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High Voltage

by AC/DC

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In 1976, when the Eagles, Peter Frampton, and Heart ruled the rock airwaves, along came five scruffy young men (the lead guitarist was maybe all of 18 and dressed in a schoolboy's uniform) from Australia playing some of the rowdiest, hardest, dirtiest rock of all time. Screaming "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)," singer Bon Scott teased like a braggart. Sensing the rock community's growing dissatisfaction with bloated, epic-scaled bands, AC/DC were indeed a high-voltage act: their drummer nailed the beat with fury, their bluesy guitar riffs mutated into something metallic and sharp-edged, and Scott's vocals took the shrillness of early Robert Plant to a leaner and meaner place. "Live Wire" is one of the most electrifying hard rock songs imaginable, "High Voltage" and "TNT" are the musical equivalent of touching exposed nerves with a rusty fork, and "Jack" proves that white rock dudes can, contrary to popular belief, get down. Whew! --Lorry Fleming