Jimmy Barnes

[Abitaman]

I was at a yard sell and pick up a guys collection Jimmy Barnes solo cds from his first solo to his 2019 My Criminal Record. I have listened to them all, and holy crap Batman, he is good. I have actually ordered his last few cds I don't have and will then look for his Cold Chisel cds, if they are any good.
His Cold Chisel as good as his solo stuff?
Any body like him? If not give him a listen.

[Andrew]

Jimmy is great. Very consistent although I could do without the blues and soul stuff.

New album looks to be a cracker and is out June 6.

Chisel is a slightly different beast. Two singers, different vibe. Although the early stuff is really iconic here in OZ.

[Abitaman]

I have really liked some of the soul stuff, even though I am not a fan of that type of music.

[kgdjpubs]

Barnes is really good, and if you don't have the Barnestorming live album, go track down a copy. There's a difference between what Neal Schon/Jonathan Cain wanted out of Freight Train Heart, and what Jimmy Barnes wanted. One thing you can tell about Barnes is that drugs really affected his career. You can really tell by Psyclone that he was suffering badly, and basically bottomed out in the early 2000s. Fortunately, he survived and came out the other side and the last couple of solo cds have been really good. The 30/30 Hindsight re-recordings cd is worth the effort also and improves a few of the tracks from the originals.

As Andrew said, Chisel is a different beast, and Jimmy Barnes didn't do that much writing for that band. The Barnes solo career is a little more accessible, but the songwriting level of Chisel is what really ties it together. It was the Don Walker show, and while very good, he is a distinct writer. Chisel would go on wild swings from hard rock to pop to blues to jazz and even reggae, and somehow managed to tie it all together. At times, you had 5 songwriters going in five different directions, and two different lead vocalists in Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss. The big thing about Cold Chisel is that the studio sound and the recorded sound were like two completely different bands. It took multiple albums to capture the live sound in a studio setting, and then the band imploded. There have been some reunions, and some solo material released. Ian Moss, who often had Don Walker writing for him, had probably the most success of any of the others with a pop-blues rock style and has released some nice solo albums. Don Walker's solo stuff is "interesting". I think some of the recent (post-No Plans) Chisel material have basically been Don Walker solo material with the band playing, so it's a little bit different than the older days.

If you want to get into Chisel, Circus Animals is probably the best of the studio albums mixing the various styles into something that resembles the live show. Any of the live albums are worth the effort (they were an incredibly tight live band in the original incarnation), although Jimmy's voice is still recovering from laryngitis on the Last Stand album. They have yet to release any of the live shows of the Last Stand concerts before he lost his voice forcing the rescheduling of the last few concerts--and those would be the definitive live shows. The expanded version of Swingshift from the East tour is really good also. There's a Rockpalast live show from Circus Animals era available also, which is good.

[Deb]

Easily the best song from The Lost Boys......... https://youtu.be/FMrUG-RyMmI?si=QvQ-AOtTkbbhizqm

[Monker]

I always loved 'When the War is Over'...but I always thought it was a Little River Band song. I had no idea it was a Cold Chisel song until recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKDj3aSYmQ

Still like Farnham's voice more than Jimmy's. Maybe not his best/typical performance?

[Monker]

Wow, such a good song. I just love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Wwq9_zn_c

[Andrew]

I always loved 'When the War is Over'...but I always thought it was a Little River Band song. I had no idea it was a Cold Chisel song until recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKDj3aSYmQ

Still like Farnham's voice more than Jimmy's. Maybe not his best/typical performance?

Farnham will outsing anybody, anywhere....even better than Sir. Steve Perry IMHO.

[Andrew]

Wow, such a good song. I just love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Wwq9_zn_c

Its a classic, no doubt. Legendary in these parts.

[kgdjpubs]

I always loved 'When the War is Over'...but I always thought it was a Little River Band song. I had no idea it was a Cold Chisel song until recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKDj3aSYmQ

Still like Farnham's voice more than Jimmy's. Maybe not his best/typical performance?

Jimmy Barnes' voice wasn't in great shape that night when he did the JF duet. Everyone has their off days. Of course John Farnham always sounds pitch perfect, so you better be on your A game if you go on stage with him! To be fair, the Jimmy Barnes verse was really high. The Chisel mostly-acoustic performance in the other link is really good, showing the classic Moss/Barnes harmonies, and Jimmy's voice was much better that night.

Steve Prestwich, who was the drummer for Cold Chisel, wrote the song and migrated over to LRB after Chisel imploded, so that's probably where John Farnham got the song. They both recorded good versions, and the song stands for itself.

[kgdjpubs]

Wow, such a good song. I just love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Wwq9_zn_c

That was from the acoustic set during the "Ringside" reunion shows in 2004.

Here's the original studio recording from about 1983.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoS1Fr9G46I

both versions are equally good.

[Monker]

I always loved 'When the War is Over'...but I always thought it was a Little River Band song. I had no idea it was a Cold Chisel song until recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKDj3aSYmQ

Still like Farnham's voice more than Jimmy's. Maybe not his best/typical performance?

Jimmy Barnes' voice wasn't in great shape that night when he did the JF duet. Everyone has their off days. Of course John Farnham always sounds pitch perfect, so you better be on your A game if you go on stage with him! To be fair, the Jimmy Barnes verse was really high. The Chisel mostly-acoustic performance in the other link is really good, showing the classic Moss/Barnes harmonies, and Jimmy's voice was much better that night.

Steve Prestwich, who was the drummer for Cold Chisel, wrote the song and migrated over to LRB after Chisel imploded, so that's probably where John Farnham got the song. They both recorded good versions, and the song stands for itself.

Well, LRB recorded it with Farnham on the "No Reigns" album which is where I first heard it. I had no clue about Cold Chisel at that time, being in the US. But, you are right...I did not know there was any connection between LRB and Cold Chisel and that is probably how they got the song.

[Monker]

Wow, such a good song. I just love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Wwq9_zn_c

That was from the acoustic set during the "Ringside" reunion shows in 2004.

Here's the original studio recording from about 1983.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoS1Fr9G46I

both versions are equally good.

And, LRB's version from 1986 with Farnham:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKy6tyLeHsg

[Monker]

I always loved 'When the War is Over'...but I always thought it was a Little River Band song. I had no idea it was a Cold Chisel song until recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKDj3aSYmQ

Still like Farnham's voice more than Jimmy's. Maybe not his best/typical performance?

Farnham will outsing anybody, anywhere....even better than Sir. Steve Perry IMHO.

When you get to that level of Farnham or Perry or Mercury, etc...it's just a matter of preference and opinion, I think. There are moments with all three of them that make me think, "nobody else can sing that but him". There are vocalists and singers and another level for people like those three that I don't think a word exists to label what they did.

[Memorex]

The stuff from Barnes' new album is great. Really great, in my opinion. Can't wait for the full album.