Newt's Coronavinyl Countdown is a daily blog wherein veteran Georgia Straight rock writer Steve Newton works through his LP collection--alphabetized according to band name, from AC/DC to ZZ Top--hoping to connect with fellow music-lovers who are also social distancing during COVID-19. Today's selection is AC/DC's Powerage.

When it comes to the most popular AC/DC albums, usually titles like Back in Black or Highway to Hell get the nod. Maybe it helps that their title tracks were such massive radio hits.

But I've always been drawn to the lesser-known Powerage, which came into my rock-crazed teenage clutches back in the Year of Our Lord, 1978. I managed to score a red vinyl copy.

Produced by Harry Vanda and George Young at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, Powerage opened with the single "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation", which was actually the last song recorded during the Powerage sessions. According to Wikipedia, it was only recorded after AC/DC's label, hoping for a radio-friendly single, persuaded it to return to the studio and come up with one.

"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" is a decent tune, but I much prefer Side Two's boisterous opening cut, "Sin City". And my favourite track on the album is "Gone Shootin'", which came in at #2 on my list of AC/DC's 20 Best Songs, only nudged out of first place by the unbeatable Back in Black track, "Shoot to Thrill".

I'm not alone in thinking that Powerage might be AC/DC's best album. When I was backstage at an AC/DC concert in Vancouver in 2001 I got Malcolm Young to sign my CD copy, and he pointed out that it was his favourite as well.

"That's the real deal, right there," he explained emphatically.

Before that particular show I did a write-up in the Georgia Straight where I interviewed various local rockers--including Matt Good and Devin Townsend--to get their thoughts on AC/DC. Blues harpist and radio-show host Stormin’ Norman Casler (anybody remember CFMI Sunday Blues?) also counted Powerage as his fave.

“All I know is AC/DC reminds me of high school in Trail,” he said, “and the good old water tower, which is where we used to go all the time with AC/DC 8-tracks and our six-packs, you know, skippin’ outta school.

“They are the epitome of a rock ’n’ roll band,” he declared. “They party, they get naked, and they like it loud.”

Another big Powerage fan is Vancouver drum great Pat Steward, who's slammed the skins for everyone from Bryan Adams to the Odds and more recently has been keeping the beat for Bon Scott-era AC/DC tribute band Bon Red.

“What I dug about it was the drive and the simplicity,” Steward told me a couple years ago. “And the guitar riffs in songs like ‘Gone Shootin’ ‘ and ‘What’s Next To The Moon’ really grabbed my attention. We used to drive around town after school with the cassette cranked in our other buddy’s car.”

And if you needed any other proof that Powerage is more deserving than it's given credit for, there's always the fact that I chose it's cover as the spot to show off the backstage pass I scored back in 1988 on the Blow Up Your Video Tour. And yes, it is autographed by all five members. And no, you can't have it.

Tune in tomorrow when Newt's Coronavinyl Countdown takes a gander at Aerosmith's Rock In a Hard Place.