AC/DC: Every Album Ranked

MOJO ranks and rates all of the Antipodean rock giants’ studio albums.

AC/DC

by George Garner |
Published on

From playing bars in Sydney to selling out stadia around the world, AC/DC’s story is a 50-plus-year maelstrom of riffs, booze, school uniforms, double entendres, tragedy and triumph. That the group, co-founded by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, have sold over 200 million records worldwide is hardly a surprise given their prodigious work ethic: between 1975 and 1980 alone they released a staggering eight albums. Somehow, within that time frame, they would weather the death of livewire frontman Bon Scott and yet rebound in the same year with new singer Brian Johnson and the classic album Back In Black.

Armed with a catalogue of songs – a disproportionate amount of them featuring the word ‘rock’ in their title – AC/DC’s discography has served as an essential blueprint for the successive generations of bands that followed in their wake. Contained within their 18-album run so far (inclusive of their Australia-only releases, but excluding live outings and compilations) there are exhilarating highs and perplexing lows. Above all else, though, there is a band who have admirably refused to give up or conform to prevailing trends. Enjoy, as MOJO duck-walks back in time to rank their catalogue…

18.

Blow Up Your Video

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1988)

Almost guaranteed to be no-one’s favourite AC/DC album, and despite being a notable commercial success, by and large Blow Up Your Video captures them in a creative lull. It’s all brought into sharp focus by the gulf in quality between the opening track and much of what follows. Heatseaker offers a glimpse of them at their best, a rollicking outlier that could hold its own on any AC/DC album. From there – and with the exception of the surprisingly moody Two’s Up – it promptly nosedives. Nick Of Time, Go Zone and Some Sin For Nuthin’ stick to their tried and tested formula but where this band once excelled at making simplicity feel mesmerising, they now only sounded plain. Still, even that was preferable to the calamitous detour into funk on Meanstreak here.

17.

Fly On The Wall

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1985)

Fly On The Wall was more accurately the sound of a band hitting a wall in the mid-’80s. Single Danger plods along to nowhere of particular interest while, unusually for them, Playing With Girls has a chorus that barely declares itself. FOTW has its moments, First Blood and Sink The Pink proved they still knew how to deliver a massive groove when called upon, but far too many songs miss the mark by the time closer Send For The Man finishes fading out into silence. It’s hard to believe the same band had released the world-beating Back In Black just five years prior.

16.

Flick Of The Switch

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC 1983)

After the twin blockbuster successes of Back In Black and For Those About Rock (We Salute You), _Flick Of The Switch_was the first sign of a wobble for the Brian Johnson-assisted AC/DC MK II. This all hinged on their decision to part ways with Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange, the producer who had made all the necessary studio tweaks to help them go stratospheric. The decision to self-produce FOTS in pursuit of a rawer sound was decidedly punk in spirit and, courtesy of Bedlam In Belgium and Guns For Hire, the songs had no shortage of bristling energy. If this is all compelling in concept, it is less convincing in execution; sonically, the band’s exquisite crunch never quite connects in the way the songs deserve.

15.

Ballbreaker

(ALBERT/EAST WEST,1995)

One of AC/DC’s most maligned releases, and to that end somewhat unfairly. Maybe this was because _Ballbreaker_sounded so anachronistic in a post-grunge world, perhaps its overtly sexed-up lyrics just seemed that bit more wince-inducing from a group of men who should have been decades past such juvenilia. Still, whatever these songs lacked in poetic elegance (Sample lyric: ‘Guess I’m harder, harder, harder, harder than a rock’), they made up for musically speaking. Ballbreaker sounds colossal – the title-track, Hard As A Rock and Hail Caesar are all electrifying. Oddly, this belies just how at odds the group were with producer Rick Rubin’s meditative studio sessions, replete with endless re-takes. There was growth on display, too, with a dabble in socio-political commentary via Burnin’ Alive – a song inspired by the US government’s 1993 siege of David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. Ballbreaker fails to conjure a truly iconic song akin to a Thunderstruck or Highway To Hell, but it deserves more credit than it is typically afforded.

14.

Rock Or Bust

(COLUMBIA, 2014)

The intervening years between 2008’s Black Ice and 2014’s Rock Or Bust were transformative for AC/DC, and not in a good way. Their shortest album to date, it was also their first to be completed without talismanic rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young whose dementia diagnosis prohibited him from participating in recording and touring, though he does have writing credits. Abandoning the original title Man Down in favour of the less negative-sounding Rock Or Bust, it still proved to be a similarly downbeat, if not outright prophetic name regarding what was to come. Following its release, Brian Johnson would lose his hearing and leave mid-tour with Axl Rose having to deputise for him, while drummer Phil Rudd stepped aside due to legal trouble and bassist Cliff Williams declared he would be retiring at the end of the dates due to vertigo. This tumultuous wider narrative has detracted from what is actually one of their most upbeat, unapologetically fun albums. Uncomplicated but exuberant, the title-track, Play Ball and Sweet Candy are a blast.

13.

High Voltage (Australian Version)

(ALBERT, 1975)

AC/DC’s debut – one of two initial Australia only releases issued in 1975, alongside TNT – offered glorious proof of musical concept. Critics would say the concept in question has remained problematically unaltered over the years since this point of inception, of course, but AC/DC have always worn that as a badge of honour. The songs came together fast. “Within three weeks of Bon being in the band we had written all this new material and we were ready to record the first album,” Malcolm Young told MOJO’s Sylvie Simmons in 2004. While only She’s Got Balls and Little Lover would eventually migrate to their much better international debut of the same name, other tracks here deserve attention, including the trippy Soul Stripper and the souped-up cover of Big Joe Williams’ Baby, Please Don’t Go which kick-started their recorded career.

12.

Stiff Upper Lip

(ALBERT/EAST WEST/ELEKTRA, 2000)

In the first year of the new millennium, rock alternative music was possessed with a spirit of futurism. Radiohead were pushing evermore into avant garde territory with Kid A, big-haired Texans At The Drive-In were rewiring hardcore, and every nu-metal band came equipped with a hip-hop DJ as standard. AC/DC, however? “The only thing that changes with us is the cover,” quipped Angus Young when MTV asked if they had tried anything new on Stiff Upper Lip. If this was true in one regard, it’s not to say there wasn’t a subtle difference this time around. With the Young brothers’ older sibling George reinstated on production duties, they leaned more heavily into their formative influences than on 1995’s Ballbreaker. The outcome was a more stripped back offering, with highlights being Satellite Blues, Meltdown, House Of Jazz and Safe In New York. It was a change of pace, but a refreshing one.

11.

Power Up

(COLUMBIA, 2020)

Nestled within the liner notes of AC/DC’s most recent outing are five words freighted with huge emotional weight: “This one is for Mal.” Rock Or Bust may have been the first album not to feature AC/DC’s rhythm guitarist, but Power Up was the one that actually arrived after his death in November 2017. Conceived as a tribute to their fallen bandmate in the same way that Black In Black was a homage to Bon Scott, it surprised on every level. Arriving at a time when many suspected that AC/DC’s spark was finally flickering out, suddenly Brian Johnson was back on vocals and Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd were in the ranks again on bass and drums. Most significantly of all, Malcolm’s fingerprints were everywhere. Forming the spine of Power Up were musical ideas the Young brothers had worked on together during the Black Ice recording sessions – riffs they loved yet never developed into finished songs. What could have been a Frankenstein’s monster is, in fact, a gem. Soulful and hallucinatory in its treatment of memory and loss, one of AC/DC’s finest moments arrived over 45 years into their career.

10.

Black Ice

(COLUMBIA, 2008)

Black Ice

Especially when you factor in its sessions’ role in making Power Up a possibility, it’s hard to overstate just how important Black Ice is to AC/DC’s legacy. Their legend had long been secured by this point, but its release constituted a perfect storm of the right songs landing at the right time. A ratcheting up in volume compared to 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip, and with Brendan O’Brien (Bruce SpringsteenPearl Jam) handling production, AC/DC sounded revivified on Rock’N’Roll Train, Big Jack and War Machine. Thanks to its songs subsequently soundtracking everything from Marvel’s Iron Man film to WWE, Black Ice indoctrinated a new generation like no AC/DC album since Back In Black. It debuted at No.1 all over the world, while its accompanying global tour even saw them have their own separate headline stage erected for one-time use when they played Download Festival in 2010. Some might insist the record, their longest at 55 minutes, overstays its welcome, but when observed with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight there is poignance to this. As the final album to feature Malcolm Young on record, 15 tracks almost doesn’t seem enough.

9.

The Razors Edge

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1990)

One year before rock was assailed and transformed by Nirvana’s Nevermind and the unfolding grunge revolution, AC/DC entered the ’90s with no intention whatsoever to shake up their particular brand of guitar noise. What they did do, however, is take their enduring formula (rock x rock = rock) and deliver one of their definitive hits in Thunderstruck. Today, Angus Young’s guitar finger-tapping exercise stands on over 1.7 billion streams on Spotify alone. With a new calling card bolstered by the title-track, Moneytalks and more, The Razors Edge is remembered fondly enough for many to gloss over its occasional missteps. The nicest thing that can be said about Mistress For Christmas? Well, it certainly rhymes. Still, in light of their mid-to-late-’80s nadir, this album marked an important correction in quality control.

8.

For Those About To Rock (We Salute You )

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1981)

For most bands, the prospect of following up something as monumentally successful as Back In Black would have proven to be a creatively paralysing affair. Not so for AC/DC. Just one year later, they delivered their first US No.1 album with For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). Such is the all-eclipsing appeal and power of the title-track – accented with recordings of real canons – many of the other songs tend to be neglected. Lurking in the middle of the album is the potent trinity of Inject The Venom, Snowballed and Evil Walks, each of them deserving more recognition. While FTATR(WSY) fell short of Back In Black’s quota of anthems, their final outing with Mutt Lange stands as one of their most muscular and accomplished.

7.

T.N.T.

(ALBERT, 1975)

As far as opening statements on albums go, It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock’N’Roll) can hold its own with the best of them. Testament to the enduring quality of this early years record is that key tracks from T.N.T. have remained staples of AC/DC live sets in the intervening decades, including the title-track, Rocker, The Jack and High Voltage. Infused with a similar raucous spirit but altogether more accomplished than their Australia-only debut in its songwriting, it’s the product of a band who mythologised themselves long before the world would take up that particular baton for them.

6.

High Voltage (International Version)

(ATLANTIC/ATCO, 1976)

The international version of High Voltage’s classification as a standalone album may be cause for debate, but what isn’t is that record is the one most fans around the world recognise as AC/DC’s debut. Essentially T.N.T. redux, it is composed of choice picks from their two previous Australian-only releases and, as such, it’s little wonder that it’s such a slick affair. Not that it was necessarily received as such at the time, with Rolling Stone’s reviewer Billy Altman delivering a barbed review declaring that the “Australian gross-out champions” had helped rock “hit its all-time low.” With over five million sales to date, rhe passage of time has seen the wider world be much kinder than Altman to these songs.

5.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

(ALBERT, 1976)

With its title-track, AC/DC delivered one of their most iconic songs: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is an essential, wild-eyed track whether in its studio or live incarnation. Its parent album was so rough around the edges, in fact, that AC/DC’s US label, Atlantic, refused to release it at the time. It was the US’ temporary loss. If Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the standout song, the album as a whole is chasing its coattails in terms of riotous quality. The imaginatively-named Rocker (reprised here from the previous year’s T.N.T.) and There’s Gonna Be Some Rockin’ both waste precious little time delivering on their promises. What stands out in particular, however, is the personality infused into the lyrics. On one end of the spectrum is Big Balls, which combines hoity-toity accents and chants of ‘Bollocks! Knackers!’ At the other end is Ride On: set against a dazed blues soundtrack, Bon Scott ponders the questions a rock star asks when they’re at the bottom of a bottle, with nowhere to go, and no-one to be with.

4.

Powerage

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1978)

Sandwiched between the furious discharge of 1977’S Let There Be Rock and commercial breakthrough of Highway To Hell in 1979, Powerage captures AC/DC in incendiary form. With new bassist Cliff Williams in tow, Rock’N’Roll Damnation, Gone Shootin’, Sin City and Riff Raff all broadcast a band in full control of their craft. Riff Riff in particular dazzles not just with its jittery guitar lines, but also Bon Scott’s vocal delivery perfectly inhabiting the lyrics. As he shrieks ‘I never shot nobody, don’t even carry a gun / I ain’t done nothin’ wrong, I’m just having fun’, he sounds like he’s actually being arrested in the studio. Elsewhere, on Down Payment Blues, he extols his blue collar credentials. ‘Can’t even feed my cat on social security’, he sings, on a track detailing life as a ‘fifty cent millionaire’. It offered a reminder that for all their rock’n’roll escapism, AC/DC were often at their best when they delved into grim reality.

3.

Highway To Hell

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1979)

And so to the album that served as both an ending and a new beginning. Principally, Highway To Hell is remembered as the final studio outing of Bon Scott, who would die less than a year after its release. Writ large here is what a loss it was: the title-track, Shot Down In Flames, Girls Got Rhythm, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) and Touch Too Much are hard rock masterclasses elevated by the frontman’s throaty delivery. It wasn’t just the quality of the songs that made it so impressive, but their presentation. With the target of breaking America firmly in their sights, out were Harry Vanda and Malcolm and Angus’ brother George behind the controls, and in was Boomtown Rats producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange. The missing piece of the puzzle, he unlocked the sound that would help dominate airwaves around the world: bigger, louder and cleaner but without sacrificing their elemental crunch. Highway To Hell was an unintended swansong for their late singer, but a brilliant one.

2.

Let There Be Rock

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC/ATCO, 1977)

After their US label snubbed Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, AC/DC headed back into the studio with pent-up frustration to spare and a big point to prove. Their anger found glorious, if not outright pugilistic expression in Let There Be Rock. Defined by its breakneck propulsion and piss’n’vinegar attitude, it is little wonder it has been cited by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine among other thrash metal luminaries as the best AC/DC album. All ecstatic solos and muscular riffs, ubiquitous singles like Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock and Dog Eat Dog steal the show, but every track here carries its weight. For those who prefer AC/DC to sound less manicured and more like they are pushing themselves and their instruments to breaking point, a strong argument can be put forward that this is their essential release.

1.

Back In Black

(ALBERT/ATLANTIC, 1980)

Most estimates place Back In Black behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the best-selling album of all time, and this is still one of the least remarkable things about it. In the same calendar year as Bon Scott’s death by misadventure, AC/DC recruited Brian Johnson and recorded songs in tribute to their fallen comrade that would go on to recast hard rock in their own image. Indicative of its quality, even classics like Shoot To Thrill and You Shook Me All Night Long fall short of being crowned as its best moment. The brooding, atmospheric Hells Bells gives it a close run for its money, but the title-track stands undefeated. For all of the decades in which the song has been played ad infinitum it has lost none of its efficacy, power or grit. You could say that the mid-paced Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution is a strange choice to end such an electrifying collection, but that would be to  miss the point. Any song with the words ‘Rock’n’roll ain’t gonna die’ is, in fact, the perfect grace note. In defiance of the grave and full advocacy of the therapeutic healing power of the almighty riff, AC/DC made their ultimate statement.

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