However, the album was initially panned by some critics upon its release, including a review by Rolling Stone magazine's Billy Altman that called it an "all-time low" for the hard rock genre.

The group's first two albums, High Voltage and the harder driving T.N.T., had been hits in their native Australia – the single "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" peaked at #5 – and now plans were made for the band to tour England in 1976.

AC/DC was never really part of the movement, but got misidentified as such by some observers, as guitarist Angus Young recalled to Guitar World's Alan Di Perna in 1993: At that time… we were giving punk music a good name.

We never claimed to be anything else.In 2010 Malcolm Young concurred, telling Mojo's Phil Alexander, "Punk rock was just a fashion.

"It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was edited down from an extended jam by producer George Young (older brother of guitarist Malcolm Young and Angus) and the inclusion of the bagpipes was his idea to add an extra dynamic to the track.

In Murray Engleheart's book AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll, former manager Michael Browning states that the bagpipes became the bane of Scott's existence: "I think they probably put more pressure on him than anything I can think of!

was also George Young's idea, added after he heard Angus ad-libbing the "oi" chant to himself, and suggested he record it.

In the 1994 book Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott, Chris Gilbey, who was the promotion man at Albert Productions at the time, recalls to author Clinton Walker, "The great thing George and Harry taught me, as a producer, was that if you got a good rhythm track, you've got the beginnings of a record.

In the same memoir Michael Browning confirms, "George and Harry's most important criterion was rhythm, the whole thing had to just feel right.

[6] "Can I Sit Next to You Girl" predated Scott's involvement in the band, having been recorded as a single with former vocalist Dave Evans; it features a different arrangement and slightly different lyrics from the original version.

Lyrically, the LP features Bon Scott chronicling both the good and the bad about the rock and roll lifestyle, warning aspiring musicians that "it's harder than it looks" ("It's a Long Way to the Top") but also defiantly telling the moral majority to "stick your moral standards 'cause it's all a dirty lie" ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer").

Scott's original lyrics were far more explicit than those heard on the album, which he deliberately toned down in case the song got played on radio.

The High Voltage Arc in the seventh part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run by Hirohiko Araki is a reference to this album and song.

Billboard listed it in its "Recommended LPs" column, calling it a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Lead singer Bon Scott spits out his vocals with a truly annoying aggression which, I suppose, is the only way to do it when all you seem to care about is being a star so that you can get laid every night.

AllMusic's review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Angus Young's "monster riffs" which appear to be easy but give the music its strength and this allows Scott to be "somebody who never hid the notion that lurking behind the door are some bad, dangerous things, but they're also fun, too.