Highway to Hell

AC/DC is like a delicious plain chocolate ice cream. Every bite is going to be basically the same, but you aren't gonna be all that mad about it.

Touch too much is ACDCs best song and I’ll fight anyone that says differently

Popped the first song on out of respect for the project but as the second started I remembered that all AC/DC songs sound the same and are average at best.

unclear if the album would be better if it were just "Highway to Hell" 10 times. definitely prefer Back in Black over this one. 4/5

Man, listen. When I was learning how to play guitar in high school, it was all classic rock for me, and I’ll never forget when we hooked up Dad’s turntable and I put this on for the first time. I instantly fell in love with this album. So many killer riffs, some great, memorable (and easy) lyrics. It’s pure rock, plain and simple. And there are even a couple songs on here to deflect the claim that every AC/DC song sounds the same (I’m thinking “Walk All Over You” and “Night Prowler”). Of course, a lot of it does sound the same, and if you don’t like that sound, this probably won’t work for you. But if you do, this is undeniably one of AC/DC’s best. The last album with Bon Scott, which was followed THE NEXT YEAR with Back in Black. Talk about a one-two punch. This is a certified classic for me, and one I just recently picked up on vinyl. I’m writing this review in bed before I even get up to listen to the album. I feel electrified. Favorite tracks: Every track really, but Highway to Hell, Night Prowler, Love Hungry Man, Touch Too Much, Beating Around the Bush. Album cover: Iconic. Stone cold classic. Bloody legendary. I have a poster of this stashed under my bed. Angus with the devil horns and tail to distract from the fact that Bon Scott is wearing a pentagram. Guy in the middle with the “fluoride stare.” Rock and roll is most certainly the devil’s music. Nobody talk to me. 5/5

5 I’m going to try to avoid echoing what I think my Dad’s review will sound like as much as I can here, but I do have to validate one thing that I know he’ll say - that being, AC/DC with Bon Scott is true AC/DC, and there wasn’t a bad album released by the group while he was a part of it. Meanwhile, Back in Black is kinda meh and everything after that mostly sucks. I don’t have anything outright against Brian Johnson, but I don’t really care for his vocals, and more importantly, the sound of the group as a whole changed with his involvement - the heavy, raw AC/DC sound that we know and love came to an end with this album, and Back in Black ushered in a new era of overproduced, polished radio rock music. Anyway, that’s my segue to Highway to Hell - it’s probably the group’s best, though as I said before, you really can’t go wrong with any Bon Scott AC/DC album. Either way, what a note to go out on. I know a lot of people accuse every AC/DC song of sounding the same, and I can admit a lot of them do have a similar sound. If you don’t like one song on this album, you’re most likely not going to enjoy the rest, but if you do enjoy the sound of one song, there’s a good chance you’re going to enjoy the bulk of this album. For me in particular, it would be really hard to pick a favorite, though I can probably point to the title track Highway to Hell as probably being my least (most likely due to it being overplayed). However, I will say Girls Got Rhythm, Touch Too Much, and Shot Down in Flames are highlights - though nothing here is bad. I know I normally make fun of cock rock bands for their macho, oversexualized lyrics, but AC/DC somehow is able to do so in a way that just feels naturally cool. I think it helps that they seem to have a degree of self-awareness and humor in their music, and hell, even a dose of humility with Shot Down in Flames. How often do you hear a rock track literally being about striking out with women? I also really like the closer Night Prowler, which involves a really cool buildup of the music that sends the album off on a high note. It’s admittedly a little creepy (and more so in hindsight because of the whole Richard Ramirez thing), but I think its intentions are mostly grounded. Also, I always thought it was kind of funny that Bon Scott’s last words on an album are “Shazbot. Nanu nanu.” I probably haven’t listened to this album all the way through since high school, but as I was doing so for this review, I realized I have just about every song here saved to a master Spotify playlist. So, while I really didn’t set out to give this a 5, I think I’d be lying if I didn’t put it there - this is a truly enjoyable album that has played a big part in my life and musical development. I realize rating this higher than Zeppelin IV is probably insane and deserving of getting my music nerd card taken away, and yes, I’m aware that that album is objectionably better from probably a number of perspectives, but at the end of the day, I have fonder memories of AC/DC and find myself coming back to them a bit more. So, we’re gonna pull the trigger on the 5 - Hell ain’t a bad place to be after all. Sorry I missed the cover band, Dad!

We salute you back!

Classic album. Great send-off for Bon

i shouldn't have to comment on this album. i've been regularly listening to it for 40 years. it's amazing.

One of the best blues based rock albums ever made.

I mean, it's Highway to Hell. It's good, classic rock. Enjoy it.

Hell yesss!

Other than the title song, the music’s rather mundane

If You Want Songs About Fucking That Are Barely Couched In Metaphor (You’ve Got It).

CLASSIC!!!

Classic.

Classic, high energy, feel good

Epic :) Really a classic

This thing kicks so much ass. Just a blood pumping, testosterone fest. A lot of the tracks sound the same, but I don’t even care. It is an adrenaline ride

Sure. Why not?

The most vanilla "hard rock" ever. Definitely the saltine cracker of rock. And people love this shit. Sure the songs are catchy but they're boring to me. I just don't get it.

While the music is pretty dull and doofy, this is lyrical poetry of the highest order, no? She had the face of an angel Smiling with sin A body of Venus with arms Dealing with danger Stroking my skin Let the thunder and lightening start It wasn't the first It wasn't the last It wasn't that she didn't care She wanted it hard And wanted it fast She liked it done medium rare I mean, these guys must be scholars of the pre-Renaissance Italian troubadours of the 12th-century – the golden age of the sestina (which “Touch Too Much” clearly is, with only the slightest modernizing modifications) – to write such refined verse.

An all timer. I didn't need to listen to this but I did it anyway. Bon Scott was one of a kind and music became a little less entertaining when he died. Long live AC/DC. 5 Star classic all day

🟦 98 🥇 Highway to Hell 🥈 Night Prowler 🥉 Girls Got Rhythm

Their best album imo, Bon's best work and one the truly great rock albums of all time.

CRÁSSICO foda

9/10

lol I almost shouldn't listen, I've heard this album a kazillion times. I'll admit I prefer their 80s stuff but this is my fav of the Bon era. A lot more oomph than the albums before it, and imo where sooo many 80s metal bands got their ideas... and Airbourne too haha. 5/5.

Yep, that was AC/DC.

Music that everyone’s dad listens to.

Highway to Hell It has no pretension, no swords or dwarves, no parental angst and it is entirely successful in executing exactly what it set out to do - riffs, grooves, booze and sex. But don’t mistake simplicity for basicness - underneath that apparent simplicity they have a very smart and canny understanding of what works and what doesn't, and they also have their secret weapon; in Malcolm, Cliff and Phil they have a great rhythm section, not particularly ostentatious and obviously capably steady, but they have the ability to give the songs groove and an element of slipperiness that belies the plodding headbanging reputation. And Angus understands exactly what he should do, never overlong or self indulgent, punctuating things with excellent white man overbite air guitar style riffs and runs. That’s what I wrote for Back in Black, and this is pretty much the same - incredibly enjoyable and fun good time rock’n’roll. I think Back in Black is marginally better, in that it has 3 all time classics in Hells Bells, Back in Black and You Shook Me All Night Long, whereas the title track is probably the only true classic on this. However it’s still an excellent album with great seedy tracks like Girls Got a Rhythm, Touch too Much, Beating Around the Bush, Shot Down in Flames, If You Want Blood and the uber-sleazy Night Prowler. Despite being a notch below BIB it’s still a 5, another brilliantly fun 40 minutes. 🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️ Playlist submission; Highway to Hell

Legend has it that the 'A' on Angus Young's schoolboy uniform cap stands not for 'Angus" or 'AC/DC', but for 'Ashfield Boys High', Malcolm and Angus' high school, and the original uniform that they borrowed for Angus to wear on stage. My sons all went to Ashfield Boys, and the uniform includes a baseball cap with a prominent 'A" (https://www.lowes.com.au/schools-online/ashfield-boys-high-school/black-cap-sco-29963) in homage. Angus Young always referred to AC/DC as "my brother's band", and that is true to the soul of what is going on here. Angus and Bon Scott are charismatic front men, but the backbone of AC/DC is the rhythm section, clearly led by Malcolm Young. It's all in the rhythm guitar. New producer Mutt Lange cleverly provides polish and punch to AC/DCs sound (which was pretty well defined by this point in their career) without adding too much filigree (beyond a blokey backing chorus) or distracting from the tight power and feel of the band. This is simple rock and roll, and you can easily dilute the power by gussying it too much, and Lange avoids that. He could clearly see that AC/DC knew what they were doing and were hungry to achieve success. They were putting int he work, on the road and in the studio. It's not rocket science, it's not poetry, but it rocks. It rocks hard. It's a simple formula, but it works. They have resisted the urge to muck around with the formula, and it has been really successful for them. It's hard to go wrong with AC/DC albums (because they don't change much), but I reckon this is pretty good example of their core mission. It's got a bunch strong songs on it (title track, If You Want Blood, Walk All Over You, Girls Got Rhythm, Night Prowler), and not a lot of duds (although Angus doesn't like Love Hungry Man, apparently). Footnote; Bon Scott is at the height of his powers here, and his unfortunate accidental demise shortly after this album's release is one of rock's great tragedies. I am uncomfortable with the way that Bon has become a legend of "hard livin'"; it is wrong to celebrate the man's loss as some kind of symbolic martyrdom to rock and roll. I don't think Bon wanted to die. I don't enjoy the way that legend of some records are inevitably caught up in the suffering of the artists involved. It's a form of trauma porn.

Absolutely legendary band and this album is one of their best. Having seen AC/DC live several times, I still get goosebumps when the opening chords to H2H begin. Shot Down In Flames is another personal favourite of mine. Bon Scott’s lyrics were just superb!

A classic and so fun!

No notes necessary. I've been diggin' this for decades.

Not sure whether I am listening to this one with my ears or with my heart. Nostalgia mixed with sadness fills my heart. What great guitar riffs. I still love the voice...as if the throat muscles were as brawny as biceps. Love this.

Good album, doesn't feel like there are any low points.

Good album however none of the songs really really stands out which prevents it from getting a 5

this is a good album but i literally don’t care

it was ok. you're average AC/DC

What an uninteresting, boring, waste of time. The songs on this album sound like 1) a knock off of the song highway to hell, 2) a car commercial, and/or 3) a diary excerpt of a very horny gremlin. The average guitar solos are NOT enough to redeem this album. Not a good listen. 1/5

MASTERPIECE!!!

Ein Klassiker wie ein guter Wein. Mit jedem Jahr noch besser.

The argument against AC/DC is all their songs sound the same, but the formula works, this record is back to back hard hitting rock songs, it's just fun to listen to.

Yaaaaaaa

Classic Bon Scott AC/DC

\m/ Bon Scott's finest hour! \m/

As with a lot of people, I'm familiar with AC/DC hits but I don't think I'd ever listened to an album other thab maybe Back In Black. Another review said they thought Touch Too Much was theur favourite song. I'd not heard it before but found myself whistling along and even air drumming on a first listen. As a band they obviously have a distinct sound, but unlike others where that can feel repetitive, AC/DC feel like they've explored every edge of their style to produce so many high quality songs. Another album I'd describe as a lot of fun and easy to get into.

Sólo por la canción de Highway to Hell se merece un 5...

One of the top 10 greatest rock albums ever. Pure rock. No BS.

My friends are gonna be there too...

Discazo. Aunque de cierto modo sucede algo como con Motörhead, en donde hay una fórmula que aplican a lo largo de toda su carrera, AC/DC tiene la ventaja de tener más variación dentro de esa misma fórmula y hacer algo como este disco, con canciones como Highway To Hell, perfectamente apegada a la estructura que siempre usan o Love Hungry Man que está bastante fuera del esquema y deja lucir al bajo con un ritmo que casi tiene funk. Más puntos por pensar que este es su sexto disco, pero en los 5 anteriores se pueden encontrar muchas joyas, y que los que le siguen (ya incluso con otro vocal) están también llenos de cosas buenas.

This is not as good as Back in Black, though there aren't many hard rock albums that are as good as Back in Black. I always thought the association of Night Prowler with Richard Ramirez, as if AC/DC had anything to do with his crimes by inspiring him, was tenuous. Not sure if psychopaths need inspiration and attributing music that is otherwise normal to a serial killer's intentions seems like a foolhardy task. Highway to Hell Girls Got Rhythm Touch Too Much Shot Down in Flames If You Want Blood (You've Got It) Night Prowler 6 great songs on this album and it's the peak of the Bon Scott era with the band. I recognize this is presumptuous, but I would bet this album would have been the peak of the Bon Scott era no matter whether he lived to make more albums or not. There is a certain bluesy feel to this album that is welcome but the Brian Johnson era of AC/DC felt like an invigoration for a band whose music all can sound similar. Not a perfect album but a great listen for those who want to know what pre-Brian Johnson AC/DC sounded like.

No. 272/1001 …Highway To Hell 5/5 Girls Got Rythm 4/5 Walk All Over You 4/5 Touch Too Much 4/5 Beating Around The Bush 4/5 Shot Down in Flames 4/5 Get it Hot 4/5 If You Want Blood 4/5 Love Hungry Man 4/5 Night Prowler 4/5 Average: 4,1 Just an all-around great rock album. There's not a lot of diversity, but all the songs just slap.

Repetitive but fun!

A quintessential “classic rock” album where you really get what you sign up for. The songs sound kind of repetitive but if you’re looking for the nostalgic “rock” of the era, it’s a good listen, beginning to end. Especially because there aren’t really rock bands with a sound like this anymore in mainstream music. Walk All Over You, Touch Too Much, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) were certainly my favs, and of course, Highway To Hell, which will always be a certified banger. For me this is more of what I would call an “activity album” for working out, running, walking, or commuting.

AC/DC are one of those bands that a lot of people know their big hits but don't know their albums. Fans of the group would argue they're missing out, but are we really? This is not a bad album per se, but the band is not beating the "every song sounds the same" allegations. Key tracks: Highway to Hell

Nothing really stood out to me other than the vocals, the pure pomposity of rock-and-roll, the catchy tunes, and the guitar.

My conscious knowledge of this band boils down to this album's title track and Hell's Bells and hitting Play, I expected an affirmation that I don't need to know anything else. I stand corrected. I did have some proper fun realizing how AC/DC is stunningly good at what AC/DC is doing. But ultimately, beyond my appreciation for them being that, it's still not quite for me.

Turns out I didn't hate AC/DC, I just hated Highway to Hell.

Very solid rock. Should be played as loud as possible, the chien would say.

This album is like road hypnosis. You got through the whole album but like, you don't remember anything on your way through to the end except the parts that sound familiar through radio osmosis I never really listened to ac/dc outside of what have heard from classic rock stations, but also yes I have because all of this sounds exactly the same as that.

The album should be retitled Highway to Hell and a waste of time.

I listened to this album whilst barreling down a literal highway, and while my destination wasn't “Hell,” it might as well have been.

music for 7th graders

👎👎👎

Did I rock out you ask? Of course I did. It would be rude not too.

Hell yeah

I mean, AC/DC!

When “Girls got Rhythm” is arguably the weakest track on the record, that tells you every song is a banger. I love this record. The pinnacle of the Bon Scot era. Bon had a very mischievous nature and smugness to his swagger that was a unique style of his own. This contrast with the Brian era is most evident in songs like “Touch too much”, “walk all over you” and “Night Prowler”. The most underrated song on the album and for the band in general may just be “Beating around the Bush”. Nothing less than a full boat of stars.

I was gonna hold back on this one based on the obvious top rating of the next album. But then I shot that down in flames and realized you really have to treat AC/DC in two chapters: the Bon era and the Brian era. And when you do that, this powerhouse album shows the band firing on all cylinders at the height of Bon’s time. Let there be rock indeed!

To quibble that all their songs sound the same is useless because, that's almost the point!

Excellent album by an excellent band.

Great.

I grew up with AC/DC. They were not a huge favourite of mine, not as sophisticated as Deep Purple or some of the other bands I followed, but they were always on the ghetto blaster of the gang I ran with. A few years later I realised that there was much more to AC/DC than I had given credit for. I knew all the albums, at least up until Back in Black, but I had never really listened to the song construction, had mistaken simplicity for simple. Yes, AC/DC do one thing, but they do it incredibly well and the songs don't all sound the same. Highway to Hell may well be my favourite. Powerage runs it close but lacks Mutt Lange's wonderfully clear production. Back in Black is a classic but lack's Bon Scott's roguishness and presence. There is not a bad track on the album. "Highway to Hell", the song, captures everything that was great about AC/DC in the late '70s - the four to the floor kick drums and clear snare, the rounded open bass tone, Malcolm Young's deceptively simple open chord riffs, Angus's stabs over the top and his bluesy soloing, and Bon's winking lascivious growling - he's going to hell but hell ain't a bad place to be (as someone said...) "Girls got Rhythm", "Walk All Over You", "Touch Too Much", "Beating Round the Bush", "Shot down In Flames", I could list them all, all variations on a theme, but a great theme. This is Bon's album for me, and not just because it was his last. His sense of humour is all over the lyrics and he delivers them knowingly, with a smirk. As great as Back In Black is, it has always struck me as slightly odd how quickly after Bon's death it was completed. But perhaps he would have wanted that... Shazbot. Nanu Nanu!

Rock.

Que serait l'humanité sans AC/DC?

Écouter ça me fait regretter mon 4 étoiles pour salade hier. ÇA, c’est du vrai rock! Tellement efficace, les riff de guit sont infectieux. T’as envie de monter le son à 11! Touch too much, meilleur chanson. If you want blood, délicieux

This is a very silly album and I think it’s great.

Perfect for driving rig in traffic

Favorite songs: Shot Down in Flames, Walk All Over You, Girls Got Rhythm, If You Want Blood (You've Got It), Highway to Hell, Touch Too Much, Beating Around the Bush, Night Prowler Least favorite songs: if forced to pick, Get It Hot 5/5

YES

Wore out a cassette in the 80s with this!

Absolute classic

Two-word review: Fuck yeah!

Real ones

This is the 136th album I’m rating. I had a different project before this one but I messed up my settings so I had to make a new one, and the album was this. Adding to my Playlist - Highway to Hell, Girls got Rhythm, Walk All Over You, Touch too Much, Beating Around the Bush, Shot Down in Flames, Get it Hot, If You Want Blood, Love Hungry Man, and Night Prowler. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Highway to Hell - A classic rock song that never gets old that I guess I forgot to add. All in all I liked 10/10 songs. AC/DC is really really good. Others bands like Led Zeppelin disappointed after learning that they're really just singles bands but AC/DC is good all the way through.

This is more like it. Now, the big criticism can be summed up in this apocryphal story of a reporter asking Angus young how he responded to criticism they’d done the same album 13 times. Angus bristles and says ‘we’ve done 14 albums. ' And while that is not unfair, it doesn’t really grasp that that is what makes ac/dc great. An incredible consistency over 50 years. The band rocks. And rolls. Angus is one of the great rock guitarists. Malcolm is the metronome. As great as Phil Rudd is, ac/dc, like the Who and Metallica is driven, not by the drums, but by the rhythm guitar. Cliff young can’t be described as flashy, but solid. And Bon. He could scream, he could growl, he could plead. He could sing, man. All ac dc albums are 50 billion stars. Some are better than others. I’d have dirty deeds on this list rather than this one, because dirty deeds and jailbreak should be the national anthem and national song. I think it was Australian band frenzal rhomb who said we’d drink paint for acca Dacca. Fair dinkum we would. Here’s some more of my thoughts https://www.toppermost.co.uk/acdc/

Nice album, full of popular song

rocanrol

qué bandón che, ya no las hacen asi

classic AC/DC...... being tough, having women, 3 chords.

Excellent.

Before listening to this album, I'd never heard an AC/DC song I didn't like. But obviously there's some selection bias going on, since I was only familiar with their biggest hits. It turns out, they really are just that good. As soon as the guitars kick in, you can't help but smile. The rhythm section is the probably the best of any rock band ever. The energy on these songs is so infectious - it really feels like everybody involved was having a blast. And even though all their songs are basically the same, somehow it never gets old. With some albums on this list, I listen and then spend time deliberating over whether it deserves 4 stars or 5. I think this is my first 5 star album in a while, and it's made me realise that when I'm on the fence, the answer should always be 4. Because when you know, you know. Rock on

Just solid rock. Perfectly is what it's supposed to be.

Super fun, never heard any of the tracks besides the title. I had a great time working out to this.

I'm going for this over BIB as the ultimate AC/DC album. Monster singles, quality throughout and I think Bon gives them an edge that Brian, thoroughly nice chap, doesn't have. Also the last album where there's a trace of the blues roll of their early years.

Hell ya. This is it. Classic Aussie Rock

10

Got this on a Friday, and you just can’t be mad about AC/DC on a Friday.