Vinyl of the Week - 2 August 2020

Highway to Hell, AC/DC

AC⚡️DC’s Highway To Hell is my pick this week. Released in 1979, this is the last album featuring Bon Scott and it’s a powerhouse of good, hard, loud rock as only Accadacca can deliver. But it was nearly a victim of the music industry machine who did their best to try and change the whole feel to better suit a US radio audience. Atlantic Records took over production, replacing duo George Young & Harry Vanda who had successfully produced all of the band’s previous albums. Malcolm and Angus weren’t exactly pleased with the arrangement. They told Atlantic that they needed a day off and went back into the studio to record six tracks in secret, sending them to legendary producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange and asking if he would work with them. He agreed and the result was the band’s second biggest album behind Back In Black. The cover art was different in Europe and the US, the Australian version the most sought after with its distinctive flames and bass guitar neck. The album would go on to cause the band some bad press a year after its release when serial killer Richard Ramirez aka “The Night Stalker” was reported to be a huge fan, in particular of their song ”Night Prowler”, causing angry parents to protest outside their concerts. The song is the last track on the album and the last words belong to Bon Scott, repeating the catch-phrase of Robin William’s Mork from the hit TV show Mork & Mindy - “Shazbot Nanu Nanu”. And that’s as good a way to end an album as any, don’t you think! - DS