High Voltage

High Voltage is a record on which AC/DC, centered on early songs made in Australia, presented their rock and roll to an international audience. Songs selected from the Australian debut and T.N.T. served as a first calling card spreading the band’s appeal to the world. The guitars of Malcolm and Angus Young mesh short riffs thickly, and Bon Scott’s voice carries humor and danger at once. From the openness of the opening epic “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)” and the explosive “T.N.T.” to the sticky blues of “The Jack” and the declarative lift of the title track “High Voltage,” the songs need no complexity, while cuts like “Live Wire” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Singer” vividly convey early AC/DC’s momentum. It is striking that such a strong impression can be left by the raw feel of the playing and the members’ powerful character alone. The archetype of unadorned, physical rock and roll is already completed here. Serving as AC/DC’s radiant international starting point on the way to worldwide success, it is a historically important record.