AC/DC PART ONE: HIGH VOLTAGE

Like most fans of Rock & Roll they like the stuff that get's played in heavy rotation on the Classic Rock stations. Also, my generation and the one before grew up on good old fashion 60's and 70's Rock & Roll. Few bands cross the same generational gap as AC/DC did. I mean I was not an immediate fan but I did like their songs. I remember in High School how the Back in Black album to listen to at all the parties and everywhere we hung out. I personally went through two tape copies and I still have my record. I am not sure how many times I played that album, but I know for a fact that I wore the groves off just about every song on the album.

In High School they became popular for a lot of people. They were touring for Razor's Edge and I saw the show I think twice and enjoyed for what is was worth, but I decided to look for the early stuff. According to my friends, Bon Scott was the singer and the best singer. Since he died there was no comparison with Brian Johnson. I decided to go backwards from Back in Black to the start of their career. This move was by accident and it was great accident to be in.

The accident was my fault and I take all the blame. I was record shopping one day at a tag sale and I asked a guy selling crap if he had records. He motioned me to his garage. He told me to hold one one second while he grabs a few. If I like what he has, he told me he had more. He came out with Cream, Deep Purple, Rush, Pink Floyd and AC/DC. He told me also that he had 200 albums and he would sell them to me for about $40.00. It was a steal. I told him I will give you the twenty now and I will be back to give him the other twenty. I also recruited my friend to help me get them home. When I handed him the other twenty he gave me all 200 records. I kept my mouth shut because even though he played them, he took real good care of them.

When I got them home I went through all of them to see what I had. There was a lot of cool ones, but one thing I did notice was the fact that all his AC/DC albums pre-dated Back in Black. I went back to ask him the question where was the rest of the AC/DC and he told me that he hated anything after Bon Scott died and the true classic albums are the ones I should listen to. He turned out to be 100% right.

I took all the AC/DC and put them near my turntable. I had no idea at the time what these albums were, let alone if these were popular as much as the later stuff. I decided to throw one on the turntable and see if was interesting. I put on my headphones and closed my eyes. The first record I put on was High Voltage. I was shaken at the foundations running around the turn table and playing air guitar. This stuff rocked. At some points it sounded better then what I heard on the radio. Every song was a winner. It had great riff's and it also had wonderful singing by Bon Scott. This stuff was addicting. From the first song "It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll)." to "T.N.T." to the classic "She Got Balls" every song was a rocker. I was very impressed by what I heard. I went on to all the albums he had by AC/DC which was five and each was great and unique as the last one I put on.

After finishing the albums I finally realized that I came across something better then what was being played on the radio. I kept going back to High Voltage and listening how great it really was. Even now when I turn my turntable on or when I have the CD in the car I crank it up. High Voltage is amazing. I am not sure why the album is more and more or even mentioned in the same breath as Back In Black, but I do know this album rocks and must be heard. Enjoy and if you do have it... CRANK IT UP!!!!