| Released | 05 May 1978 |
|---|---|
| Label | Atlantic |
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal |
| Duration | 39:47 |
My preference for Bon Scott era AC/DC isn’t reflected in my record collection, and this is the only disc I have featuring the band’s original front man.
Although partial to AC/DC in my teens, I remember finding the Aussie combo’s output a bit headache-inducing in my twenties. Now in my drooling dotage, I’d be more inclined to revisit 1979’s Highway to Hell (which I have on CD) than this cut from the previous year, but find it amounts to more than a head banging racket.
Side Two’s opener, Sin City, is the album’s AC/DC classic, and I’m more familiar with Riff Raff, the first side’s closer, from the live version on If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It, also released in 1978.
My preference is for the numbers — including Sin City — where the band doesn’t feel obliged to go at it hammer and tongs, and instead is like a harder-edged version of the Stones.
Despite its title, Rock’n’Roll Damnation, stays the right side of restraint, while Down Payment Blues builds pleasingly on its bass line. AC/DC also resists thrashing it out on Gimme a Bullet, What’s Next to the Moon and Gone Shootin’, while the album’s balance comprising Up to My Neck in You and Kicked In the Teeth might have me reaching for the paracetamol.