up-tempo anthem.As far as I'm concerned, although many people seem to focus on the raw, powerful vocals of the late Bon Scott, the star of the show is Angus Young. The main appeal of AC/DC, for me, lies with the scintillating solos and the tidy, economical riffs ("Little Lover" is a great example), all held together by the powerful, meaty chords of rhythm guitarist brother, Malcolm. They're a great musical unit altogether though, with Mark Evans' chunky bass-lines and Phil Rudd's relentless drumming providing the solid backbone of the band. If there is one criticism to be made, it's that this music is a little one dimensional, very straight forward "meat and potatoes" rock, but it's executed with such clumsy charm, wit and skill that it's difficult not to enjoy it for what it is, an uncomplicated, likeable, hard blues-rock album that captures the band sounding exactly like they would if you went to see them live. They didn't get much better than this.

You cannot get a best of or greatest hits of AC/DC well not an official decent quality cd or album. So what I did was choose CDs with the most famous tracks on which I wanted altogether I chose four different albums all absolutely great

Classic old AC/DC - crank up the volume and enjoy!

Classic rock isn't made any more so it's unlikely anyone's going to better the music produced by Bon Scott and AC/DC.As a newcomer to AC/DC before the past two months I'd only heard the later AC/DC stuff and seen the music videos and I thought them one-dimensional. But I bought Back in Black and I think it's a brilliant rock album, every song a stadium-filling classic.However, the early music before Scott's death is different gravy. While many (including fans) appear to mock the sleazy and sometimes seemingly one-dimensional lyrics, the use of metaphor is smart and funny and sharp. Here, for exapmple, 'The Jack' is very obvious but very exciting.The music is just rock. Pure and simple, as it was meant to be. Riff and power-chord heavy, the music has a Marr-Morrissey relationship with the lyrics. But in this case, heavy, dirty, occasionally subtle and always energetic.'Livewire' is about as energetic as a rock song can get, capturing Scott's outlook and matching it perfectly with the Young brothers' amazing skills.The two opening tracks set the scene for an album of sheer brilliance. The songs, especially on the ever better Powerage, are as epic as anything a Led Zeppellin produced (if you like that sort of thing, not for me) and as well-crafted as the Stones of Sticky Fingers era.