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**AC/DC - High Voltage**
★★★★☆

Before Angus Young's schoolboy uniform became rock's most recognizable stage costume, before "Highway to Hell" soundtracked a million Friday nights, and long before they conquered stadiums worldwide, AC/DC were just another bunch of Australian hard rockers trying to make their mark. But even in those embryonic days, captured on their 1975 debut *High Voltage*, the seeds of their eventual world domination were already sprouting through the red dirt of their homeland.

The album emerged from the fertile Australian pub rock scene that had been brewing throughout the early '70s, where bands cut their teeth in beer-soaked venues filled with punters who demanded nothing but the hardest, most direct rock 'n' roll imaginable. Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young had formed AC/DC in Sydney in 1973, recruiting the powerhouse vocalist Dave Evans before eventually settling on the whisky-gargled tones of Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, a wild man who'd already lived several lifetimes worth of rock 'n' roll excess.

Recorded at Albert Studios in Sydney, *High Voltage* was produced by Harry Vanda and George Young – the latter being the elder Young brother who'd found fame with The Easybeats. This family connection proved crucial, as George understood implicitly what his younger siblings were trying to achieve: the purest distillation of rock 'n' roll, stripped of pretension and delivered with the force of a sledgehammer to the solar plexus.

Musically, AC/DC were already operating in their own universe. While their contemporaries were exploring prog rock's labyrinthine complexities or glam's theatrical excess, the Young brothers had locked onto something far more primal. This was blues-based hard rock reduced to its essential elements – thunderous riffs, pounding rhythms, and an attitude that suggested they'd rather die than compromise. Malcolm's rhythm guitar work provided an immovable foundation, while Angus's lead lines cut through the mix like a rusty blade. Behind them, bassist Mark Evans and drummer Phil Rudd (who wouldn't join until later recordings) created a rhythm section that hit like a freight train.

The album's opening salvo, "Baby, Please Don't Go," announced their intentions with typical AC/DC directness. Their take on the Big Joe Williams standard transformed it into something altogether more menacing, with Bon Scott's vocals dripping with barely contained lust and Angus's guitar work adding a distinctly antipodean swagger. "She's Got Balls" followed suit, a strutting celebration of feminine power that showcased Scott's gift for turning potentially crude material into something approaching poetry.

But it's "T.N.T." that stands as the album's undisputable masterpiece, a three-minute explosion of pure rock 'n' roll joy that would become one of their most enduring anthems. The song's opening riff – a simple but devastatingly effective sequence that seemed to emerge fully formed from the ether – demonstrated Malcolm Young's genius for creating hooks that burrowed into your brain and refused to leave. Scott's lyrics, meanwhile, painted him as a walking stick of dynamite, ready to explode at any moment. It was autobiography disguised as metaphor, and it was absolutely perfect.

"The Jack" pushed boundaries with its barely disguised double entendres about venereal disease, while "Little Lover" and "Stick Around" showcased the band's ability to inject genuine emotion into their hard rock framework. Throughout, the production remained refreshingly unfussy, capturing the band's live energy without drowning it in studio trickery.

Of course, this original Australian release of *High Voltage* differs significantly from the international version that would follow in 1976, which combined tracks from this album with their follow-up *T.N.T.* But this original incarnation remains fascinating as a snapshot of a band already operating at full power, despite being barely two years into their existence.

Nearly five decades later, *High Voltage* stands as both historical document and timeless rock statement. While AC/DC would go on to achieve massive commercial success and critical acclaim, there's something uniquely thrilling about hearing them in these early stages – raw, hungry, and absolutely convinced of their own righteousness. The album's influence can be heard in countless hard rock and metal bands who followed, all trying to capture that same lightning-in-a-bottle combination of simplicity and power.

In an era of increasing musical complexity, AC/DC proved that sometimes the most revolutionary