Album #26 : Cold Chisel - East

Cold Chisel

East (1980)

Cold Chisel have a largely deserved reputation as one of Australia's hardest rocking pub rock bands. Some of their songs are the very epitome of Australian culture, regularly heard belted out at piss ups, cover band gigs and karaoke bars. Led by charismatic front man Jimmy Barnes, the group experienced success domestically, but not internationally, with their first two releases.

With East, the band scaled an immense creative peak. Every member of the group contributed a song to the album for the first time, and it was easily the band's most successful release to that point. It also gave the band an international profile for the first time.

Let's take a look at the album and find out why it's such a classic.

The Album

One of the most notable things about East is that there are more commercial pop sensitivities at play than on their previous albums. Tracks like Choirgirl and Cheap Wine have all the tricks from the pop rock playbook - such as clever use of backing vocals, midsections that manage to sound completely different yet still the same - to keep you hooked. The former is an absolutely fantastic song about abortion with a searing lead vocal from Jimmy Barnes, and it's recorded in such a way that each individual member's instrument can be heard, yet the song has room to breathe. The latter is more upbeat, with some nifty bass work from Phil Small, terrific lightfingered piano lines from Don Walker and, again, a killer Barnes vocal.

My Baby was the other single from the album. Written by Phil Small (not a bad effort for a bloke who only has five writing credits in the entire history of the band), it's another great pop song with a lead vocal from Ian Moss. There's also a great sax solo from Joe Camilleri of The Black Sorrows fame. 

All three songs, despite being unashamedly commercial, still manage to sound like Cold Chisel, which is testament to the band's skills.

Elsewhere, the album is peppered with other highlights. Standing on the Outside opens the album with plenty of verve. There's plenty going on musically - all five members show great chops - and there's even a key change to signify the song's takeoff moment, a wicked Moss guitar solo. Rising Sun and My Turn To Cry are Barnes' two songwriting contributions. Both are energetic, pacy rockers, the sort the band made their stock and trade, though of different styles; the former is more rockabilly, the latter straight-up rock and roll. Both songs also include neat guitar solos from Moss. Ita - a song about media mogul Ita Buttrose - is another example of a song that is very pop but still quite Chisel. A good set of lyrics that faithfully show the influence that Buttrose had at the time and an earcatching pre-chorus chord change are the highlights of an underrated Chisel tune.

Other songs of note are Star Hotel, Best Kept Lies and Four Walls. Star Hotel, written by Walker about an infamous riot in Newcastle in 1979, is a somewhat understated tune with an unusual melody in the verses (which, by the way, sound very much like The Police with their bass and drum parts). The choruses are pure pub rock riffage, while the surf music midsection is the most interesting part of the song. Best Kept Lies - written by drummer Steve Prestwich - is jazz/funk/reggae influenced, which makes it a great change of pace. Walker's staccato organ lines give itthat reggae flavour, while Moss's lead vocal is pretty good. Four Walls is one of the most interesting songs on the record. Dominated by Walker's piano, this slow ballad about prison life turns itself into a gospel track by the end - big choral backing vocals and handclaps. It sounds out of place but, again, shows the band's versatility while providing something different again for the listener.

The Verdict

East deserves its place as one of this country's most well-regarded albums. It doesn't show Cold Chisel as the hard rocking, hard drinking legends of the pub rock scene at all. It shows them as something more - a well-rounded, versatile rock band with depth and complexity, capable of writing typical pop songs as well as ballsy rockers. 

It's a thoroughly engaging listen, and after 34 years still sounds as fresh and vital as the day it was released (even if the big singles have been somewhat played to death by commercial rock radio).

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

Rising Sun

Standing On The Outside

Choirgirl

Tomorrow's album? YOU WANTED THE BEST? YOU GOT THE BEST!