"High Voltage" by AC/DC – April 1976 (UK) and May 1976 (USA) Debut UK and US Album on Atlantic and Atco Records (Derived from their first two Australian Albums from February and December 1975 on Albert Productions) Featuring Angus Young and Bon Scott (May 2003 UK Epic/Albert Productions 'ConnecteD Technology' Digipak CD Reissue and Remaster – George Marino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Long Way To The Top..."

 

What a nightmare! In order to properly explain this 2003 Remastered CD – its artwork and even its track list – we have to go into some serious AC/DC lore.

 

When the first two AC/DC albums were released in Australia – 17 February 1975 for "High Voltage" on Albert Productions APLP.009 and 1 December 1975 for "T.N.T." on Albert Productions APLPA.016 – tracks from both were used to form their "High Voltage" debut album in the UK, US and International arenas (and they sported different artwork too).

 

The American variant of "High Voltage" didn't arrive until 14 May 1976 on Atco SD 36-142 and again with different artwork to the Australian Original whilst the UK issue had shown up earlier, 30 April 1976 on Atlantic K 50257. 

 

This ConnecteD Technology Digipak CD Reissue and Remaster from 2003 uses the US artwork, and as a nod towards the differing artwork for the Oz original of "High Voltage" and the UK variant - the rear of the 16-page booklet shows both alongside the Australian "T.N.T." LP.

 

So 1976’s "High Voltage" is in fact Australian recorded AC/DC from 1974 and 1975. True nutters would want all three LPs in their home - "High Voltage" Oz, "T.N.T." Oz and "High Voltage" UK and US - and in order to give my own nod towards that, I’ve listed how to get them later on.

 

But first to the daughters you need to lock up and the wires that are live and the balls that are jacked and that long haul to the top. Here are the details...

 

UK released May 2003 - "High Voltage" by AC/DC on Epic/Albert Productions 510759 2 (Barcode 5099751075929) is a 9-Track 'ConnecteD Technology' Digipak CD Reissue and Remaster in a Card Sleeve Repro Digipak that plays out as follows (44:22 minutes):

 

1. It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) [Side 1]

2. Rock 'n' Roll Singer

3. The Jack

4. Live Wire

5. T.N.T. [Side 2]

6. Can I Sit Next To You Girl

7. Little Lover

8. She's Got Balls

9. High Voltage

Tracks 1 to 9 are the British and US debut album "High Voltage" – released 30 April 1976 in the UK on Atlantic K 50257 and 14 May 1976 in the USA on Atco SD 36-142.

 

AC/DC was:

BON SCOTT – Vocals

ANGUS YOUNG – Lead Guitar

MALCOLM YOUNG – Rhythm Guitar

MARK EVANS - Bass

PHIL RUDD – Drums

 

If you want to sequence the First Two Australian LPs - you’ll actually need three of these 2003 CD reissues - "'74 Jailbreak", "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and two Box Sets - "Bonfire" from 2003 and "Backtracks" from 2009...

 

 

Their 8-track Oz original of "High Voltage" (pictured above) played like this...

Side 1:

1. Baby Please Don't Go (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

2. She's Got Balls (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

3. Little Lover (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. Stick Around (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

Side 2:

1. Soul Stripper (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

2. You Ain't Got A Hold On Me (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

3. Love Song (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

4. Show Business (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

 

 

While the 9-track original of "T.N.T." (pictured above) played like this...

Side 1:

1. It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

2. The Rock 'n' Roll Singer (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

3. The Jack (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. Live Wire (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

Side 2:

1. T.N.T. (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

2. Rocker (on "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" 2003 CD)

3. Can I Sit Next To You Girl (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. High Voltage (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

5. School Days (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

So what do you get here? 

This Epic CD 9-track reissue has what they call ConnecteD Technology which allows you to access online content via your computer but I'm buggered if I've ever bothered. The card digipak is the same for all of these reissues - very tasty and tactile. There’s a picture CD to the right (the cover art of Angus) and a 16-page booklet housed on the left in a pocket pouch (MURRAY ENGLEHEART provides the informative and enthusiastic liner notes).

The booklet is crammed full of period photos - a stunner of the boys up in the offices of Albert Productions celebrating with Milk and Alcohol and a senior employee clearly having a hoot dressed as a schoolboy. There are shots of the band beside posters for the OZ LP on a Power Grid Fuse Box and even those infamous covers of England's Sounds magazine that advised concerned Parents in Blighty to lock up their daughters when the boys came touring in 1976 to support the April launch of the debut (Bon promised them a hard of gold me dears).

There is mention of infamous Rolling Stone magazine review that described the LP as an all-time low for Rock. And in fairness to that reviewer and his perceived pontificating stuck-up diatribe, given what he was working with in 1976, tracks like "The Jack" and "She's Got Balls" are not just lyrically awful but hard for me to listen to (then or now). Overall, the booklet is sexily lid out and shows images most fans haven’t seen (the band mooning dodgy underpants on stage) and accentuates the sense of Rock Fun AC/DC engendered.

This new Digital Remaster from 2-Track Original Master Tapes by GEORGE MARINO is ballsy and rocking. Each track has renewed part – those pipes on "Long Way" and that riffage burst when "Live Wire" kicks off – all of it great.

 (1976 UK Artwork for their "High Voltage" Debut

US Artwork is used on the 2003 CD Reissue)

 Despite affection fans have for any fart in a bottle emanated by AC/DC in the 70ts – you would not describe the UK and US variants of "High Voltage" as a debut masterpiece and I'm always flabbergasted at all these five-star recommendations. Their British/US starter is a launch pad to the far better 1976 set "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and the all Hell breaks loose of "Let There Be Rock" in 1977 - a truly awesome piece of Hard Rock that I think has never been bettered.

Back to "High Voltage" and the reason for that snarky review. Lyrics like "When I saw the wet patch on your seat...was it Coca Cola..." inside the decidedly leery "Little Lover" (the lead singer picking out his quarry during a gig) are so dated and even crap. And I can understand why that US reviewer despaired. But what he didn't get right was the other stuff. When you play "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" or "Live Wire" or "High Voltage" – you know immediately why you loved this band - and in your dotage – why you check them out on You Tube more than possibly any other group of the Hard Rock heyday.

It was indeed a long way to the top if you wanted to Rock 'n' Roll - but man AC/DC's climb was filled with magnificence. I got to see the Bon Scott line-up in Dublin in October 1979 on a cold Monday with maybe 150 people there and I've raved about it to any fool who'll listen ever since.

Whilst "High Voltage" isn't exactly the shock and awe that was to come, I drag it down every now and then and let our favourite brat get his schoolbag in a tangle. Break some rocks with the original chain gang folks and lock yourself into some High Voltage Rock and Roll. In fact, take a tip from the mighty Boniface and stick this saucy little bust-out in your fuse box. You know you want to (said with a Scottish lilt emboldened with a few whiskeys)...

"'74 Jailbreak" by AC/DC (2003 Epic/Albert Productions 'ConnecteD Technology' Digipak CD - George Marino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Bullet In His Back..."

In truth the 5-track mini LP "'74 Jailbreak" released October 1984 in the USA on Atlantic Records should more accurately be called "Australian AC/DC 1975 and 1976" because that’s what you’re actually getting.

This Bon Scott era compilation was sandwiched between 1983’s "Flick Of The Switch" and 1984’s "Fly On The Wall" to satiate the hunger by fans for more of the biggest (and loudest) Rock band in the world - AC/DC – fronted of course at that time by Brian Johnson who'd come on board for 1981's groundbreaking "Back In Black" album.

But don't be under any illusion just because it has only five 'old' songs – one of which is a Big Joe Williams R&B cover – don't think that this is isn't primo stuff. With Scott's crushing loss still in living memory - to me at the time "'74 Jailbreak" was kind of a magical little number – a timely reminder as to why I fell in love with the Australian Hard Rock band in the first place. Let's get to the CD details first before we go into the song origins..

UK released May 2003 - "'74 Jailbreak" by AC/DC on Epic/Albert Productions 510758 2 (Barcode 5099751075820) is a 5-Track CD reissue and new remaster of the 1984 US compilation LP and plays out as follows (24:23 minutes):

1. Jailbreak

2. You Ain't Got A Hold On Me

3. Show Business

4. Soul Stripper

5. Baby, Please Don't Go

Tracks 1 to 5 are the album "'74 Jailbreak" – released 19 October 1984 in the USA on Atlantic A1-80178. It was first issued in the UK and Europe on CD in 1990.

Some explanation about the song make-up of this compilation... When the first two AC/DC albums were released on Albert Productions in Australia - "High Voltage" in February 1975 (Albert Productions APLP.009) and "T.N.T." in December 1975 (Albert Productions APLPA.016) – they had radically different track lists to their UK, USA and International issues (and different artwork too). Four of the five tracks from "'74 Jailbreak" come from the Ozzy incarnation of the "High Voltage" album - "You Ain't Got A Hold On Me", "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Soul Stripper" and "Show Business". The fifth track "Jailbreak" and its B-side "Fling Thing" were recorded in Australia in January 1976 and released as a stand-alone 7" single in 1976 in various territories.

If you want to sequence the first two Australian LPs and both sides of the stand-alone "Jailbreak" single - you’ll actually need three of these 2003 CD reissues - "'74 Jailbreak", "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and two Box Sets - "Bonfire" from 2003 and "Backtracks" from 2009...

Their 8-track Oz original of "High Voltage" looked like this...

Side 1:

1. Baby Please Don't Go (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

2. She's Got Balls (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

3. Little Lover (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. Stick Around (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

Side 2:

1. Soul Stripper (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

2. You Ain't Got A Hold On Me (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

3. Love Song (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

4. Show Business (on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD)

While the 9-track original of "T.N.T." looked like this...

Side 1:

1. It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

2. The Rock 'n' Roll Singer (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

3. The Jack (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. Live Wire (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

Side 2:

1. T.N.T. (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

2. Rocker (on "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" 2003 CD)

3. Can I Sit Next To You Girl (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

4. High Voltage (on "High Voltage" 2003 CD)

5. School Days (on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set)

"Jailbreak" b/w "Fling Thing"

June 1976 Australian 7" Single on Albert Productions AP-11135 in label bag

August 1976 UK 7" single on Atlantic K 10805 in label bag

March 1980 UK reissued 7" single on Atlantic K 10805 in picture sleeve

A-side on "'74 Jailbreak" 2003 CD – B-side on "Backtracks" 2009 Box Set

AC/DC was:

BON SCOTT – Vocals

ANGUS YOUNG – Lead Guitar

MALCOLM YOUNG – Rhythm Guitar

MARK EVANS - Bass

PHIL RUDD – Drums

So what do you get here? This Epic CD 5-track reissue has what they call 'ConnecteD Technology' which allows you to access online content via your computer but I'm buggered if I've ever bothered. The card digipak is the same for all of these reissues - very tasty and tactile. There’s a picture CD to the right (the cover art of Angus) and a 12-page booklet housed on the left in a pocket pouch. The booklet It's crammed full of period colour photos - a stunner of the boys up beside a derelict house wall and a gatefold spread of Angus in full schoolboy glory holding a pint of milk! They miss a trick by repeating the US picture sleeve of "Jailbreak" with "Soul Stripper" on its B-side twice when they could have used the UK sleeve -

 or even the rare UK original label. There are other great unpublished live shots too of Bon and Angus. MURRAY ENGLEHEART provides the informative and and enthusiastic liner notes. There is another photo of the band in full denims and teeshirt mode (Angus with his velvet suit and 'A' hat) on the inner gatefold and a solo shot of Bon looking suitable leery beneath the see-through CD tray (great fun the lot of it). The GEORGE MARINO Remaster (done in the USA) is from 'original master tapes' and sounds HUGE - fuller than the 1990 remaster I've had for years. Despite their age - tracks like "Soul Stripper" and "Jailbreak" have lost none of their Rock 'n' Roll power.

I’m always amazed that the truly barnstorming "Jailbreak" (a Young, Young and Scott composition) never did the business as a single in the UK – a country that adores it hooky Rock Classics. Admittedly I can't actually remember seeing the first 1976 pressing of Atlantic K 10805 in its distinctive orange and yellow label – I bought the 1980 picture sleeve reissue with Angus dashing across some stage somewhere semi-naked and sweating like a politician at a tax audit. You could argue that they should have stuck the B-side "Fling Thing” on this compilation – but it’s a Scottish Traditional air instrumental of two minutes that is probably the most throwaway track in their entire cannon – so no real loss there (you take the low road and I'll be in Scotland before you have to hear this). The remaster brings out that fantastic riffage though of "Jailbreak" – the rakish Bon singing the praises of a non-PC mate of his whose doing 16-years in Hell for murder - breaking rocks on the chain gang. He makes it out all right - but with a treacherous bullet in his back (an ideal dinner guest I'm thinking). 

After the sheer pulse-increasing blinder of "Jailbreak" - the ever-so slightly weedy "You Ain't Got A Hold On You" comes as a minor disappointment. But that's immediately wiped away by the Thin Lizzy-sounding rocker "Show Business" - a raucous tirade at robbers in their chosen profession. It's typically leery, fun and Rock 'n' Rolls like a goodun. "Soul Stripper" has a very "High Voltage" vibe in its similar riff - great back beat as Bon regales his tale of a lady tingling his spine who then produces a knife and makes him say things he didn't want to say (oh yeah Bon). They miscredited the Big Joe Williams classic "Baby, Please Don't Go" to Big Bill Broonzy on first pressings of their Australian debut album "High Voltage" - but that doesn't stop this being another rocking fave of mine - the band sounding like Budgie who also covered this slide tune on their 1973 album "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" (Metallica would return the cover favour years later too). I love that Bon/Angus guitar/voice battle that romps the R&B dancer home.   

"'74 Jailbreak" is short I know and not all undiluted AC/DC riffing genius - but for me it was so sweet to hear Bon again - letting rip with that sense of humour of his and the best rock band on the planet backing him up.

It was a long to the top if you wanted to Rock 'n' Roll - but man their climb was filled with magnificence. Break some rocks with the original chain gang folks and bring this saucy little bust-out into your home...

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"Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC (2003 Epic/Albert Productions 'ConnecteD Technology' Digipak CD - George Marino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

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CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

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"...Whole Lotta Rosie..."

Shock and Awe – it's a clichéd phrase I know in this wide-bottomed business we call reviewing. But the truth is simple – little will prepare you (or any listener for that matter) for the sheer sonic assault of 1977's "Let There Be Rock" – AC/DC's angriest and loudest album – a platter that strips reinforced paint off walls from a hundred paces and then urinates on the ragged results...

There had already been indications of their Rock greatness in the first two British released LPs – "High Voltage" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" – fabulous hooky riffs like "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" and "Problem Child" – both recorded in 1975 and 1976. But 1977 saw them produce a studio beast to rival Deep Purple or Humble Pie at their 'live' barnstorming best – a not inconsiderable feat - and in a year when Rock was supposed to be dead or busy dying in a ditch somewhere...

First the Production values went through the roof. Amped-up and jacked-up to 13 on a scale of 10 – AC/DC were essentially live in the studio and in possession of a lethal combo of new power riffs. Out went the 9 or 10 songs – in came 8. They were lengthier but they were also more convincing and undeniably brilliant. To this day Australia's finest play half of the album in every show (fans would probably feel cheated if they didn't). And the title track "Let There Be Rock" has of course turned into something of a 20-minute live marathon for Angus Young – their guitarist and core of the band – a crowd-pleasing solo fest of scorched-earth wildness that few who see it ever forget (it has me grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it). Which brings us to this messed-about CD reissue and its rejiggered track list that requires some eggsplanation (as Mister Ayers would say). Here is the 'Crabsody In Blue'...

UK released May 2003 - "Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC on Epic/Albert Productions 510761 2 (Barcode 5099751076124) is an 8-Track CD variant of the 1977 American LP and plays out as follows (41:01 minutes):

1. Go Down
2. Dog Eat Dog
3. Let There Be Rock
4. Bad Boy Boogie
5. Problem Child [Side 2]
6. Overdose
7. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
8. Whole Lotta Rosie
Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth studio album (3rd in the UK) "Let There Be Rock" - released March 1977 in Australia on Albert Productions APLP.022 -  June 1977 in the USA on Atco SD 36-151 and October 1977 in the UK on Atlantic K 50366.

AC/DC was:
BON SCOTT – Vocals
ANGUS YOUNG – Lead Guitar
MALCOLM YOUNG – Rhythm Guitar
MARK EVANS - Bass
PHIL RUDD – Drums

Some explanation is needed about the CD Reissue and its track-list that for many fans outside of America is not how they bought the original vinyl LP. Both the Australian and British LPs had different tracks and placements on Side 2. The Australian LP was the first issue in March 1977 (its different black and white guitar-photo artwork is on the last page of the booklet) while the British LP arrived last in October 1977 with the US artwork of June 1977 (the live photo of the band). However both the OZ and UK LPs had a Side 2 that ran as "Overdose", "Crabsody In Blue", "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be" and "Whole Lotta Rosie".

But as this CD is a US release it follows the American Track List/Artwork – so as you can see above for Side 2 it uses "Problem Child" as Track 1 (originally on their "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" LP from 1976) with "Overdose" as Track 2 instead of "Crabsody In Blue". If you want the absent "Crabsody In Blue" track in order to configure the OZ and UK LPs - it's available on the "Backtracks: Studio Rarities" 2CD/1DVD Box Set of Remasters from November 2009 (another AC/DC release worth seeking out).

So what do you get here? This Epic CD 8-track reissue has what they call 'ConnecteD Technology' which allows you to access online content via your computer but I'm buggered if I've ever bothered. The card digipak is the same for all of these reissues - very tasty and tactile. There’s a picture CD to the right and a 16-page booklet housed on the left in a pocket pouch. It's crammed full of colour photos behind the text, press reviews (good and bad), a ticket to the 24 Oct 1977 show at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall, buttons, stage passes and Angus, Bon and the Gang in various manic live poses (MURRAY ENGLEHEART does the superb liner notes). There are more photos of the band on the inner gatefold and beneath the see-through CD tray. The GEORGE MARINO Remaster (done in the USA) is from 'original master tapes' and sounds HUGE - rocking like the beast that it is.

The albums that followed 1977's "Let There Be Rock" ("Powerage" in 1978 and "Highway To Hell" in 1979) sported a crisp clean radio-friendly sound care of Mutt Lange – not here my good friends. With amps humming and a spoken count-in - the sheer volume at the beginning of the very unsubtle "Go Down" is like a mission statement. Within seconds you get the biblical reference – a huge riff threatens to level your living room - the Aussies are indeed here to ROCK and those with nervous dispositions should run for the Exit sign. I cannot overstate the sheer force of this track and the riff it has – a huge mother of an opener as Bon once again makes "Ruby Lips" famous for services above and below the call of duty. "Dog Eat Dog" (eat cat too) does the same and legend has it that midway through the recording of the epic "Let There Be Rock" - Angus’ amplifier literally went on fire from the heat - yet Producer George Vanda told him to continue – which the mighty imp did. Wow! Now there's a story you want to tell your kids. "...Did you bleed daddy for this track? Well son..there I was making Rock history...when all of a sudden..." And Side 1 ends on the ballsy AC/DC Blues-Rock of "Bad Boy Boogie" – four sucker-punches in a row and a Side of Rock Classics most bands would nobble a close relative to achieve.

Whilst "Problem Child" is utterly brilliant – a short sharp kick in the kangaroo pouch – its Production values differ wildly to the other Jan/Feb 1977 recordings – so it feels automatically out of place. Others may disagree. The slow Blues of "Crabsody In Blue" - a track about appointments and ointments and critters nibbling at Bon's favourite appendage - is typically funny stuff from the brill Scotsman and so un-PC as to be cherishable. And again it followed perfectly after "Overdose" – a grimy and grubby slow starter that builds into the most monster riff you have ever heard as Bon sings his salacious tale of innocence corrupted (it's all booze and cigarettes now – her fault apparently). And at this point we have to talk of Angus' guitar playing – solo after solo exploding with a ferocity that makes Led Zeppelin-in-full-flow seem like a weedy school prefect with a Ukulele (and that takes some doing). And then the LP gives us two massive slices of primal Rock – "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be" and the awesome "Whole Lotta Rosie". Even now that solo in the middle of "Whole Lotta Rosie" is beyond description – a kick in the chest by a mule with serious mommy issues.

Unbelievably - March 2017 will see the album's 40th Anniversary. And in absolute present-day truth – if Metallica produced even three songs in 2017 as good as the original eight on "Let There Be Rock" – the Net would melt, ice caps would get up and do a Scottish jig and Donald Trump would gain a conscience (well maybe two of those things). AC/DC did it 40 years ago man. Step aside pretenders - best Rock Band on the planet bar none.

Shock and Awe indeed...