Track Listing

1. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation
2. Down Payment Blues
3. Gimme A Bullet
4. Riff Raff
5. Sin City
6. What's Next To The Moon
7. Gone Shootin'
8. Up To My Neck In You
9. Kicked In The Teeth

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2233 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
AC/DC's fourth album is the lull after the triumph of Let There Be Rock and before the mighty peaks of If You Want Blood You've Got It and Highway To Hell. Powerage contains all the familiar AC/DC trademarks: Bon Scott's rather less than Yeatsian lyrical vision ("Rock & Roll Damnation", "Up To My Neck In You"), Angus Young's brilliantly minimal guitar playing, a rhythm section as relentless and efficient as an infantry regiment, and the astute production of former Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young. However, it lacks a truly transcendent moment, a "Whole lotta Rosie" or a "TNT". Of course, even an average AC/DC album is still an eloquent lesson in the fundamentals of rock & roll, and by that token Powerage is still capable of blowing most opposition out of the water. Bon Scott's exultant declaration of working-class solidarity, "Riff raff", is worth six Bon Jovi albums on its own. --Andrew Mueller

CD Description
With AC/DC's third release, POWERAGE, the band was dispensing even heftier ammo from their hook-laden cartridge belt. With the rock-steady rhythm section pounding out 4/4 beats asif it were overtaking a small country, guitarists (and brothers) Angus and Malcolm Young trade towering riffs that belie their pint-sized physical stature. The real change on POWERAGE is a noted improvement in songwriting skill. The six-minute "Down Payment Blues" actually has a sense of restraint and building tension, as opposed to the band's usual hit-the-ground running approach.
"Sin City", an ode to Las Vegas, features the band's most colourful lyrics (that don't haveto do with bathroom humour, that is) and again displays a dynamic variety not previously heard from the Aussie rockers.The more familiar pounders, "Rock 'n Roll Damnation", "RiffRaff", and "What's Next to the Moon" are tighter, focused bursts of energy that point towards the total mastery of the form the band would display on its next release, HIGHWAY TO HELL.

Customer Reviews

ALL -TIME CLASSIC
In truth, very few albums deserve 5 stars (which seem to get thrown around the reviews section like confetti at times), but with 'Powerage', AC/DC delivered a bonafide classic. Everything seemed to come together on this record - the songs, the lyrics, the riffs, and not a filler in sight. The superb production job of Vanda and Young completes this gem. Not only is this the greatest AC/DC album, but it's quite simply, it's one of the best Hard Rock records ever made. It's very difficult to pick highlights, but 'Down Payment Blues' has always been my favourite, closely followed by 'Gimme A Bullet'. Angus Young was at the top of his game at this time (1978), as was the still much missed Bon Scott (has there ever been a more charismatic frontman?) This, and the same years' live 'If You Want Blood...' are the band's 5 star masterpieces. Many AC/DC retrospectives claim 'Highway to Hell' is the best, but good as that is, it fails to meet the standard of 'Powerage' due to a few fillers and Mutt Lange's too polished production.
I have to complete this review with a complaint directed at Sony - other reviews have mentioned the absence of 'Cold Hearted Man'(on the original UK/European version of the LP). This track is only available on download from connection to the official website via this CD. Fans don't need this gimmick, what they do need however, and deserve, is this essential track included on the CD where it belongs. Furthermore, the digipack format is not welcome at all, it is prone to fingerprints, damage and dust. Sony and all other companies, please take note!

This is real Rock and Roll.....trust me.
Powerage is probably their best album. Its just got something thats hard to describe, a kind of mean gritty attitude but always looking forward. I think its got something to do with the late Bon Scotts outlook on life, Born to Lose-Live to Win and even if you can't win at least try to have fun on the way! I think Powerage, of all Bon Scotts AC/DC albums, gets the message across on this album the best. Oh and 'Downpayment Blues' is THE best AC/DC song ever....so now you know.

The most under-rated album of all time
AC/DC's finest hour. Not to be confused with the insipid soft rock of Highway to Hell or the comical heavy metal cliches of the post-Bon Scott era, Powerage is a musical tour de force. Raw, powerful and bluesy, Powerage captures Bon Scott's vocals at their sleaziest, and Angus Young's guitar at its most visceral. Powerage has been dismissed by heavy metal reviewers because it differs so far from what they expect from AC/DC, and by almost everyone else for the very reason that it is an AC/DC album. I have been listening to this album for 15 years and its impact has yet to lesson. Puts today's grunge and post-grunge wannabees to shame. Stunning.