The Last Wave of Summer
| The Last Wave of Summer | ||||
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| Studio album by Cold Chisel | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Cold Chisel chronology | ||||
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The Last Wave of Summer is the 1998 reunion album for Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel. It reached number-one in Australia for one week in October 1998.
Released 14 years after Cold Chisel had released their last studio album (Twentieth Century), there was a considerable amount of rumour and speculation in the press before the release of The Last Wave of Summer. Walker stated that after so long apart, the band was curious and intrigued by the possibility of recording together, and felt everyone had improved as songwriters. He also said it was very inspiring swapping songs with other members of the band, especially considering their history.
The band was not intending to progress to studio recording unless they deemed the songs were of sufficient quality. When Don Walker was asked how the band decided which songs to work on next, he replied, "Psychological manipulation, sullen looks, petulance, tantrums, insane rages both faked and real, sexual coquettishness and pathological violence. Sometimes the last two together."
Over a hundred songs were considered for the album over a 3-month rehearsal period, all recorded as demos at the Sydney Opera House. Barnes and Prestwich had both stockpiled songs. Walker, who had recently used songs for Moss's Petrolhead, Tex, Don and Charlie's Sad but True, and his own solo debut, felt he had little to offer. "I didn't have much around. So a lot of that is written from a standing start. I assumed the reunion album was going to be largely written by the other guys and I was quite relaxed about that."
The band had signed an unusual contract with Mushroom Records, a partnership whereby the band would split all expenses and profits with the label. The contract also stipulated that the label would have no creative input whatsoever.
Barnes described the recording process as, "very unorthodox. Normally when you record, everyone wears headphones and everything is isolated, so if someone makes a mistake you can cut it out. We had a PA in the studio - everything bled through everything else. What it meant was we had to record virtually live. So it's an album that's got lots of warts on it, little things that are technically wrong, but at the same time it has an immense amount of feel."
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Wikipedia