Approximately twenty-nine years ago, one of the most successful albums of all-time was released. This album achieved 22x multi-platinum status in the United States alone, and in terms of worldwide sales, AC/DC’s “Back in Black” is the best-selling album of all-time by a band, and the second best-selling album of all-time by anyone, under the late great Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Featuring the debut of lead singer Brian Johnson, “Back in Black” is likely to be in nearly everyone’s music library, but as great as it was, it’s important to realize that AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” was a record that was just as solid from beginning to end.

The Australian rockers released “Highway to Hell” in July of 1979 and unfortunately it was lead singer Bon Scott’s farewell to not only the music industry but from to the world as well.  He was found dead about seven months later in his car outside a London club after a night of partying. Five months after his death, “Back in Black” was released as a tribute to Scott.

It’s somewhat ironic and bittersweet that the “Highway to Hell” and “Back in Black” served as bookends for Bon Scott’s death and are at the same time the band’s two best album. “Highway” marked the beginning of short-but-successful tenure with Robert “Mutt” Lange as the band’s producer  and this winning combination resulted in three hugely successful albums and a catapult to legend-status.

“Highway to Hell” was driven by a lead single of the same name, written about the grueling touring schedule the band endured to support their numerous albums. “Girls Got Rhythm” and “Touch Too Much” followed as singles and the success of the three drove “Highway to Hell” to be the band’s first album to sell one million copies. Despite the then newfound success of the album and the massive success that would soon follow with “Back in Black,” the band’s first number-one-charting album would not arrive until 1981 with the third and final Lange-produced release, “For Those About to Rock.” Despite selling 49 million copies worldwide, “Back in Black” never reached number one; it peaked at number four.

Where are they now?

AC/DC released their most recent album, “Black Ice,” and while it was very successful (7.2 million copies worldwide as of May 2009) I thought it was a disappointing release and not as good as 2000’s “Stiff Upper Lip.”

The band is still touring and I had the pleasure of seeing them at Gillette Stadium this summer and their performance removed all doubt from my mind. Despite my thoughts on “Black Ice,” AC/DC has STILL “got it.” Guitarist Angus Young is just as much a madman at age 54 as he was at age 27, and Brian Johnson’s vocals were spot-on. Any fan of good rock and roll music and classic heavy metal has not truly lived until they have heard “Shoot to Thrill,” “For those About to Rock,” “The Jack,” and other classics live. Being surrounded by 45,000+ people spanning multiple generations and all being moved by the same music is a pretty powerful thing. Even

If you didn’t get to see AC/DC this summer you can enjoy attempting to recreate one of their live setlists in the comfort of your own living room thanks to Harmonix’s “AC/DC Live Rock Band Track Pack” expansion for the Rock Band video game. Released about a year ago, “AC/DC Live” was the first band-specific standalone release for Rock Band and was the answer to rival company Neversoft’s “Guitar Hero Aerosmith.” “AC/DC Live” blew away the competition by offering full-band support and exportability for use in the main Rock Band game.

AC/DC is planning to release a hefty boxed set, “Backtracks,” on November 10. The set includes three compact discs, two DVDs, and one LP. The CDs include a disc of studio rarities and two discs of live rarities, while the DVDs consist of a continuation of 2005’s “Family Jewels” two-DVD set (one disc is labeled Family Jewels Disc 3) and a 2003 live concert. The LP consists of unique rarities from the studio. As if this collection wouldn’t be enough, the set also includes a 164-page booklet and a assortment of memorabilia. This set is an essential for the hardcore fans out there.

Check out my review of “Black Ice” on my blog:
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