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, All Music Guide
Ernie Welch (Liner Notes), Cliff Williams (Bass), Angus Young (Producer), Jim Houghton (Original Photography), Vanda (Producer), George Young (Producer), Malcolm Young (Producer), Jim Houghton (Cover Photo), George Marino (Digital Remastering), Bon Scott (Vocals), Jim Houghton (Original Cover Photography), Janet Macoska (Photography), Mark Opitz (Engineer), Jeffrey Mayer (Photography), Angus Young (Guitar), UE Nastasi (Digital Assembly), Ross Halfin (Photography), Paul Natkin (Photography), George Marino (Remastering), Malcolm Young (Guitar), Phil Rudd (Drums), Al Quaglieri (Mastering Supervisor), George Marino (Mastering), AJ Pontsios (Photography), Bob Defrin (Art Direction), Brad Elterman (Photography), Jim Houghton (Photography), Denis O'Regan (Photography), Mike Fraser (Mastering Supervisor), Harry Vanda (Producer)
It was originally released on Atlantic Records, and reached #133 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in the US, eventually going platinum there. Powerage was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.
Powerage is the first AC/DC album to be released nearly simultaneously in both Australian and international markets, and the first to use just one cover image for both. It was also the first to feature the same track listing on all versions, with the exception of the European vinyl edition. This version included "Cold Hearted Man", a song that was not previously released on any other AC/DC album until 2009's AC/DC Backtracks box set, but which became more widely available through the box set of Bon Scott-era vinylLP albums in 1987, the first reissue of a set first released in 1981. Within the 1987 box set, the song was packaged on a single sided 12" single. In some territories, Powerage omitted "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation".
"Gone Shootin'" was featured in the movie Beavis and Butt-head Do America. In 2007, a studio version of the song, with Brian Johnson on vocals, was included on the second disc of Plug Me In. The footage was taken from a recording session in 1996 at London's VH1 Studios.
Some cassette copies, such as the original Canadian issue, had an alternate track listing. For example, "Sin City" was the first song on side 1, while "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" was the first song on side 2. All other tracks appear in the order of the original Australian/US release.
Initial editions of the European LP release featured a different mix of the album. It had a 'harder' sound than the later version, with small variations in vocals and/or guitar tracks, and occasionally extra sections and longer or shorter fades. This version omitted "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" from the tracklist. The first cassette issue of the album also features this mix.
The album was later remixed for the American market, with the new mix replacing the original European mix, and becoming the global standard. This mix is still used on all AC/DC Powerage CD releases today.
