Australian edition...


1977 brought a lot of into focus for the boys from down under. America was the nut to crack and AC/DC were chomping at the bit... Let There Be Rock was again released in Australia first. It had different cover art and a black gatefold sleeve. The track listing was slightly different as well. ‘Crabsody in Blue’ a companion piece as it were to ‘The Jack.’

Yet when the album was released in the states with completely different artwork ‘Problem Child’ had replaced ‘Crabsody…’ (Another alternate version). Yes this album was released in North America, finally.

The album itself is a testament to high energy guitar driven rock n roll. Malcolm had noticed that some of the bands in the States were opting for longer guitar driven passages. So for this album the band decided to make a statement, up front raw and loud. The tandem of Vanda & Young continued to turn the knobs. While recording the guitar amps were placed within reach of the drum mics so the guitar would bleed through into everything. I believe they accomplished their mission.

‘Bad Boy Boogie,’ ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be,’ ‘Dog Eat Dog’ just tear it up right out of the box. However it seems to me that ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ and the title cut are in race for the albums most enduring track. Personally I fall in with the title cut.

‘Problem Child’ had been lifted from DDDDC, yet often ‘Go Down’ along with ‘Overdose’ gets lost in the equation. It should be mentioned that both tracks are deserving in their own right.

With this release finally came what the boys had been working so hard for, their first American tour. Playing with acts like Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, Styx and even co-headlining with Cheap Trick, UFO. They didn’t disappoint. They played the Old Waldorf in San Francisco and blew the house down. All through out the tour pockets of support continued to develop.

On a personal note this was the very first AC/DC album I’d ever purchased. Bought it at Sears for $5.99 in 1980 and it preceded a 30 year love affair with this band. I've never actually owned the Australian version, I saw it once and TNT was right next to it. I bought TNT, if I'd realized how hard it would've been to find again I would've picked up the Australian LTBR. By the way this is still missing in my collection.....

World Wide Version, except Australia

A couple of notes, The Australian version of LTBR with the black cover have been the hardest thing to track down. I’m unsure why you can find copies of TNT rather easily, even the DDDDC Australian, but LTBR with black cover seems to be a bit difficult to obtain. ‘Go Down’ was original released with a fadeout ending, but the re-master allows the song to end naturally.

Not an album chock full of ‘hits’ per se but an album full of classic AC/DC songs.

What a CLASSIC AC/DC album!!!! Not a bad song in sight!!!!! The album just rips from Bon's ode to oral sex (go down) to Bon's ode to sex with plus size women. Dang, Bon rules!!!!! This album is just yet another statement as to why AC/DC rules and should have been much bigger in the US at the time. It also shows you the mentality of the record companies in the US at the time - Songs about BJ's are OK, songs about pubic lice are not OK.

This is yet another MUST HAVE in the AC/DC discography!

This is one of the greatest metal albums in history, on this album takes no prisoners and Bon sings like a man possessed, like a modern day Robert Johnson who has a hellhound on his trail but he is going to have a good time before they catch with him.

The band are tight and powerful, out punking the punks and showing the old guard metal bands there is no contender for the rock n roll glory.

Excellent album and most of the songs on this album made their set list and some of the songs have never left it.

Heeeeere we go. LET THERE BE ROCK was the one that started it all for me. Not only is it a fantastic album in and of itself, it is also a very special album to me personally, as it was the very first rock album (tape) I ever owned.

As I mentioned in my DIRTY DEEDS entry, I was in sixth grade in 1981 and I was just starting to explore "rock" music, I really didn't know one band from another yet. However, I noticed that some kids in my class (who obviously had cool older brothers/sisters) were all way into AC/DC. I may have heard a track or two from them bringing their records into school but for the most part I knew next to nothing of the band until that Christmas season, when I told my younger brother "I want an AC/DC tape."

My grandmother took him to K-Mart to go Christmas shopping for the family, and bless my brother's heart, he actually listened, so under the tree that year I found LET THERE BE ROCK. (Years later my brother would tell me that he chose that particular tape over the then-current BACK IN BLACK and/or the then-new American release of DIRTY DEEDS for one very important reason: LET THERE BE ROCK was a "Super Saver Series" cassette and therefore was cheaper than the other AC/DC titles on the rack. Haha.)

So anyway, as the first (and for quite a while, only) tape I owned, I played the living HELL out of LET THERE BE ROCK for weeks and months on end. I didn't know any of the songs when I first loaded it into our old piece of crap $25 K-Mart tape recorder, but before long I knew the lyrics backwards and forwards, upside down and sideways. (However, being only 11 years old, it would be a while before I truly understood what Bon was talkin' about in the song "Go Down" -- haha!) I learned to play a bad-ass tennis racket air guitar to such classics as "Whole Lotta Rosie," "Problem Child," and the title track. It has always been one of my favorite albums ever since, and I basically played that tape until it would play no more. One day in the late 80s I slid it into the stereo for the billionth time, but instead of the powerful opening riffage of "Go Down," I heard "*SQUEEEEEEEEEK SQUAAAAAAWK SQUEEEEEAL (*snap*)" -- Yep, I'd killed it!!! Naturally I did what any self respecting rocker would do, I went right to the store and bought another copy!!

When I got my first CD player in the early 90s, a CD upgrade of LET THERE BE ROCK was one of my first CD purchases too. At this point I think I want a copy of that album buried with me.

Many other AC/DC tapes, records, and eventually CDs followed, but this was the one that "broke my cherry" so to speak and therefore it will always be a very special album to me... good grief, was that really almost (*gulp*) 30 YEARS AGO already??

I dare anyone to say anything bad about this album. Millions of rockers grew up to this album and tells many a story of their teenage years. Simply legendary!

For some reason I didn't pick up this album for a long time. Maybe the lack of a big single kept me away. I find it to be a good album with a couple great songs but I don't listen to it as much as some.

Wow I've been slacking on this thread, I've had some stuff been going on so I really haven't had time to sit and read everything and comment, but I have some time now so here we go.

Dirty Deeds is an awesome album. All the way through it kicks your butt. I hear people all the time though saying how they hate the title track, but I'm totally the opposite. I could listen to that song non stop. It never got old to me.

The first time I heard Big Balls was at a wrestling show. one of the wrestlers name Balls Mahoney would come out to that song and when I heard the lyrics I thought it was funny. The whole croud would sing the "Biggest Balls Of Them All" part when the guy was in the ring. I always liked AC/DC but never had that album at that point and that was probably back in '97 or so.

Let There Be Rock I actually just got recently. The front cover confused me because I thought it was just a live album. I have the bonfire boxset and it has the same cover as the live soundtrack for the movie. So I thought it was just that until my friend told me it was actually a album and he loved the guitar sound on it. I picked it up and I wasn't as crazy about it as I was with the previous albums.

I would really like to track down some of these australian versions. I picked up TNT a few years ago but thats the only one I have. The artwork though is pretty rough and I'm surprised they actually liked them. The only one thats halfway decent is High Voltage.

Awesome, awesome, AWESOME album! Bad Boy Boogie is one of my all time favorite AC/DC songs. In fact, the whole album is just killer. One of my favorite AC/DC discs.

Let There Be Rock is one missing from my collection. Looks like I've been missing out.

One of the best albums of all time IMO and so freakin' raw, I love this album from start to finish and it's tied for #1 with two others for my fave AC/DC albums. I have both versions.

Quick questions, was this the first appearance of the now familiar logo? And who designed it?

Had a good friend as a kid who owned the Aussie version of "Dirty Deeds". Wasn't really a big deal to me when it was put out here in 81'.

Let There Be Rock is one of my favorite AC/DC albums. The cover is so subtle in depicting the dynamics of the band members. CLASSIC

Powerage was the last Bon era album I purchased to complete my collection. It’s perhaps a sense of irony then that I believe this IS the BEST Bon era album. I always pull this album first over the other 70’s era material. Powerage is ballsy, gritty, muddy and loud.

The collection of songs on this record I find to be the most consistent throughout. Even the omitted song, Cold Hearted Man, is a classic. Somehow the song writing seems slightly more
‘mature’, perhaps it’s the arranging. All of AC/DC’s material at this time was tested by big brother George on the piano to make sure the songs were up to snuff.

Many lost gems have nestled themselves here for your perusal. The devoted fan already is aware of this, but to the casual listener he/she may not find ‘the hits’ as say Highway to Hell or High Voltage.

From the straight rock n roll of Rock N Roll Damnation to the bluesy riffage of Gone Shootin this disc is a rock n roll paradise. ‘Sin City,’ ‘Down Payment Blues’ rock the house, but it’s
tracks like Riff Raff, Up to My Neck in You, and the unconventional ‘What’s Next to the Moon’ that just demand to be played at ear splitting volume.

I would be amiss if I failed to mention Gimme a Bullet or Kicked in the Teeth, with those tracks the assault is done. Your ears are bleeding and in need of medical attention.

What’s Next to the Moon is such oddly structured track, sorta like Back in Black. AC/DC don’t usually break songs into pieces but …Moon reminds me of the proverbial caged animal, desiring to break out. Sin City is perhaps the albums most remembered tune, yet it doesn’t seem to get the love that tracks on other discs receive. (Do we really need to hear The Jack or Whole Lotta Rosie AGAIN??)

Be that as it may, this was the album that AC/DC toured and toured behind. With sales of over 250,000 (which more than doubled High Voltage and Let There be Rock at the time) AC/DC established themselves as legitimate contenders. Playing with Aerosmith, Thin
Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet, Ted Nugent and many others, people were taking notice.

For an unprecedented third time they play at Bill Grahams Day on the Green in Oakland, California. Blowing the walls apart in front of 60,000 people, a mark was left and not easily forgotten. Their infamous appearance on Saturday Night Special with the boys playing Sin City, another song was filmed but not shown.

During the Euro jaunt AC/DC appeared on Rock Goes to College in the U.K. which gave Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson his first sight of the band.

As far as Atlantic goes on this release, the first releases in Europe didn’t have Rock n Roll Damnation. Atlantic always looking for that Hit Single, asked the lads to record it so it could be added. Ironically it charted and peaked at 24 on the UK chart. So they finally got what they wanted, but Powerage like its predecessors came in various versions.

The original UK & European records had different track listings; in addition they had another classic track in Cold Hearted Man. For whatever reason Cold Hearted Man was left off the American and Australian releases. In addition to the different track listing the original European vinyl had very different mixes of Gimme a Bullet, Sin City, Down Payment Blues, What’s Next to the Moon. Some of the other songs differed slightly but not to the same degree as these. The bugger is that no one really knows why these different mixes were released. The CD issue is the same as the rest of the world. I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of this vinyl again but it’s been very difficult.


back cover original Euro pressings of Powerage. Notice Rock N Roll Damnation wasn't on the first issues.


…Moon at times just sounds like a completely different song without the guitar solo. Gimme a Bullet is missing backing vocals, Down Payment Blues doesn’t have the added addendum
following Bon’s floozy sounding ‘Blooosss…!’ Sin City has Bon’s vocal mixed far ‘forward’ during the bass breakdown. To me it just sounds like he’s right in the room with me…!

The Canadians received a treat with extremely limited Red Vinyl. I had this disc at one point, paid $12 for it and at some point and in my early guy stupidity got rid of it. It goes for about $200 and up these days… sigh.






I absolutely love this record and Malcolm Young had this to say, “I know a lot of people respect Powerage. A lot of real rock n roll AC/DC fans, the real pure rock n roll guys. I think
that’s the most under-rated album of them all.” Maximum Rock N Roll pg 237.





It’s a Rock N Roll Damnation.

I thought I'd throw this into the mix as well.... This is the cover of an aborted Albert best of for AC/DC.... some LP covers and Cassette covers were printed, but Malcolm put a stop to the project. He didn't want fans to buy the same tracks again. This project was being worked on in while Powerage was being worked on. Fortunately we got If You Want Blood instead...

This according to many sources is the rarest Collectible of all...

One of my favorite albums of all time and it is the most underrated of all the Bon Scott era disc. This album is great from beginning to end especially the deep cuts such as 'Gone Shooting' 'Gimme a Bullet' and 'Down Payment Blues'

Cliff Williams makes his debut as bassist on this album and fits like glove with drummer Phil Rudd.

This album shows that the band as a whole was a growing, as songwriters Bon was improving as a lyricist and a vocalist. Just an excellent album.

POWERAGE - freakin' phenomenal record. "Down Payment Blues," "Rock N Roll Damnation" and "Sin City" are worth the purchase price all by themselves.

I used to go see an AC/DC tribute band called "Back in Black" that did an absolutely KILLER version of "Sin City," it would blow the doors off the joint, their "Angus" would jump on the bar to do the Chuck Berry Duck Walk during his guitar solo. Brought the house down every time!

Nothin' else to say really. This album rules.

Powerage is another phenomenal release from them.Sin City and Down Payment Blues are downright classics. I'm also partial to What's Next To The Moon.A really cool listen.

not much more I can add about this record. My fave AC/DC from the 70's.

My favorite AC/DC record, bar none. Pure class.

Sin City(my fav ac/dc tune), Riff Raff and Rock N Roll Damnation do not get enough airplay around here..........Great songs from an underrated album!!!!

My favorite Bon album too. I'm surprised how many on here hold this in such high regard but maybe I shouldn't be. The people here recognize great music beyond the radio fodder.

Fantastic album and a great listen!!!!! Also, this one doesn't have the "hits" that the other albums do, which makes this an EXCELLENT listen!!!!! These are awesome Bon Scott ear AC/DC tunes that you don't get on the radio - making it a must have!!!