Powerage

Bassist Mark Evans was fired in May 1977, and Cliff Williams, who had played with Home and Bandit, passed an audition. Several Powerage songs began in July 1977 in Williams's first rehearsals with the band at Albert Studios. The sessions officially started in January 1978 and ran about eight weeks. Williams remembered Albert Studios as a great little rock and roll room and said they had about three weeks to record, because that was all the money they had. Evans still plays on one track, Cold Hearted Man, which is on the European LP.

Atlantic's American executives complained that there was no radio single, so the band recorded Rock 'n' Roll Damnation, with handclaps and maracas and no traditional solo. It reached number 24 in Britain. It was the last Scott-era studio album the band made with Vanda and George Young.

Reception

Sales were at first disappointing. It reached number 133 on the Billboard pop albums chart and later went platinum. Eddie Van Halen and Keith Richards have said it is their favorite AC/DC record, and Slash and Joe Perry also name it as their favorite. Malcolm Young called it the most underrated album of them all. Michael Hann of The Guardian wrote in 2020 that the best AC/DC album, Powerage, is the most downbeat, and he ranked Gone Shootin' at number 21 and Down Payment Blues at number 10. Kerrang! placed it at number 26 on its list of the 100 greatest heavy metal albums.