"My thought was, 'We don't need to reinvent this — we just need to make it great,' " says Brendan O'Brien, the Pearl Jam producer who guided AC/DC back to the combination of singalong choruses and gut-punch rock that defined classic discs like Highway to Hell and Back in Black. "They're a band that can do a lot of types of different records, but when we started emphasizing melody more, that was very second nature to them." Songwriters (and brothers) Angus and Malcolm Young spent nearly eight years perfecting the music before entering the studio with singer Brian Johnson and the rest of the band — and it shows on the sharp hooks of tracks such as "Big Jack" and the first single, "Rock & Roll Train." Still, the band's own back catalog can make writing new songs intimidating, says Angus: "You know, 'Is it good as that, is it good as this?' But then you say to yourself, 'Well, look, I did that.' " And he's pleased with the final result — which, like the Eagles' 2007 smash, Long Road Out of Eden, will be released exclusively through Wal-Mart. "Normally when we'd make an album, I play it a few times, and that's it," Angus adds. "But this one I keep coming back to. That's a good sign."

"Rock & Roll Train"

AC/DC's music video for "Rock & Roll Train."

Listen to "Rock & Roll Train" in full

Check out all of the albums in the 2008 Fall Music Preview