Search - Jimmy Barnes :: Hits

One of my long-time favorites still rocks

Linda Bulger | Penn Yan, NY | 08/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Sometimes when I'm driving I really want music, and for me that starts with the Australian road anthem "Driving Wheels" by Jimmy Barnes, from his 1987 album "Freight Train Heart." For some reason this Aussie rocker's work has always appealed to me. I've owned quite a bit of his music over the years but since its release in 1996, his HITS compilation has always been my go-to disc.



The nineteen tracks are a great showcase of Barnes' many talents. The music goes back as far as his 1984 album "Bodyswerve," with three songs from "For the Working Class Man" (1985), three from "Freight Train Heart" (1987) including the opening track, "Driving Wheels;" and so on, gathering his best work up to the mid 1990s. A number of well-known musicians feature in the credits. If I had to pick favorites, I'd probably go with "No Second Prize," "Little Darling," "Lover, Lover," "Good Times" (recorded with INXS and featured in the movie "Lost Boys"), and of course "(Simply) The Best" with the incomparable Tina Turner. But as far as I'm concerned there isn't a bad track here. I admit it, I'm a fan.



Jimmy Barnes' career began with his band Cold Chisel, and he had a decidedly bad-boy image in those days. Like a lot of bad boys he settled down, raised a family, and kept making music. In 1996 the release of this compilation album, Hits (along with the re-formation of Cold Chisel) gave a boost to his flagging career and put his single "Lover, Lover" on the charts along with the album. Barnes has gone on to win great respect for his contribution to Australian music and his support of performers in that country. I'm happy about all that, but mostly I love to drive with his music playing. He gives it all he's got, and if he used to be a bad boy, that's not a bad thing either.



Disclaimer: The only other Amazon reviewer of this album wrote, "...no doubt every self destructive Aussie Bloke who drinks too much beer will love this album." Just wanted to make it clear, that is not a description of me.



Linda Bulger, 2010"