Highway to Hell
| Highway to Hell | ||||
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Studio album by 
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Publication |
July 27, 1979 |
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| Label (s) | Atlantic Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, MC |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
41:35 |
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Studio (s) |
February to April 1979 at Roundhouse Studios, London (England) |
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Highway to Hell (English for " Autobahn to Hell ") is the sixth studio album by the Australian hard rock band AC / DC . It was released in 1979 and was the big breakout for the band. It is the last AC / DC album with singer Bon Scott , who died in February 1980 and was replaced by Brian Johnson .
background
Recordings
Production of the album began in January 1979 with demo recordings and cuts in the Albert Studios in Sydney together with producer Eddie Kramer . All songs were written by band members Angus Young , Malcolm Young and Bon Scott . Bon Scott in particular worked harder on his lyrics this time. The final recordings were made in February 1979 at Criteria Studios in Miami and from March to April at Roundhouse Studios in London . Highway to Hell is the band's first album that was not made in Albert Studios, Australia. Eddie Kramer started as a producer in February, but was fired from the band before the recording of the first song was finished because the band had not achieved anything with him to date. Around 1996 three of the original recordings were found and released on Bonfire in 1997 . Eddie Kramer was replaced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange , who already supported the Boomtown Rats and Graham Parker . Bon Scott in particular helped to work on his singing style for a long time. Scott himself said that he just started yelling before Highway to Hell . This time he would have tried hard.
Musical style
Compared to the band's earlier albums, the sound became more precise and melodic and set the band apart from the punk rock bands that were popular at the time . This is how studio employee Tony Platt described the album:
- “That was exactly the record they needed. Back then there were still people who thought AC / DC was a punk band. Of course they had been moving towards a straight rock sound for a long time and tried to conquer the American market with it. "
Album cover
Along with Let There Be Rock , Highway to Hell is the only AC / DC album to feature the entire band on the cover, most of the group's other albums only feature guitarist Angus Young. However, the band can only be seen on the cover of Let There Be Rock in a live version on which not all members can be clearly recognized. The cover of Highway to Hell is a close-up showing the entire group side by side. In Australia the album was released with a different cover motif, in which the strings of a bass and a fire-like pattern were placed over the motif above the international cover. The record cover of an AMIGA release in the GDR only showed the band logo and the lettering. The band is not shown.
Track list
- Side one
- Highway to Hell (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 3:28
- Girls Got Rhythm (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 3:32
- Walk All Over You (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 5:09
- Touch Too Much (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 4:26
- Beating Around the Bush (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 3:56
- Side two
- Shot Down in Flames (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 3:22
- Get It Hot (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 2:34
- If You Want Blood (You've Got It) (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 4:36
- Love Hungry Man (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 4:17
- Night Prowler (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) - 6:15
reception
AC / DC had their international breakthrough with Highway to Hell , the album was more successful than any other album released with Bon Scott. It was the first of the group to reach the top 100 in the US, ranked 17th and received seven platinum awards for over 7 million copies sold in the US. It reached double platinum in Canada, ranked 7th in the UK and received a gold award. In Germany it reached number 7, Highway to Hell was the group's first album to reach the top 10 in Germany.
The Rolling Stone magazine listed the album in 2003 at number 199 of his 500 best albums of all time. Rock Hard magazine placed it in fourth place in its best list of 500 rock and metal albums, making it the best-placed album of the group in the same list after Back in Black (No. 1). Götz Kühnemund , author of the magazine, gave the album a full ten points and gave the following verdict: “The title song brought the worldwide breakthrough for AC / DC and is still the biggest hit of the band, the two subsequent single Girls Got Rhythm and overshadowed Touch Too Much for a long time. When the album, which includes more grenades like Walk All Over You , Shot Down In Flames , Get It Hot , If You Want Blood (You´ve Got It) and Night Prowler , got stuck at the top of the international charts, Bon died Scott on February 19, 1980 after one of his excessive drinking tours. On February 20th, tens of thousands of grieving fans painted Bon Scott memorial crosses next to the AC / DC logos on their denim jackets and helped the band to achieve a tremendous surge in popularity in the following months, which continues to this day ... "
Awards for music sales
Germany (IFPI Awards)
- 1980 - Platinum
- 1988 - Platinum
- 1991 - Platinum
- 2001 - Platinum
USA (RIAA Awards)
- Dec. 06, 1979 - Gold
- Mar. 18, 1980 - Platinum
- Oct. 30, 1984 - Multi-Platinum
- Oct. 04, 1990 - Multi-platinum
- Feb. 26, 1991 - Multi-Platinum
- Jan. 24, 2001 - Multi-Platinum
Individual evidence
- ↑ Benzinger: Rock Hymns
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/ACDC-Highway-To-Hell/release/2539028