Several months after AC/DC released their sixth album Highway to Hell in 1979, vocalist Bon Scott died on Feb. 19, 1980. Produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange, Scott’s final opus with the band was one of AC/DC’s most explosive albums, fastened by the impenetrable rhythmic mechanics of guitarist Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams, and drummer Phil Rudd and pierced all over by Angus Young’s riffs.
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Written by Scott and the Angus brothers, Highway to Hell peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 in the UK. Throughout its 10 ripping tracks, there’s a rock gem within each song, on Scott’s final run with the band. Here’s a ranking of the songs on Highway to Hell.
10. “Love Hungry Man”
Smacked between two of the heavier tracks on the album—”If You Want Blood (You Got It)” and “Highway to Hell”—”Love Hungry Man” isn’t the most stupendous song on Highway to Hell. The penultimate track was also one of Angus’ least favorite AC/DC songs, and the band has never played it live.
9. “Get It Hot”
Another lackluster track, in comparison to the harder pieces of rock of Highway to Hell, “Get It Hot” rests on some opening Rolling Stones riffs and captures some of the volatile thunder of AC/DC.
8. “Girls Got Rhythm“
Here AC/DC pays homage to one of their most famous subject matters: women. She’s stealin’ the spotlight / Knocks me off my feet / She’s enough to start a landslide / Just a walkin’ down the street sings Scott through the rocker. A live version “Girls Got Rhythm” was released on the band’s 1997 double album Let There Be Rock: The Movie-Live in Paris.
7. “Beating Around the Bush”
More sexual innuendos pour out of the bluesier bent “Beating Around the Bush,” along with Scott and Angus going nearly one-for-one on verse and riff. Though the phrase “beating around the bush” is often used to describe the avoidance of a direct conversation, or talking around the subject, when it comes to AC/DC, any song is open to interpretation—particularly when it comes to sex, the sexes, and sexual acts. Nevertheless, “Beating Around the Bush” delves into one complicated affair.
6. “Shot Down in Flames”
Within all their more lascivious lyrics, “Shot Down in Flames” explores the other side of love and lust—rejection—with Scott wailing over a woman he can’t get—Baby, you’re driving me crazy / Layed it out on the line / When a guy with a chip on his shoulder said “Toss off, buddy, she’s mine”
5. “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)“
Named after the band’s 1978 live album, “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” fires off as one of the more blistering tracks on Highway to Hell.
4. “Walk All Over You”
Under the tutelage of Lange, “Walk All Over You” features backing vocals from the rest of the band for the first time. Lange also contributed vocals on the recorded version of the more stadium-chanting track. “Walk All Over You” was featured in several films and television shows, including The Sopranos and The A-Team, and has been covered by bands like Anthrax and Guns N’ Roses and more.
3. “Touch Too Much”
When Scott yells Touch me! Angus relieves a ferocious solo. “Touch Too Much” is one of the finer, Scott-era tracks on Highway to Hell. Scott performed “Touch Too Much” with AC/DC on the BBC music show Top of the Pops just 12 days before his death.
When Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose filled in for vocalist Brian Johnson during AC/DC’s 2016 tour, he admitted that “Touch Too Much” was also his favorite song by the band.
2. “Night Prowler”
Though it’s a toss between “Touch Too Much” and “Night Prowler” at second, the latter, more ominous track is a bluesy and brooding breakout for the band. Bookending Highway to Hell, “Night Prowler” follows the story of someone being stalked in the night—Was that a noise outside the window? / What’s that shadow on the blind? / As you lie there naked / Like a body in a tomb—”Night Prowler” was reportedly the favorite track of serial killer Richard Ramírez, who was given the nickname of Night Stalker.
The track closes with Scott saying Shazbot! Nanu nanu! the phrase used by Robin Williams’ character on the late-’70s to early 1980s TV sitcom Mork & Mindy.
1. “Highway to Hell”
Right off Angus’ opening riff, “Highway to Hell” bursts open its namesake album with the most impenetrable chunky anthemic rocker. Though Angus used the title to describe touring in the U.S., the actual “Highway to Hell” was another name for the Canning Highway in Australia, where many people were killed while speeding at its intersection at the top of a hill.
“Highway to Hell” shot to No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Read the fuller meaning behind “Highway to Hell” HERE.
Photo: Fin Costello/Redferns
