Head East

Cold Chisel's following had been steadily building for a number of years when their third – and slickest to date – album, East, broke them through to a wider audience in 1980. More commercial without compromising on the rawness of their roots, the band hit pay dirt with a clutch of songs it seemed everybody could get into. The virtuosity of the Chisel's musical abilities still comes through on songs that were, nevertheless, compact enough to be radio-ready. The up-tempo loner anthem "Standing on the Outside," the enchanting ballad and breakthrough single "Choirgirl," and the tongue-in-cheek "Ita" all had the hooks to land a singalong audience. On "Star Hotel," the sonic fury of the chorus captures the essence of the subject matter: a wild street battle between angry pub patrons and police that took place in the city of Newcastle, Australia, in September 1979.

This one is a gem that fell thru the proverbial cracks of time. Its smooth not like smooth jazz but in the compositions being slow and alluring without reaching out and jarring the listener with unwanted beats. Great background music or an alt-music choice to IDM 4/4 head bursting beat fests…