Hi, for starters wonderful weblog, but is any person else seeing the sidebar all messed up making use of firefox edition two? It truly is pushed about to your centre for me. =-=
Jimmy Barnes has released 16 albums and it is no surprise that after turning 50 and undergoing open heart surgery he has become quite reflective. Given his musical talents and wide ranging influences it is no further surprise that Rage & Ruin is a bluesy rock mix of reflection and rhythm. Out In the Blue from 2007 was a very personal recording and the reflection continues albeit with a closer bond to the structure of his touring band..
All songs on the album were written with Jimmy collaborating with Mike Daly and Mark Simos, both contacts established through the Berkeley College of Music where Jimmy’s son Jackie is studying music. The limited number of writers on this album is obvious for hardcore fans, Jimmy is a great collaborator and the limited influence on these songs shows, it isn’t a negative, just different to previous albums.
Davey Lane from You Am I has been in Jimmy’s touring band for the past 5 years and his guitar work again shines on this recording, it is simple well executed rock, a mix of dirty pub style overdrive and clean rhythm and blues. His style suits the songs and again he stands out as one of Australia’s most under rated guitarists
This is a great driving album, the day I picked it up it went straight into the car cd player for a 5 hour drive, it stayed in for the entire trip and by the outer Perth suburbs I was singing along.
Highlights include “Can’t Do It Again”, “This Ain’t The Day That I Die”, “Adam Was Just A Man” and the folk inspired reflection on early Cold Chisel days called “Largs Pier Hotel”
Jimmy has introduced Mark Simos to Don Walker and Ian Moss and rumour has it that they have been working on material for a follow up to 1998’s The Last Wave of Summer, something Cold Chisel fans think is long overdue.
