T.N.T.

T.N.T. is an extremely important early work that shot AC/DC to stardom in Australia. This Australian original, different from the international album, is packed with several early anthems that would become the band’s signature. More polished than the debut, the frame of AC/DC-style rock and roll is clearly completed here. Led by the destructive power of the explosive-suggesting title track “T.N.T.,” the songs dash through on short, thick riffs and Bon Scott’s fearless delivery. Doing nothing difficult, they grip the listener with a groove that moves the body naturally and fist-raising sing-along choruses alone. That near-clean-handed simplicity is the band’s greatest weapon. While still keeping a roughness, AC/DC’s primal, universal strength — which would support their later huge success — is laid bare. It is a record on which Bon Scott’s charisma and the Young brothers’ riffs mesh in the finest form. Recording the moment the band grasped its essence, it is a historically crucial work.