So hard (Cold Chisel) (LP 545 - 547)

Cold Chisel The Last Wave Of Summer (CD, Mushroom Records, 1998) ****

Cold Chisel No Plans (CD, Warner Bros, 2012) ****

Cold Chisel The Perfect Crime (CD, Universal, 2015) ****

Genre: Australian pop/ rock 

Places I remember: The Warehouse (over the years these reunited Cold Chisel albums have turned up in their sale bins and I've gobbled them up)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Yakuza Girls (TLWOS); Too Late (No Plans); The Backroom (TPC)

Gear costume: Red Sand and Water Into Wine (TLWOS); 

Active compensatory factors: What a band! Don Walker writes some great songs that appear effortless (check out The Backroom); Ian Moss is an excellent guitarist - perfect for Cold Chisel and a great writer as well (check out Too Late and Red Sand); and then there's Jimmy Barnes who gives his all, every time!

These reunion albums sit proudly alongside East and Circus Animals in my collection. Their quality really is that high!

Where do they all belong? There are a couple of Cold Chisel albums I don't own yet, including their latest, Blood Moon. It's had some great reviews so I'll look out for that one from now on.

Don't let go (Jesse Stone) (LP 533 - 535)

Cold Chisel Swingshift (Vinyl, WEA Records, 1981) *****

Cold Chisel Circus Animals (Vinyl, WEA Records, 1982) ****

Cold Chisel The Barking Spiders Live: 1983 (Vinyl, WEA Records, 1984) ***

Genre: Australian pop/rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Side three of Swingshift is amazingly fab and shouldn't be split up so...Standing on the Outside (Barking Spiders Live).

Gear costume: Khe Sanh (Swingshift) 

Active compensatory factors: I first heard Swingshift at Roger Marbeck's house while we were digging out his basement. It was the perfect soundtrack! It's pretty much a Cold Chisel Greatest Hits line up of songs with all my favourites included in the package.

Jimmy Barnes is the perfect aussie front man too - his stage introductions are brilliant - introducing Don't Let Go, Knocking On Heaven's Door and Four Walls (Here's a ballad after ripping through My Turn To Cry at breakneck speed) are highlights in themselves!

The Barking Spiders package (best bootleg looking cover I've seen) is less cohesive than the Swingshift double, although it includes great versions of early eighties Cold Chisel classics (Forever Now, You Got Nothing I Want).

Both of those tracks are included on their 1982 studio album, Circus Animals. It's their best studio album before their break up (Twentieth Century was not a good album to end on).

Where do they all belong? Best aussie rock band of the last four decades! Better than AC/DC? You bet!! There's a lot more Cold Chisel to come on CD - when they reunited they delivered some impressive albums but you'll need to wait for them to roll around in the countdown.

Stumbling (Jimmy Barnes) (LP 470 - 471)

Jimmy Barnes Bodyswerve (CD, Mushroom Records, 1984) ** 

Jimmy Barnes Psyclone (CD, Mushroom Records, 1995) *** 

Genre: Australian pop/rock 

Places I remember: Both come via my in-laws, the Hopes. They were disposing of their CD collection and sent me a few boxes to sort through. 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Fooling Yourself (Psyclose); World's On Fire (Bodyswerve)

Gear costume: Going Down Alone (Psyclone) - another great version featuring some members of Journey is here.

Active compensatory factors: Basically, I'm a Cold Chisel fan. I like Jimmy Barnes in Cold Chisel. I'm not that fussed with his solo career.

His solo debut, Bodyswerve (good title and cover), was a big hit at the time but in retrospect, it suffers from 1980s production values (those drums - you know of which I speak). But, and here's the thing - if Cold Chisel redid this album* with Barnes it would be so so much better - not 5 star better but I'd certainly add one or two to my rating. *A couple of the tracks were demoed by Chisel. 

Eighth solo album, Psyclone (terrible title and cover) sounds less dated these days, in that the production is much better - cleaner in the nineties, without those tell tale drum treatments. But my point still holds. With Chisel you get a variety of sounds (and vocals). Jimmy is a great vocalist but he's so much more potent within the band.

Where do they all belong? The Cold Chisel albums will continue when we return to the aussie rawk genre.

Rising sun (Cold Chisel) (LP 423)

Cold Chisel East (Vinyl, WEA, 1980) *****

Genre: Australian pop/rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records (Queen's Arcade, Auckland)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Star Hotel

Gear costume:  Standing On The Ouside, My baby, Cheap Wine, Four Walls, Choir Girl, Rising Sun, Tomorrow, Best Kept Lies. Ita

Active compensatory factors: Their finest studio album? Oh, I'd say so. 

Don Walker is a great writer, Jimmy Barnes is a great singer and with help (writing and playing) from Ian Moss, Phil Small, and Steve Prestwich on this album, they made for a winning combination. 

See if you can name another band where all five members write quality songs.  I can't.

This album is all about the catchy songs - classics in the Cold Chisel canon!

Playing it again just now, I was struck by how timeless it sounds - nary a hint of eighties gloss - just five Aussie blokes locked in and doing it fearlessly. 

Where do they all belong? The live album is coming!

One long day (Cold Chisel) (LP 353)

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel (Vinyl, WEA, 1978) ***

Genre: Australian pop/rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Auckland

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Khe Sanh




Gear costume: One Long Day,  Daskarzine, Home And Broken Hearted 

Active compensatory factors: I started collecting Cold Chisel and backtracked from Swingshift to this album and East (which is a much superior album). 

At the time, I was drawn to Chisel's album rather than Midnight Oil's debut which also came out in 1978. Something about the blues shout of Chisel and the pub rocker/Aussie battler syndrome rather than the social consciousness of the Oils was the magic ingredient for me.

I know the band are kind of embarrassed by this album but I like its rough and ready sound and, what the heck, it's got Khe Sanh on it so, sorry boys, it's worthy of respect!


Where do they all belong? The debut album - it was onwards for Jim Barnes (as credited on this album) and the boys.

Gonna set fire to the town (Cold Chisel) #152

Cold Chisel  One Long Day; Home And Broken Hearted/ Merry-Go-Round; Mona And The Preacher; Wild Thing (Elektra 12", EP 12001, 1978)

The EP made a welcome return in the form of the 12" single in the late seventies/eighties. Sometimes called 'mini albums' they provided value for money and with 5 or 6 songs they didn't overstay their welcome.

The Chiselers called this one You're Thirteen, You're Beautiful, and You're Mine (recorded live) which managed to be both mildly offensive and mildly boring at the same time. Apparently it's an attempt at a humourous reference to Jerry Lee Lewis (who married his 13 year old cousin to general outrage back in the day) and the hit song You're Sixteen etc.  

Thankfully the A side songs are way better than the clumsy EP title.

The EP was recorded live in 1977, before the debut album but released just after it, and it's nicely rough and ready (unlike the second album Breakfast At Sweethearts which is too cleaned up for my taste).

Hidden gems: The boys continue in fired up form on the B side. If anything these three songs ace the first two (which were to appear on the debut album). Merry-Go-Round was re-recorded for Breakfast At Sweethearts but this live recording (according to Jim Barnes the second time they'd played it live) ripped it up. 

Neither Mona And The Preacher nor Wild Thing (an 'old standard' according to Jim) appeared on any Chisel albums.