Highway to Hell

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This article is about the album. For the song, see Highway to Hell (song). For other uses, see Highway to Hell (disambiguation).
Untitled

Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in July 1979. It is also AC/DC's fifth international studio album. It was the last album featuring Bon Scott, who died early the following year from over-consumption of alcohol.

It was originally released by Albert Productions, who licensed the album to Atlantic Records for release outside of Australia, and was then re-released by Epic Records in 2003 as part of the AC/DC remasters series. On 25 May 2006, Highway to Hell was certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA.[3] In 2003, the album was ranked number 199 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[4]

Overview

Highway to Hell is the last AC/DC album recorded with Bon Scott before his death on 19 February 1980. The album featured such songs as "Highway to Hell", "Touch Too Much", "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)", and "Shot Down in Flames" which have become fan favourites and regular songs in their setlist during their live shows. The album became AC/DC's first to break the US Top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled the band into the top ranks of hard rock acts.

The final words spoken by Scott on the album are "Shazbot, na-nu na-nu", phrases used on the then-popular American sitcom, Mork and Mindy, by lead character Mork (a visiting extraterrestrial played by Robin Williams). The phrase ended the song "Night Prowler" and closed the album.

Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album not produced by Harry Vanda and George Young. Pre-production of the album began in January 1979 with demos cut at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, where they met the intended producer, Eddie Kramer. Kramer was fired before a single track had been completed, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange was brought in to replace him. The change proved to be fortuitous, and the album was the band's biggest yet. Lange would go on to produce the band's next two albums and biggest sellers, Back in Black and For Those About to Rock We Salute You. The album was recorded during sessions in February 1979 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, and March–April at Roundhouse Studios in London, England.

In Australia, Highway to Hell was released with a slightly different album cover, featuring flames and a drawing of a bass guitar neck superimposed over the same group photo used on the international cover. Also, the AC/DC logo is a darker shade of maroon, but the accents are a bit lighter. Additionally, the East German release had different and much plainer designs on the front and back, apparently because the authorities were not happy with the sleeve as released elsewhere.

Two songs from the album, "Highway to Hell" and "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" are included on the soundtrack album for Iron Man 2, with the former also being played during the final scenes of the movie. The song "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" is also featured in three films; Empire Records, The Longest Yard, and finally, Shoot Em Up. The song "Walk All Over You" is featured in the movie Grown Ups. In October 2010, Highway to Hell was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums with Back in Black at No. 2.[5] The guitars and bass in this album are tuned down 1/4 step except for "Night Prowler" which is tuned down whole half step or ½ step.

Controversy

Main article: Richard Ramirez

In June 1985, a highly publicized murder case began revolving around Richard Ramírez, who was responsible for several brutal killings in Los Angeles. Nicknamed the "Night Stalker", Ramírez was a fan of AC/DC, particularly the song "Night Prowler". Police also claimed that Ramirez was wearing an AC/DC shirt and left an AC/DC hat at one of the crime scenes. During the trial, Ramírez often muttered "Hail Satan" and showed off the pentagram carved into his palm. This brought extremely bad publicity on AC/DC, whose concerts and albums faced protests by parents in the Los Angeles area.[6] On VH1's Behind the Music on AC/DC, the band maintained that the song had been given a murderous connotation by Ramírez, but is actually about a boy sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom at night while her parents are asleep.[7]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Blender[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. Published by Edward B. Marks Music Corporation, BMI

Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Highway to Hell"3:28
2."Girls Got Rhythm"3:23
3."Walk All Over You"5:10
4."Touch Too Much"4:27
5."Beating Around the Bush"3:56
Side Two
No.TitleLength
1."Shot Down in Flames"3:22
2."Get It Hot"2:34
3."If You Want Blood (You've Got It)"4:37
4."Love Hungry Man"4:17
5."Night Prowler"6:17

Personnel

Production

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Peak
position
1979 US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart
17
2009 Finnish Albums Chart[11]
37
1979 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart
13

Singles

Year Song Chart (Billboard) Peak
position
1979 "Highway to Hell" Pop Singles 47

Certification

Country Sales Certification
United States 7,000,000 7x Platinum
Canada 1,000,000 2x Platinum
United Kingdom 100,000 Gold

External links

References

  1. ^ Review at Rolling Stone
  2. ^ "Metal Rules". Metal Rules. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Gold & Platinum – March 20, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  4. ^ "199 Highway to Hell". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  5. ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  6. ^ "AC/DC The Case of the Night Stalker". Crabsody in Blue. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Metal made me do it". Revolver Magazine. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Highway to Hell – Allmusic". Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  9. ^ Twist, Carlo. "Highway to Hell – Blender". Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  10. ^ Rolling Stone review
  11. ^ Suomen virallinen lista
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