5 Stars
After the break up of Cold Chisel, lead singer Jimmy Barnes spent little time getting a new band together, setting himself a heavy touring schedule and releasing three classic Australian rock albums: Bodyswerve (1984), For the Working Class Man (1985), and Freight Train Heart (1986).
All three went to number one in Australia and multi-platinum; For The Working Man went platinum x seven.
Jimmy Barnes put together the cream of Australian musicians on tour to support the albums to show things off. The band included Johnny Diesel and Dave Amato on guitars, Chris Bailey on bass guitar, Tony Brock on drums and Peter Kekell on keyboards. By the time they reached Melbourne to record concerts at the end of 1987, beginning of 1988, they were a well-oiled rock’n’roll machine—the Australian Rolling Stones.
These recordings were released on a double album as Barnestorming at the end of 1988 and naturally roared up the charts over Christmas, staying at number one for three weeks.
As soon as the band kicked into Driving Wheels, everything fires on all six.
Eleven of the sixteen tracks are written or co-written by Jimmy Barnes; the others are well-selected covers by people such as Bob Dylan, Desmond Child, and Joe Lyn Turner, all of which are given the Barnes treatment.
No Cold Chisel songs are included in this, as at the time, Jimmy Barnes was establishing his solo career; of course, they would be included on later live albums. But this was Jimmy Barnes and his band peacocking their stuff, which they do in fine style, rockin’ the joint. There is still room for plenty of light and shade, but when this band let rip, it’s at the speed of sound. Guitar solos weave in and out, causing smoke to come out the speakers, the excellent keyboard work of Peter Kekell musically holding it all together, whilst the solid rhythms of bass and drums allow the soloists of the show to put their spells onto the songs.
Of course, centre stage is that incredible sandpapered throat of the man himself. The emotion wrought into the songs is a joy to behold, both on the out-and-out rockers and glorious Australian anthems like Working Class Man, Walk On and Last Frontier. Resurrecting the old Easybeats song Good Times certainly gives the audience and listener exactly that. The version of the classic When A Man Loves A Woman is definitive.
Such is Jimmy Barnes’ popularity that since then, there have been another twelve live albums (with a total of nineteen studio albums), all of which met with worldwide delight. But this first live recorded album takes the sweaty biscuit every time.
Johnny Diesel was far too big a star to be kept in the wings, and he was soon to spread them and become a superstar himself with number-one albums and all the other trappings. But it was glorious while it lasted.
Some would say that Jimmy Barnes is a lucky man; others would quite rightly point out that nobody deserves it more.
He is married to a stunningly beautiful Thai girl Jane, with whom he has four very talented children. (Not forgetting he has one further child from a previous relationship.) The whole family hang out together when commitments allow. He has many good musician friends, often jamming with Deep Purple when they are on tour. Both Speed King and Highway Star have been released by Deep Purple, with Jimmy Barnes helping out on vocals.
The sound of Jimmy Barnes duetting with Ian Gillan on Highway Star is monumental. He records and performs with Living Loud, reclaiming the songwriting for his friends Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. He recorded a stunning version of Lazy with Joe Bonamassa, and he recorded with Tina Turner; now who would not want to do that? There is no end to the man’s talents. He also does an awful lot of unpublished charity work.
Listen to this album and cherish it. It should be mentioned first when people talk about the all-time great live albums.
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