Powerage
was a first in the sense that it debuted bassist
Cliff Williams
, but it really is more of a final curtain to the band's early years. It would be the last produced by
Vanda & Young
, the legendary Australian production team who also helmed hits by
the Easybeats
, and it was the last before
AC/DC
became superstars. As such, it's perhaps the most overlooked of their '70s records, also because, frankly, it is the most uneven of them. Not that it's a bad record -- far from it, actually. There are a few genuine classics here, most notably
"Down Payment Blues"
and
"Up to My Neck in You,"
and there's a real appeal in how
Bon Scott
's gutter poems of excess are reaching a mythic level; there's a real sense that he truly does believe that
rock & roll
leads straight to hell on
"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation."
But overall, the record is just a bit too wobbly, one where the parts don't add up to a record as hard and addictive as before -- but there's still plenty worth hearing here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine