Discq Driver - AD/DC (Part 1: From "High Voltage" to "Let There Be Rock" ) 25.1.21

 Hello, and welcome to a new multi-part series of posts I'm gonna be making called Discq Driver, where I'll be reviewing a band's entire discography from start to most recently!

Before I start with our seminal band of this series, I must first disclose some information:

1 - This will NOT be a history lesson, I'm going to be reviewing these albums as individual pieces, giving little thought to anything past the music. If you wanted Behind The Music then go find it somewhere else.

2 - This will NOT be a punk-exclusive series. As much as I love a bit of thrash and bash, I must admit that I've not been listening to very much punk at all recently, mainly due to a drought in new material from anyone I know. But, if you're interested in seeing a particular artist, then please feel free to contact me where you see fit!

3 - This series will be dedicated to any artist, meaning that they don't have to have a generation long history or decades of history for me to review them. This is simply my thoughts on whatever band or artist I find interesting at that moment.

4 - Lastly, I will only be reviewing studio albums for this series, because I'd like to save myself a bit of my own sanity when I tackle bands like this with too many albums to count. Like I said, if you think that the live version is better, feel free to comment.

Now, without further delay, let's break into our first candidate, AD/DC! (Jesus Christ this is gonna kill me)

While brothers Angus and the late Malcolm Young originally were born from Scotland's fine soil, we cannot take credit for what became the power chord powerhouse that later became the band AD/DC. Sadly, it was Australia who earned that crown when in 1976 the pair, along with bassist Larry Van Kriedt, Bon Scott on vocals and Colin Burgess on drums, the clandestine quintuplets released their first album, recorded in Albert Studios, Sydney. 

 

High Voltage (1976)

High Voltage as an album, dropping the prefix that it would kickstart one of the most popular bands of all time into stardom still kicks ass, even 46 years since it's release, however it's not perfect.

With high power tracks like "T.N.T", "Rock 'N' Roll Singer", "Live Wire", "Can I Sit Next to You Girl" and "High Voltage", this album oozes with that 70s rock shine the likes of Ramones and The Sex Pistols would come to align with. However, it's an imperfect beast, as most first albums tend to be, with it dragging it's feet in places, with songs like "The Jack", "Little Lover", "She's Got Balls" and even the opening bit "It's a Long Way to the Top" not really meeting the highs found midway through the album. I wouldn't be surprised if someone listening to this the whole way through from start to finish would listen to some of these first songs and immediately lose interest, thinking the entire track was just a mix of early rock and full on blues tracks, but don't be fooled because some of these songs aren't up to modern sensibilities, this record is still a classic, warts and all.

You can pick your favourites out if you want, but I'd recommend listening to High Voltage at least twice to get a feel for what became the band running now 5 decades strong when they were still fresh-faced. I rate High Voltage a solid 5/10.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)

As a long time fan of The Rageaholic, its common knowledge to me that when a band strikes gold, the first thing they do is strike when the iron is hot, and god-damn if AD/DC didn't do that! D4C is more than a Jojo stand right out of the gate, with songs like "Rocker", "Problem Child" and the title track showing clearly that the band have still got it in the pocket. Now, fortunately my criticisms of High Voltage cannot be levelled against this sophomoric effort, with the few bluesy songs on the record still having a level of pace to them that's balanced with the harder rock and sometimes outright comedic songs like "Big Balls" (Yes, it's as silly as you think). "Ain't No Fun" is a halfway house between High Voltage's blues and the rest of the album, though I'd have to say that having it played after a song almost entirely similar in "There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'" is a bit of a fuckup. Lastly, "Ride On", the black sheep of this album with its more mellow tone and cleaner guitar tones for rhythm, it's honestly one of the more standout efforts on this disc, as it's something that I (Someone only looking into AC/DC for this series) expected. It's like being in the back of your parent's car at 9 years old, you've just had your Saturday spent at your grandparents, and the drive is quiet. I rate this album a 7/10, a slump this is not, and leaves high hopes for me coming into the next album. 

Let There Be Rock (1977)

Alright, let's wrap this first part up. It's 1977, it's been a year and here we are with our third album! Now, Let There Be Rock differentiates itself from D4C pretty damn quick, with its sound traversing from the lands of classic boomer rock to heavy god-damn metal in about 3 tracks, with the track funnily titled "Let There Be Rock" being the full force kick to the cock that you need when you're binging shit like this. Needless to say, this album goes hard. Other big hitters on this album include "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be", "Dog Eat Dog", "Overdose" and "Whole Lotta Rosie". There are very few bum tracks on this one, with my only caveat being the second appearance of "Problem Child", which is a bit confusing. Still, from hair tip to asshole, this album rocks. 8.75/10, buy it!

 

https://spoti.fi/3iLpe33

Now, on the whole, I'd say these last 3 albums have been classics, as they ought to be for a band as well known as AC/DC. I've taken the liberty of compiling my favourite songs from these three-piece of rock and roll mastery to make myself a playlist, for those interested I'll include a link and code. But, I need a rest now. Join us next time on Disq Driver when we tackle AC/DC part 2, Powerage to Back In Black! 

[SG equipped, Marshall headed and ready to rock] - Em.