Highway to Hell (album)
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| Studio album by AC/DC | |||||
| Released | 27 July 1979 | ||||
| Recorded | February–April 1979 | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 41:42 | ||||
| Label | Albert Atlantic |
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| Producer | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | ||||
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| AC/DC chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
Australian cover
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Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in July 1979. It is also AC/DC's fifth international studio album. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. It was the last album featuring Bon Scott, who died early the following year from over consumption of alcohol.
It was originally released by Albert Productions, who licensed the album to Atlantic Records for release outside of Australia, and was then re-released by Epic Records in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series. On May 25th 2006, Highway To Hell was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA.[1] In 2003, the album was ranked number 199 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[2]
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Overview
Highway to Hell is the last AC/DC album recorded with lead vocalist Bon Scott before his death in February 1980. The final words spoken by Scott on the album are "Shazbot, na-nu na-nu," phrases used on the then-popular American sitcom, Mork and Mindy, by lead character Mork (a visiting extraterrestrial played by Robin Williams).
Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album not produced by Harry Vanda and George Young. Pre-production of the album began in January 1979 with demos cut at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, where they met the intended producer, Eddie Kramer. Kramer was fired before a single track had been completed, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange was brought in to replace him. The change proved to be fortuitous, with Lange also producing the band's biggest sellers, Back in Black and For Those About to Rock. The album was recorded during sessions in February 1979 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida and March-April at Roundhouse Studios in London, England.
In Australia, Highway to Hell was released with a slightly different album cover, featuring flames and a drawing of a bass guitar neck superimposed over the same group photo used on the international cover. Additionally, the East German release had different and much plainer designs on the front and back, apparently because the authorities were not happy with the sleeve as released elsewhere.
Controversy
In June 1985, a highly publicized murder case began revolving around Richard Ramírez, who was responsible for several brutal killings in Los Angeles. Nicknamed the "Night Stalker," Ramírez was a fan of AC/DC, particularly the song "Night Prowler." Police also claimed that Ramirez was wearing an AC/DC shirt and left an AC/DC hat at one of his crime scenes. During the trial, Ramírez often muttered "Hail Satan" and showed off the pentagram carved into his palm. This brought extremely bad publicity on AC/DC whose concerts and albums were campaigned against by parents of the Los Angeles area.[3] On VH1's Behind the Music on AC/DC, the band apparently claimed that while the song had was given a murderous connotation by Ramírez, it is supposedly about a boy sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom at night.
Track listing
All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
- "Highway to Hell" – 3:28
- "Girls Got Rhythm" – 3:23
- "Walk All Over You" – 5:10
- "Touch Too Much" – 4:27
- "Beating Around the Bush" – 3:56
- "Shot Down in Flames" – 3:22
- "Get It Hot" – 2:34
- "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" – 4:37
- "Love Hungry Man" – 4:17
- "Night Prowler" – 6:27
Personnel
- Bon Scott – lead vocals
- Angus Young – lead guitar
- Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Cliff Williams – bass, backing vocals
- Phil Rudd – drums
- Robert John "Mutt" Lange – producer
- Mark Dearnley – engineer
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
- 1979 Pop Albums No. 17
Billboard (North America) - singles
- 1979 Highway To Hell Pop Singles No. 2
- 1992 Highway To Hell (Live) Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 11
References
External links
- Lyrics on AC/DC's official website
- Highway to Hell at MusicBrainz
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