Review Summary: An excellent album with some fantastic twin-guitar action, furious drumbeats, and a vocalist with songwriting talent and a voice that can melt metal!
After the success of the bands single,
"Baby, Please Don't Go" and the album in their homeland,
"High Voltage" (1975),
AC/DC returned once again to Albert Studios in Sydney to record their second album with George Young and Harry Vanda once again doing production.
"T.N.T." was a musical change from
AC/DC's first album which was more experimental and on the Glam Rock side of sound/style with various people playing Bass and Drum parts, This was when the band got their formula that made them get popular straightened, though would be perfected and more consistent on later albums. Not only this, but they had a set bassist and drummer in Mark Evans and Phil Rudd respectfully
This album combines tracks off of the two Australian releases, forming what would be their international debut to the world using
"T.N.T." as a structure for the tracklist (and initially, Rolling Stone was less than impressed to say the least.) That's a shame as this album is definitely among their greatest as said by most critics nowadays, and fans! Right off the bat, one notices this includes some of the most popular songs by the band such as the opener
"It's A Long Way To The Top" which is a song that's somewhat experimental and different from their usual, taking use of Scottish instrument, bagpipes in a rock song, played by Bon Scott which was revolutionary for the time and perfectly compliments Angus and Malcolm's incredible guitar work here. The production on this album is pretty raw but added to the "bad boy" play the boys would embrace. With clear emphasis given to the twin-guitar attack of the brothers, a clear to hear focus on bass, and Phil's drumming swinging, the production is great and you can appreciate every members contribution.
The guitar solo mimics the Bagpipe one in a creative way. Lyrically, the song encompasses Bon's witty street poet lyricism, being a song about the obstacles one faces being in a Rock band trying to become well known. Many musicians work in bad conditions, hostile audiences ("Getting Robbed, Getting Stoned/Getting beat up, broken boned/I tell you folks, its harder than it looks!), and a lot of badly paid gigs. ("Gettin' ripped off, underpaid/Gettin' sold, second-hand/That's how it goes, playin' in a band") This song also includes amazing vocal performance and rhyme scheme.
The next song is
"Rock 'n' Roll Singer" which is, surprisingly, a lesser known song among their discography which is quite unfair as it has one of the greatest drumbeats alongside some absolutely stellar riff work by the Young's. Bon once again showcases his skilled lyricism here through use of storytelling in his lyrics, the song telling the story of a man with big dreams preparing for the rock lifestyle and joining a band, basically Bon encapsulating his life within these first two songs and defiantly telling the moral majority to "Stick to your moral standards/'Cause it's all a dirty lie!" in a unique spoken bridge which I personally wish the band did more with their songs. Showcasing his wordplay skills Bon jokingly in a clever way uses incorrect grammar following the line about "Sticking all the *** they teach in school" with "'Cause I ain't No Fool" and "I'm gonna be a rock 'n' roll/ A rock 'n' roll star/Yes I are!".
So far the A-Side is nothing short of electrifying and filled with all-time classics, this follows suite with
"The Jack", which smartly disguises the true meaning using a metaphor of a card game using the Jack card as a metaphor for the disease. ("But how was I to know/That she'd been shuffled before?/Said she'd never had a royal flush/But I should have known/That all the cards were comin'/From the bottom of the pack) The composition is a blues rock song, which is something the Young's were incredible at playing, featuring crisp, loud 'n proud guitar rhythm from Malcolm and a slower solo of electrifying blues from Angus.
The final song on this side is
"Live Wire", which opens with some great bass playing by Mark Evans, extra crisp and some short guitar strums setting the sexually-suggestive slightly sleazy mood of the song leading into the main melody which in itself is slightly experimental and unconventional for the band. The usual chords they use are E, A, D, and G but this uses the A and E chord, switching to a B major, then continuing to the G major, back to B major, and then to G major and an F#5.
"T.N.T" follows with its proto-punk crunch of a riff, tribal drumbeat, and war chants that echo with rebellious vibes is about a man’s tale of a day of his life, beginning in the sunset on the News, starting fights, being wanted, and not being messed with by citizens. While
"Can I Sit Next To You Girl" was a needed remake of the bands first single recorded originally with Dave Evans, this song screams pure sleaze and dirty Rock n Roll, with an incredible vocal performance by Bon and showing off his lower vocals.
Side B continues with
"Little Lover" slowing down the fast pace with a decent enough blues number, albeit forgettable, and the only terrible song
"She's Got Balls." This song has a funny story behind it. Bon's wife at the time, Irene asked him to write a song for her and Bon in response, wrote this. She ended up splitting from him afterwards with a divorce despite the lyrics being mostly appreciative and respectful though in what's meant to be a funny way, but is ruined with a barely changing melody, with a boring, dull, repeated guitar strum that serves as the main focal point, with a barely changing beat and surprisingly horribly written lyrics. Bon also strains on his vocals here a lot and the rhyme scheme is very awkward.
The electrifying
"High Voltage" functions as a title track and is one of their most renowned and revered tracks, and one of their most upbeat. Overall it is an amazing album that got slept on by Rolling Stone who very obviously have terrible takes most of the time and have warmed up to the album alongside other critics since it's release, even going far as naming it one of the best band debuts of all time, and garnering it much more needed respect, as this album is GREAT and a must-hear in their discography and for any hard rock fans.
Rating: 4/5
