AC/DC-Powerage (1978)
Artist: AC/DC
Title: Powerage
Label: Atco
Format: CD
Cat #: 92446-2
Year of Release: 1978
Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1994
Listed Condition: VG+/VG+
Sell Date: 10/21/25
Sell Price: $11.04
Discogs Last Sold: never
Low: $11.04
Median: $11.04
Average: $11.04
High: $11.04
Current low price: $15.00
Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 4
Have/Want: 99/113
Where Sold: Potomac, MD
Time it took to sell: 2 years
Where and When Bought: facebook $2 lot a couple years ago
Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A
Sad To See It Go: No
AC/DC's 1978 classic was the last record that was sorta American "underground" in it's day peaking at #133 although it was far more established top 20 in Australia and Europe. While it might not have been as insane non-entity to 7 million certified that Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap became, Powerage was slow burn finally reaching gold in 1981 and platinum in 1990, long after Bon Scott was in the ground. When you hear "Down Payment Blues" you think that maybe having a Cadillac but unable to afford the gasoline wasn't that far from the truth.
This particular CD that sold was issued in 1994. In the US, this was due to branding since Atco was owned by Atlantic and under the Warner Bros. distribution. Columbia took over the Atlantic catalog with a new remaster series in 2003 where it remains to this day. Unlike other AC/DC titles, they have not been able to get Powerage past that million certification to date. I guess you could say Powerage is for the "real fans" since it is infinitely better than later records that have sold way more.
The lone pre-MTV "video" clip here is the opener "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation." Hearing it recently after the live If You Want Blood... version the handclaps seemed more pronounced than ever before. Almost Disco even! They were "going for it" as a pop band and didn't really succeed with that one commercially. The live mainstays were things like "Sin City" and "Riff Raff." "Gone Shootin,'" "Up To My Neck In You" and "Down Payment Blues" got into a tour here and there in the Brian Johnson era, but the rest didn't make the band cut either when Bon Scott was alive or after.
Classic is in the eye of the beholder.
FOR FURTHER REVIEW:
If You Want Blood You've Got It (1978)
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