| High Voltage | ||||
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| Studio album by AC/DC | ||||
| Released | 17 February 1975 | |||
| Recorded | November 1974 at Albert Studios, Sydney, Australia | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock, rock and roll, glam rock | |||
| Length | 39:51 | |||
| Label | Albert | |||
| Producer | Harry Vanda, George Young | |||
| AC/DC chronology | ||||
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| Singles from High Voltage | ||||
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High Voltage is the debut studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 17 February 1975. Six of the album's eight songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. "Soul Stripper" was written by Young & Young, and "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a cover version of a Big Joe Williams song. The album was produced by Vanda & Young at the Albert Studios in Sydney. George is the older brother of Angus and Malcolm, he also played bass guitar for AC/DC.
It was originally released on Albert Productions in Australia, and has never been reissued by another label in this format. The international version title High Voltage, has a different track listing and cover art, was issued on Atlantic Records in 1976.
Contents |
AC/DC was still developing its sound when High Voltage was recorded in November 1974, and Bon Scott and the Young brothers (Angus and Malcolm) were backed by a different rhythm section than the Mark Evans/Phil Rudd combination featured on their next three full-length studio recordings. In Clinton Walker's biography of Scott, Rob Bailey claims he and Peter Clack played on the album[1], but it doesn't make it clear if they played on it all, or on certain tracks. Clack and Bailey were live members of AC/DC at the time. According to Murray Engleheart's book AC/DC: Maximum Rock N Roll, bass duties were shared by Malcolm and older brother George, who also played live with the band infrequently, as well as Bailey. George may have also played some drums, along with Tony Currenti. Peter Clack and John Proud played on one track each. Malcolm and Angus trade-off lead guitar parts on "Soul Stripper" and "Show Business" and Malcolm plays the solo on "Little Lover".[2] George Young and Harry Vanda produced the album, which was recorded in 10 days in between gigs at Albert Studios in Sydney. The title and artwork were the suggestion of Chris Gilbey of Albert Productions.[2]
High Voltage led to the first of many AC/DC appearances on Australia's Countdown music program. The band's earliest appearances included a now-legendary live performance of "Baby, Please Don't Go" (featuring Scott dressed as a blonde schoolgirl) and a filmed performance of "Show Business."[3]
Released in May 1976, and featuring a different cover, the international version of High Voltage was a compilation of the original Australian edition and its follow-up, the Australia-only T.N.T. album. Despite its title, the second High Voltage features only two tracks from the original: "She's Got Balls" and "Little Lover", with a majority of 7 songs coming from T.N.T.
All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott, except where noted.
Most of the songs on this version of High Voltage were not released outside Australia until 1984, when "Baby, Please Don't Go", "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me", "Soul Stripper", and "Show Business" were included on the '74 Jailbreak EP, released in the United States, Canada, and Japan in October 1984. "Stick Around" and "Love Song" were later released on the compilation Backtracks on 10 November 2009. "Show Business" also appeared as the B-side on the American promo-only "Jailbreak" single. It has evolved from an older song called "Sunset Strip", written by Malcolm Young and the band's original singer Dave Evans, revamped for the album with new lyrics by Bon Scott.
"Love Song" evolved from an unrecorded song called "Fell In Love", also written by Malcolm Young and Evans. This earlier version of the song had different lyrics, and the finished lyrics as heard on the album were added by Scott. "Love Song" was released as the album's first single (under the title "Love Song (O Jene)") and was backed with "Baby Please Don't Go", but radio preferred the flip. "Stick Around" was about Scott's inability to hold onto a lover for more than one night.
"She's Got Balls" was written about Scott's ex-wife Irene. It was the first AC/DC song for which he wrote lyrics, originally ad-libbed during his first live performance with them. "Little Lover" came from an older song that Malcolm Young had first composed when he was 14. Scott's lyrics are ambiguous, but he later claimed they were about Angus.[2]
| Chart (1975) | Peak Position |
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| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 7 |
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