I know this band comes up a lot between @Bosstralian and myself, but I think they deserve their own dedicated thread, with the hope that one or two others among us may decide a deep dive into their discography is one worth taking. I was turned on to Cold Chisel by an Aussie I was trading bootlegs with back in the early 2000s and I'm grateful for it. I would definitely call myself a hardcore fan, at least by American standards since they don't play here and their records go unnoticed. I've got their full discography, all of Jimmy Barnes' solo records and most of the Ian Moss and Don Walker albums. This is a band that is a national treasure in their homeland, but virtually unknown internationally. It's a damned shame, really.
This is the song that got me immediately interested in hearing more from them. One of the finest rock and roll Vietnam Veteran songs I've ever heard.
I freaking love Bow River.
For my money, one of the best broken heart ballads ever written. It reminds me of Bruce's best love songs; masculine but vulnerable, emotionally intelligent without being sappy or trite.
A beauty.
On of my favorites.
Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)
Is this their greatest song? I don't know, but it makes me want to eat breakfast at Sweethearts.
@Jerseyfornia They've renamed a small alleyway in the Adelaide CBD 'Cold Chisel Lane' and painted some artwork on one of the building walls there. I wasn't even sure where it was, but when I looked it up it was literally 50 metres around the corner from where I catch the bus home. I had a quick look on Wednesday, it's a very small lane way largely in shadow but I'll see if I can get some photos at some stage.
Here's a photo from the media here when it was announced.
I sing the line "I hear you knocking but you can't come in" on a regular basis a lot more than anyone can possibly imagine, so I was immediately hooked by the opening of the first vid 🙂
@Mario Brega Inviting you into our secret society.
This, in some version, closed usually the encore or at other times the main set of every Chisel show, and most solo Jimmy Barnes shows. With all apologies to Rosalita, I still think it is the greatest set closing / show closing song ever.
Probably the best quality version of it is a Jimmy solo show closer
In the pubs, circa 1980, Jimmy might’ve had a beverage or two.
A few years later, 2003. Lousy quality video upload but not bad sound.
And, finally, two audio only versions from two of Chisel's live albums.
This sounds like Jimmy hanging out on E Street. This would be a perfect choice for my long-fantasized Springsteen & Barnes duet.
The excellence of Ian Moss' Matchbook cannot be overstated.
The only Chisel song to ever chart in America. My Baby, released ahead of the U.S. issue of East, actually hit the number 40 spot on Billboard's mainstream rock chart.
By the way, I didn't learn until several years in that You've Got Nothing I Want was Jimmy's response to the band's experience with U.S. promoters and record executives.
I love Jimmy's Tougher Than The Rest. Being a fan of both Jimmy and Bruce, I'm curious about the reaction from people who love Bruce, but don't know Barnes.
Listening to Don Walker's We're All Gunna Die. Excellent record.
A favorite from the first album.
I should mention that I was unknowingly exposed to Jimmy Barnes in the 90s, as likely were many of you. Working Class Man, which was written by Jonathan Cain of The Babys and Journey, was featured at the end of the 1986 movie Gung-Ho and two 1986 collaborations with INXS were featured in The Lost Boys. I didn't see those films in the theater when they were released because I was on the road then, but I did see them as rentals in the early 90s and The Lost Boys is one I still watch every now and then. I liked the songs, but I didn't pursue them after hearing them in the films. When I got The Lost Boys soundtrack, I saw Barnes' name on the INXS songs, but didn't connect it back to Working Class Man and I still hadn't heard of Cold Chisel.
With @Early North Jersey climbing on board, this thread may have doubled Cold Chisel's international audience.
Shockingly .... i really like Home and Broken Hearted...It rocks !
The first Chisel album I listened to straight through is The Last Wave Of Summer. I had no idea that they had broken up and it was their first album in 15 years. I played that album over and over before I ever explored the older albums in full. I quickly devoured all their previous albums, but I had a sense that I had come along at the end, maybe even after the end. Fortunately, Cold Chisel has continued to put out new records and archival live recordings. Turns out I came along in the middle and I love their later stuff as much as their classics.
This is the band with Jimmy Barnes from the Ride The Night Away thread.
So i assume i am not embarrassing myself by saying i never heard of these guys ....Listening to samples on itunes...Studio Khe Sahn has a little Elton John ....But three samples in i am intrigued .... I hear a lot of Piano !!!!
Cold Chisel's main song writer Don Walker was fascinated by characters on the margins of society, those 'on the outside looking in'. This combined with the experience of playing gigs in jails (Chisel played several gigs in jails all across Australia in the late 70's / early 80's) led to several songs about characters just on the wrong side of the law. Three of them ended up on Chisel's classic album East.
The third of them, Four Walls, is just classic. Ray Charles meets Bruce Springsteen... soulful, insightful, written by a man who pondered his music and lyrics over a coffee in a Kings Cross cafe.