| 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 |
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