Highway to Hell

33⅓ Main Series #73

by Joe Bonomo

Released in 1979, AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" was the infamous last album recorded with singer Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning in London in February of 1980. Officially chalked up to "Death by Misadventure," Scott's demise has forever secured the album's reputation as a partying primer and a bible for lethal behavior, branding the album with the fun chaos of alcoholic excess and its flip side, early death. The best songs on "Highway To Hell" achieve Sonic Platonism, translating rock &roll's transcendent ideals in stomping, dual-guitar and eighth-note bass riffing, a Paleolithic drum bed, and insanely, recklessly odd but fun vocals. Joe Bonomo strikes a three-chord essay on the power of adolescence, the durability of rock &roll fandom, and the transformative properties of memory. Why does "Highway To Hell" matter to anyone beyond non-ironic teenagers? Blending interviews, analysis, and memoir with a fan's perspective, "Highway To Hell" dramatizes and celebrates a timeless album that one critic said makes "disaster sound like the best fun in the world."

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Joe Bonomo's books include Play This Book Loud: Noisy Essays, No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Angell and a Life In Baseball Writing, Field Recordings from The Inside (essays), AC/DC’s Highway to Hell (33 1/3 Series), Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, Installations (National Poetry Series), Sweat: The Story of The Fleshtones, America’s Garage Band, and Conversations With Greil Marcus. A five-time "Notable Essays" selection at Best American Essays, he's the Music Columnist at The Normal School and Professor of English at Northern Illinois University.

Reviews

[Alan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more straightforward 33 1/3 books, Joe Bonomo’s Highway to Hell is an examination of AC/DC’s breakthrough album and, while I profess to prefer this type of book to the more fanciful in the series, the real problem is that, while Highway to Hell is an excellent album, there is really not a lot here that requires detailed examination.

The book is split into three ‘chords’ - the first section puts the album in context and then essentially describes the songs in order; the second is a fairly pointless discussion of the album cover and live photos; the third a history of the band following Bon Scott’s death and the author and some of his friends looking back on how much they liked, and continue to like, the album. It’s all fairly inconsequential and very much US-centric but, if it makes you dig out the album again, it’s not a bad read.

[Paul Lyons · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do love the 33 1/3 book series...a continuous, multi-volume set of small books, that you can easily fit in your pocket (smaller than a paperback novel). Portability is a big sell for me. I loved taking my 33 1/3 books with me everywhere...as it was too easy for them to rest comfortably in my pocket...available for me to read no matter where I was.

The set-up of each book is very attuned to my tastes...Each tome is written by a different author... discussing a specific album of their fancy. You really never kow what you're getting when you buy a 33 1/3 book. So far, I've read over 30 of these books...Some are good, some are bad...and others are downright awful. Among my favorites were books on The Beatles LET IT BE, The Rolling Stones EXILE ON MAIN STREET, Bob Dylan HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, Nirvana IN UTERO, Bruce Springsteen BORN IN THE U.S.A., David Bowie LOW, Love FOREVER CHANGES, U2 ACHTUNG BABY, Beastie Boys PAUL'S BOUTIQUE, The Velvet Underground THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO and The Jimi Hendrix Experience ELECTRIC LADYLAND.

The beauty of these small but powerful books is that reading them can actually enhance your experience of listening to the music. Some of the 33 1/3 books forever altered the ways I perceived certain records...making me appreciate the music in a way I never dreamed before. I was bored and unimpressed with Love's 1967 masterpiece Forever Changes until I read Andrew Hultkrans's 33 1/3 take on the album...it only changed everything. I now love that Love record. Andy Miller's detailed 33 1/3 look at the The Kinks' 1968 classic The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society turned me around on that album completely...as did John Cavanagh's insightful 33 1/3 look at Pink Floyd's 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Sam Inglis didn't seem to even like Neil Young's 1972 classic album Harvest, yet his 33 1/3 take on the album was fascinating...

In 2010 33 1/3 came out with Highway to Hell...Joe Bonomo's take on AC/DC's groundbreaking 1979 album. At it's core...the book focuses on the greatness that was Bon Scott, AC/DC's original, bawdy, charismatic lead singer (who died tragically in February of 1980). In this regard, the book is a success...as it does well in exploring the life, music, lyrics and legend of the late singer. Bonomo never shys away from his feeling that Bon Scott was clearly the better frontman for the group compared to his replacement...Brian Johnson. Scott is portrayed as a hard-partying, wild, yet sensitive, soft-spoken man...who brought a welcome sense of humor to AC/DC's hard rock sound.

...yet the book falters when it comes to everything else. It starts out well...chronicling the early days of the band with founding members Angus and Malcolm Young...who were later joined by Bon Scott on vocals, Cliff Williams on bass, and the steady, but powerful Phil Rudd on drums. We get first-hand accounts of successful gigs in the U.S. circa 1977, 1978...and how important these shows were for the band. We also get a strong sense of how hard the band worked to achieve success...constant touring, recording, and television appearances...lots of hard work. So, the set-up to the making of the Highway To Hell album is quite good.

Once Joe Bonomo went into the actual making of Highway to Hell, I was expecting the same kind of detail that went into his well-written set-up...yet I was very disappointed. It seems that Bonomo wasn't able to get much information about Highway to Hell to write about. We do learn a few things...such as the disastrous early sessions with legendary engineer and producer Eddie Kramer, as well the specific change in sound and technique working with new producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. I enjoyed reading about how Lange worked with Bon Scott on streamlining his vocal technique. Aside from these and other tidbits (such as the story behind the album's cover)...Bonomo goes through the Highway To Hell album rather quickly...going through song-by-song...analyzing lyrics, etc. Yet after only a few pages, the discussion on the Highway to Hell album ends...with only half of the book done.

Joe Bonomo pads the rest of the book with filler....such as what happened to AC/DC after Highway To Hell...touching on their huge success with singer Brian Johnson. Running out of things to discuss..Buonomo then turns his attention to photos...yes, photos..going on and on about photos of the band, and what the photos say...and what rock and roll photography means in general. Then, he turns his attention to AC/DC's devoted, hardcore fans...and the things they do to support their favorite band. This is all very well and good... yet what's it doing in a book that is supposed to be devoted exclusively to the album Highway to Hell?

Comparatively speaking, Joe Bonomo's Highway to Hell is among the weaker of the 33 1/3 series. It's difficult to accept a book like this after I have read so many good ones that do a great job of giving the reader precious insight into the core details of a given record album. Don't get me wrong...Highway to Hell was an enjoyable read, for the most part. Yet at this stage in the game with the 33 1/3 series, I know what I like to read about ...and know what I don't like to read about.

[Bobby Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was certainly not expecting the book about Highway to freakin' Hell to be the best one of these 33 1/3 books I've read, but the author does a great job of reminding us of the life-changing effects of rock and roll when we were dumb-ass teenagers. Really, really excellent.

[Adam Behlman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the PJ one. You can feel the realistic love and criticism from the author. Thanks Lee

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Joe Bonomo says that AC/DC were never as dumb as they seemed. And I think he's correct. The band wrote smart songs that sounded stupid just like the Stooges, the Dolls, and the Ramones. It's nice to revisit Highway to Hell after all these years. In my opinion it's one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. It was also the last album featuring Bon Scott. With Scott at the microphone, AC/DC was funny and capable of producing hit records. After he passed away, however, the band got stuck in a rock ghetto. A huge rock ghetto, admittedly. But a ghetto nonetheless.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think there are things that make this 33-1/3 series so fantastic. 1) The authors are so in love with the album that they are writing about that it just comes alive AND makes you also feel it might be the best album ever and you must listen to it right now; and 2) they are clearly allowed to write about it in whatever way/timeline/etc. they feel.

As for this particular entry: This book is terrific. "Back in Black" remains my personal AC/DC album (I can still sing along word for word with every single song), but wow does this book make me see the merits of "Highway to Hell." (And also this book taught me sooooo much of the history behind Back in Black, none of which I knew at the time, because I was always more a voracious all music / all albums listener than a particular Band fan / searcher down of all information about them.)

He recounts the history of the band and breaks down the making of this album, song by song, in the first half of the book. In the second half 0f the book, he weaves in rock photography, documentaries, fan reaction, lasting influence, and even dips as far back as to interview childhood friends he knew when the album came out.

It's great.

Also: Bon Scott died on my 11th birthday.

Now I really want to seek out:
--listening to records at the "wrong" speed i.e., 45 but how would I ever do this, not having owned a record player in 90 bajillion years.
--the documentary "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" and maybe also "Fan Nation"
--the Howard Johnson book "AC/DC: Get Your Jumbo Out of My Airport"

[Sam Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highway to Hell by Joe Bonomo is a fast, noisy and deeply affectionate love letter to AC/DC and the making of their defining album.

Bonomo writes like a fan who knows when to get out of the way. He captures the sweat, simplicity, and sheer bloody minded drive of AC/DC at their peak, especially the last blaze of the Bon Scott era. The book understands the band’s genius wasn’t complexity it was clarity, discipline, and absolute commitment to rock ’n’ roll fundamentals.

The fact that Bonomo mentions the classic 'Let There Be Rock' song by the Drive by Truckers. It isn't a cover of the AC/DC classic but a tribute to Patterson Hood's youth going to gigs in his area that included the Let There Be Rock AC/DC American tour in 1977. The line 'And I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw AC/DC with Bon Scott singing, "Let There Be Rock" Tour' is one of my favourite lines.

This is rock writing that moves at album pace, loud, lean and unapologetic. A quick, satisfying read that respects the music and doesn’t overthink it.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the books in this series are unique. Quirky, maybe. If I wrote one I might stick to the story behind each song, how it was written and recorded, and some background anecdotes or stories that fit. Simple, but probably dull. With this series, you always get a highly personal take on the album, and none are the same. It's wise to appreciate that and to enjoy the variety and the passion the writer puts into the volume.

[Steve Erickson · Rating 1 out of 5]

By far the worst book in the 33 1/3 series I've read. Appallingly shallow, with no real perspective beyond nostalgia for '70s America.

[Steve Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

AC\C are a classic rock band of the 70's and 80's. You can't say that you haven't heard of them. They have earned a well deserved spot in music history. I am not a big fan but I can appreciate that they made it big. This book was written by someone who is a fan of the band but was not an all out raving lunatic admirer. I grew up listening to music in the 70's and 80's and can remember the days when music was fun. AC\C exemplifies that feeling. They were a balls to the walls band that was loud and unrelenting. They had their own special sound that made them what they are.

The book concentrates on the years up to the release of the album "Highway to Hell", which were the years that Bon Scott was the lead singer. These were the years that the band was maturing and enjoying the fun small venues to play in. Their Arena Rock was to come later. I enjoyed reminiscing about those days gone from todays music.

This book is part of a large series of books on Rock and Roll written around a record album. They were all written by different writers and I am sure that they all have a diferent approach to how they were written. This one highlights the band's history up till the death of the lead singer Bon Scott and how he shaped what AC\C was in those years. It did a standard song by song description but I was most interested by the historical aspect that the writer was going for. All in all a good read for anyone interested in recalling the days that rock and roll was fun.

[Chrisinspace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one the best 33 1/3 book, but far from the worst. Bonomo captures some of the Zeitgeist of the late 70s-early 80s, and does a good job of illustrating how AC/DC never really fit into any category. Perhaps his best point comes late in the book, where he points out the major difference between what the band were before the death of Bon Scott–essentially a band with a focal point that WASN'T Angus Young. In Bonomo's words, Bon Scott was the main attraction, and Angus was the cherry on top; the gravy to Scott's steak, if you will. Once Brian Johnson became the band's new singer, Angus became the main attraction, and the band lost a certain panache.

A good read but gear heads will feel slighted at the lack of regard for the actual production of the record. Not a lot of attention is placed on studio technique, gear used, or even actual goings-on for these sessions.

Still, a decent read and one that will make you nostalgic for the days when AC/DC were dangerous.

[Jim Winski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its interesting moments, but too often the author wanted to make the book personal, more about himself and his relationship with the music at that time in his life than about the band and the album Highway To Hell. Despite that, I appreciated his insight and his attempts to make us understand the band more as people. I only give this book 3 of 5 stars, but it's a short book and worth a read. I did expect to get a bit more detail on The actual life and personality of Bon Scott, Angus and Malcolm Young, but it didn't really get much further than scratching the surface.

There are a few other books available on AC/DC, so I will pick up one of those to see if its a bit more detailed and insightful.

[Bruce Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book about a solid slab of heavy blues rock. Although there are a couple of geographical howlers early on (Hey, American authors, there are maps on-line showing places-that-aren't-America!) Joe Bonomo finds his rhythm and chugs through the songs at a mid-paced jog not dissimilar to AC/DC's mid-paced rock songs. The attempt to make AC/DC punk is rather too try-hard (they simply weren't) and the high school confidential final section is a tad self-indulgent, but that's the problem with writing about an AC/DC album. You don't need a six-lane freeway; a short city laneway like the one named after them in central Melbourne will suffice.

Bruce Jenkins is the author of Vinyl Connection, a long-running music blog.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off grabbing my attention but then Bonomo sort of veers off into a world of tangents. It's sad, because for a minute I almost cared about ACDC, but then he lost me, wrapping up the book in bland fashion.

[Reverenddave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devoting significantly less attention to the titular album then most of these books, it better serves as an abbreviated bio of the band. To that end it is alright though the efforts to intersperse the author's opinions and stories from his years as a fan undermined it somewhat.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great 33 1/3 release. This one summed up wonderfully all the reasons Bon Scott era AC/DC is perfect rock and roll.